Sister Jolinda

Sister Jolinda Naas drew from the familiar beginning to one of the most popular prayers ever to pose the perfect question for her audience of 22 teenagers and 12 adults.

“Hail, Mary, full of grace,” she said, “do you ever stop to think what that meant?”

It was early in her program on “Grace in our Christian Life” at Kordes Center on the grounds of Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand.

She spent the next two hours explaining the concept of grace – how you receive it, how you can give it, and what it does for you.

To answer the question she posed, Sister Jolinda said, “That was how the angel addressed Mary when announcing she was to bear the Son of God. Mary was full of grace, not by something she did or didn’t do, but God filled her with grace because she had a deep relationship with God before that angel ever came. And each of you has a relationship with God in your own way.”

It was an ideal subject for the teenagers, who were all high school freshmen and sophomores from a Confirmation class at St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh.

One student wrote on his class evaluation form, “Although I may not have been the most devout young man in my brief 15 years on this earth, this program has given me a new understanding of Grace and what it really means in my daily life.”

Karen Bernabe, coordinator of youth ministry and religious programs at St. John Parish, said the teenagers saw the program as a good opportunity to attend a required retreat.

“They were gung-ho about learning more about grace,” said Bernabe, who emails information about the sisters’ programs to the students. She was pleasantly surprised about the large number that decided to attend. “I got a lot of good feedback upon their return, that it was a very enlightening day for them.

“I thought it important for them to be able to acknowledge the different graces in their life and to make the connection. A lot of times we go through life without realizing the things that are happening to us, and being able to connect that to our faith. This was an opportunity for them to get in tune with the Holy Spirit, to recognize and stop and reflect. And to be able to do that in a beautiful setting (at the Ferdinand monastery), because that really enhances it and helps them to focus.

“I love that area, it’s very peaceful, very serene. It’s very conducive to them taking the time to just stop. We just don’t do that a lot in this day and age; we’re always on the go. We’re here to connect the youth to our community, to celebrate our faith together, and rejoice. Having that opportunity just lined up, like the stars. The Holy Spirit was saying, ‘This is the way, Karen.’”

Another student wrote, “The program was very inspirational. It made me realize a lot about God’s presence, and about the graces of God I never realized before. I need to be aware more of the graces in my life.”

Sister Jolinda noted that grace is not quantifiable or easily expressed. We can’t see it, we can’t touch it, but we can feel it at times. Grace is God’s light and love within us. It is God giving us his friendship, a gift from God because of our relationship with him. We can either accept that relationship or ignore it. Or worse yet, we can reject it. It can be fruitful in us only if we accept it, which means entering into a relationship of love with God.

But as great as that gift is, grace is much bigger. It’s in all the seemingly simple things that we take for granted and overlook every day.

Sister Jolinda pointed out that it’s a grace just to wake up in the morning.

And to be able to walk to the bathroom, and to feed yourself. Just think of all those who can’t. Grace is enjoying a beautiful sunset, seeing your child for the first time, and smelling the aroma of your favorite meal. It’s all that, and much more.

She revealed how our actions can be a grace for others – visiting someone in a nursing home, or willingly helping anybody needing assistance. Or it is just our attitude. “You can either walk down the hall looking like a sourpuss, or you can greet people with a smile,” she said.

Sister Jolinda stressed that we don’t earn grace, but that it’s God’s free gift to us, and it can transform our nature after we accept it. And she encouraged the attendees to be grateful for all they’ve been given.

“It takes so little to say, ‘Thank you, God.’”