The CBB :: View topic - In faith, obey

#1: In faith, obey - for St Agnes please Author: Alex, Location: Manchester

Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 10:56 pm

In faith, obey.

She had seen it written in stained glass. There were only four stained glass windows in the church, each bearing a similar message. In faith, love was one. The other two she had forgotten completely - they were for others to find and read. It was the first which had stayed with her. In faith, obey.

She had known what she had to do before the day when she had seen the window, but seeing the window had somehow clarified the thing, the purpose, the direction. There were other similar moments she could pick out. Moments, images of particular days which stayed with her. Images which made no sense alone but when joined together formed an intricate pattern, a signpost to the future. She could recount them in her mind. A look in her sister’s eyes when she feared her husband dead. That had been one of the first. One early morning at Mass, when the light from the candles reflected off the chalice in a certain way – she could not have told you the day or the month or the year, but she could see the candle and the chalice as clearly as if they were in front of her. They were infrequent, these moments, but they were defined in her memory. Another was the first time she had read some words of Newman:

God has created me to do Him some definite service: He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission – I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.

The priest had given the prayer card to her. A meditation by Cardinal Newman, it read. Someone gave this to me once, he had said, I think you might like to read it. And she had looked in his eyes, wise old eyes in a young face, which seemed to see into her, but she had only said, Thank you, Father, and smiled. Before that day she had tried to ignore the thought at the back of her mind, in fact she had suppressed it firmly. But after reading the words she knew what she must do. It was not her decision, it was a task appointed to her, if only she had the courage to carry it out. And then a couple of days later she wandered into the church. It was not a church she normally ventured into, but she had gone in, and she had read the message on the window. A message meant for her to find, to read, to understand. That clarity again. She was privileged to know what she was meant to do, she was privileged to have purpose.

Another line from the Newman meditation came to her: He knows what He is about. She knew then that, when the time came, she would have the courage to obey because she had faith in Him. There was another moment, when she stepped off the boat onto Canadian soil and knew with great certainty that she was meant to be there. Since then she had overwhelmed by peace. These moments were hers, to treasure in her heart, but those who knew her sensed a change. She had not spoken to anyone, but soon there would be something to tell. It had been a couple of months since the last of the pieces had fallen into place.

Robin Humphries lay on her bed and smiled in the darkness. It was time.

Tomorrow she would go and see the Mother Superior.

Last edited by Alex on Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England

Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 11:07 pm

That is beautiful.

#3: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:04 am

Thank you Alex.

#4: Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:01 am

wonderful Alex thankyou

#5: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:19 pm

oh, lovely, thank you.

#6: Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!!

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:25 pm

Beautiful, thank you Alex Very Happy

#7: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:20 pm

Thanks, Alex, it makes her decision seem natural and probable.

#8: Author: Mihiri, Location: surrey england

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:49 pm

Lovely. Thank you Alex

#9: Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!!

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:33 pm

Thank you Alex!

#10: Author: patmac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 10:47 pm

thank you Alex. this is beautiful.

#11: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 11:08 am

Thank you Alex.

#12: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 4:03 pm

Very beautiful Alex, thank you.

#13: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 4:20 pm

thank you, alex. very moving.

#14: Author: dackel, Location: Wolfenbuettel, Germany/Cambridge, England

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 5:35 pm

Thank you, Alex, that was beautiful - it makes her decision seem so clear and so understandable!

#15: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:28 am

Thank you, Alex. Lovely picture!

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