Have you ever felt pestered by God? Tracy Kemme, SC has…and I suspect we all have at one point or another.

Although she writes out of her experience as a young Sister of Charity of Cincinnati I suspect she is tapping into something that many can relate to regardless of state or stage in life.

My heart feels restless, agitated, shaken up. Perhaps it is appropriate in this season of Pentecost. Maybe the Spirit is blasting, once again, into the locked upper rooms of my heart, rocking me out of complacency and into the urgency of mission. I don’t know what God is churning up through this lovingly persistent prodding, but I sense that I must pay attention…. the Spirit seemed to swoop in, catching me off-guard, quaking in me and urging me to something more.

One of the questions stopped her in her tracks: What can we do because we’re women religious that others can’t do?

Maybe we should all ask “What can I do because of who I am that others can’t do?

It is a simple question… but one that will take some soul searching and re-evaluation of our current situation.

She continues “Many of my sisters feel drained by the countless demands of religious life.”

Again, how many of us feel drained by the countless demands of our life situations?

The question of balance is present in every life.

As a young Sister of Charity she writes,

The agitation I’ve felt in my personal discernment seems to be an agitation that is being felt deeply by younger women religious across congregations. It feels like we are being roused to reclaim the power of mission! It is good to check ourselves from time to time.

– Are we living the religious life we are called to live?
– Are we putting energy into the right questions?
– As individuals and communities, are we who we say we are?
– Do we, like our earliest founding sisters, think of nothing before the mission of Jesus Christ?

It does not take much effort to realize these questions apply to all who walk in the way of Saints Vincent and Louise regardless of state.

She concludes…

“I can’t be sure what is stirring up in me or in religious life, but I there’s no better time to be stirred than during Pentecost. Just like the disciples in the upper room, Jesus is breathing on us. His Spirit is empowering us.

Let us open ourselves wide, individually and collectively,
to powerful Divine Pestering that ushers us ever forward.
Let us jump into a cold shower of Holy Spirit that jolts us awake,
have conversations that fan our flickering flames into roaring fires,
feel the joy of urgency for the Gospel pulsing through our veins,
remember the passion that drew us here in the first place,
and live lives that make us credible witnesses of the radical, boundless, transformative love of God.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Pester away.

Be sure to read the full reflection Pentecost pestering: Will we let it move us to mission?