"If you are willing to bear serenely the trial of being displeasing to yourself
then you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter." - Saint Therese of Lisieux
I am not sure I know exactly what Therese means. She was a 19th century contemplative nun. I do know her words say something about the soul’s interaction with grace. Maybe breaking it down a bit will reveal something understandable and useful for Lent.
“If you are willing.”
The Christian life is grounded in freedom. We choose God every day; some days it may seem like hour by hour. There are moments in some Believers’ lives in which God overwhelms the person with sorrow for sins, a sublime ecstasy, a heavenly quietude and heroic vitality. But, in general for most of us most of the time, we choose God even as we recognize that faith is a gift as well. Therein remains a mystery: why some people seem to have a relatively easy time with trusting God and accepting his Word and Sacraments as presented and others struggle with doubt, seasonally or chronically. Where ever you are on the spectrum, we all still have to choose, “Yes, I yield to you, Lord Christ.”
To bear serenely the trial of being displeasing to yourself
This is very counter-cultural and terribly unworldly. I do not know many people who desire to do this at the same time: 1) be serene and; 2) be displeasing about one self. Yet, perhaps here is a glimpse of a rare honesty, strangely attractive. It certainly is not looking in the morning mirror! It could refer to a disposition that echoes the way the Lord sees us. He looks at us and is displeased with a specific behavior or attitude, a resentment we nurse, a fundamental laziness or anger we indulge. And yet, at the same time, the Lord sees us serenely with eyes of mercy. He may be disappointed in us but not angry. We grieve the Holy Spirit and yet the Holy Spirit is here with us, willing to be grieved and also convincing us to repent. The danger is trying to describe this nuance too simplistically such that it sounds like cheap grace. There are some people who sin and blithely say, “Oh well, God will forgive me.” He does forgive those who truly repent. But what about the sin of presuming upon his grace? Forgiveness absolves us of guilt, not responsibility.
Then you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter
This is astonishing! It says the Lord is looking for shelter. I can believe that. God is like a homeless man, like the poor Lazarus starving to death by the gate of the arrogant rich man. (Luke 16:19-31) When we look at Lord Jesus on the cross, broken for us, broken by us, broken so to restore us and make us whole, we do see God pouring himself out into the world…and looking for hearts and marriages and families and churches where He can be welcomed and loved as Lord.
See you in Church!
Father Hastings
Saint Anne's Church, Abington, PA

As we begin the season of Lent, we tend to think about what we will “give up” for these 40 days as a spiritual discipline. This is a good way to be thoughtful about the supreme sacrifice our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ made for us. It’s also a good time to add something to our family prayers and our relationship with God. Our Prayer book has a section on Daily Devotions for Families and Contemporary Collects that you might like to pray with your families. Think about a verse that has meaning to you and your family that children could memorize, or see me, and I will be happy to talk about it, maybe give you some ideas: The Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, a Psalm or part of a Psalm for the younger children are some examples.
Those of us going on the YouthWorks Mission trip are so thankful for your generosity and kindness when we have a fundraiser. There are our dear friends that always bake something really lovely for our bake sale and our loyal and generous customers, and those who use this opportunity to make a donation. Special thanks to Mary Duffy, and to Amy Vera and Cameron Carty for being at the bake sale table. We are very grateful for your support and will strive to show the generous spirit of St. Anne’s congregation to those in need that we meet in the Niagara Falls area on our Mission trip coming up in June.
Thank you all for staying to enjoy some time together at our Valentine’s Party last month. It was a lot of fun thanks to a great group of kids. Thanks to Jeannette Vera, Anne Ciocari, Amber Kinkner, Ann Avallone, and Karen West for their help also.
Blessings to you and your family.

This Easter, the choir and visiting musicians will be performing the Gloria by John Rutter. This piece was composed in the typical three movement format (fast, slow, fast) of an orchestral piece. We will be performing the first movement, Allegro Vivace, as the offertory; the second, Andante, as the Post Communion meditation; and the third, Vivace e Ritmico, as a Choral Postlude.
The Latin text is used from the Ordinary of the Mass and the practice of composing a Mass setting has been a benchmark of a composer's ability for many years. Rutter based his setting on one of many Gregorian Chants which utilized this text. Although the original is scored for eight brass, organ, and percussion, Rutter later penned a version for full orchestra. In Rutter's own words regarding the orchestration of the original, "a combination which in the outer movements makes quite a joyful noise to the Lord, but which is used more softly and introspectively in the middle movement." (1)
We hope you will enjoy hearing this wonderful musical icon as much as we have enjoyed preparing it.
More to come in April!
(1) Naperville Chorus - http://www.napervillechorus.com
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