February 1999

A Grace That Sustains … A Sustaining Grace

by Sister Mary Gowern, CSJ

(Texts: Deuteronomy 7:6-10; I John 4:11-13)

The mystery of God’s love and our share in that mystery often reach beyond our understanding. Yet life experiences provide us the means to comprehend the height and depth and breadth of a love beyond all measure.

We are called in many ways during our lifetime to share in God’s life and love, which we call “grace.” I firmly believe that if you are someone living with AIDS or companioning someone living with AIDS, you have fertile soil for coming in direct contact with God. The physical suffering, the emotional upheaval, the anger, despair, or loss that you have had or are currently experiencing is in reality the “sacrament of the moment.” God wants to come close to us. God weeps with us as we cry. Suffering brings us to communion with God. It is a graced moment. That grace sustains us. It is through the circumstances of our lives, however painful they are, that we encounter God. It is through the people who journey with us that we experience God’s love. God continues to abide with us.

The AIDS epidemic and all that it encompasses are an opportunity to be in communion with one another. Part of our tradition as Americans is a strong sense of independence. We are hard workers. We are self-sufficient. AIDS teaches us that we need another, that we can’t travel life’s journey alone. A deeper sense of community, of healthy interdependence, has been created as a result of this suffering. We are challenged to be agents of grace, to be reconcilers, to be sources of unity one with another.

You know this from your personal experience. We reach out to touch another for support and encouragement. You have created circles of love. You and the AIDs community are a visible sign of inclusion in a time of alienation. This inclusive love found within your community has the power to illuminate our broken, fragmented world.

Having realized that we are loved by God, having experienced a sense of love and support in our circle of friends, families, and loved ones affected by AIDS, we are called to go beyond ourselves and beyond our local community to let our voices be heard around AIDS and the struggle for justice.

When we organize, speak out, and act collectively on behalf of those who suffer unjustly, the kindom of God is realized (and yes, I mean the kindom, where all are brothers and sisters): a world where attitudes change, divisions are eradicated, and peace and harmony replace violence.

Activism around the AIDS issue must be bold and forceful enough to capture public attention, and communicate the urgency of suffering and demand its end. Let us go forth enlarging our cities, networking beyond our present connections so that we may be the instrument of God in bringing about permanent healing for our broken, fragmented society. As Micah, a prophet from the Hebrew scriptures spoke in times past, “The Lord requires that we act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with our God.”

Sister Mary is director of the Haitian Education Center in Brockton, Massachusetts. This meditation is excerpted from a homily she gave at Trinity Episcopal Church, Canton, MA.