munity’s life, the change wasn’t as
hard. Living the ideal is really about
the nuts and bolts of day-to-day liv-
ing. God has all of us in an embrace
so strong and mysterious that God
will not turn away. How can we
refuse the offer of relationship to one
another in community? God asks for
the passionate response of our whole
selves. The skill of keeping our eyes
focused on the ideal, especially dur-
ing rough patches, helps us to thrive
when the honeymoon’s over.
It’s not the gift, it’s the giving
It’s easy to get really worked up
about “my life” when you live in a
religious community if things aren’t
going “my” way. When you first
enter religious life, you may not
realize that you are giving your self
to the community, your whole be-
ing. This requires giving up a lot of
control, but that doesn’t mean that
you won’t be happy. You’ll compro-
mise more than you ever thought
possible, but as you allow yourself
to become more and more identified
with “us” instead of “me,” as your
Novitiate wasn’t
a walk in the park
because we all had
to change, to adjust,
to become more like
Jesus Christ, and less
like ourselves.
“
COMMUNAL LIFE requires
that members give
themselves to one another.
The gift comes back pressed
down and flowing over
when all humbly welcome
the gift. The author, Father
Douglas-Adam Greer, O.P.,
extends a blessing.
Learn more about #177 at VocationNetwork.org
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www.svdvocations.org Educating Tomorrow’s Missionaries
Divine Word College Seminary
BELIEVE BIGGER in something
clay is sculpted into fine art, you’ll
find that both you and the community will flourish like young green
clover in a Blue Ridge Mountain
springtime.
The gift you give is yourself.
Give generously. Give often. If you
start holding back, especially in the
little things, you’ll never feel the
real freedom of what common life is
all about. You have to give, give, and
give. The gift comes back pressed
down and flowing over when all
humbly welcome the gift that we
can be to each other in common
life. Giving and receiving, receiving
and giving, again, again, and again,
is at the very heart of common life.
Mistakes are made. You give too
little or take too much. One day I
missed morning prayer and Eucha-
rist. I was extremely busy and had
