by Sr Dorothée Vahle
I don’t yet know the full extent of my faith. There’s a long way to go, and I tread the path every day.
In the First Testament, God poses a rhetorical question to Job about the origins and paths of light, asking: “What is the way to the abode of light?” (Job 38:19). That’s the path I want to take, personally and with my community.
I don’t yet know the full extent of my faith
It’s the path that, as a community of contemplative nuns, we wish to uncover for those who cry out to us: “Our sandals are worn out from walking so long” (Jos 9:13), and ask: “Where and who is the One who calls himself ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’?” (Jn 14).
Seeking him and allowing ourselves to be found by him so that we can walk his way with him, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and with all people of good will; thisis the heart of our life.
It’s the path we wish to uncover for those who cry out
Where, then, is this path, where the light dwells? No one knows this path as well as Mary. Mary went where no one has gone before. She stepped into the unknown of a birth, and what a birth it was! She knew that she could count on the experience of her people, the Jewish people, who have journeyed and continue to journey through history: a journey in which the unconditional and faithful love of a God who liberates and saves is revealed.
Today, with my contemplative sisters, we are an ageing community, but one that is very much alive, and always “on the path”. The Mother of Jesus “is there”, as she was for Jesus’ first miracle when he turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. We know that we can count on her and her support in every way.
Mary stepped into the unknown of a birth, and what a birth it was!
As the years advance, we sense that something is coming to an end, but that the path towards the light does not end there. When all that’s left is faith in the One who brings everything to its fulfilment, what’s left is the gift, the gift of Life. To welcome it every day with all our heart is to truly experience something of the joy of believing, and this joy reaches far beyond the walls of our cloister.
