In late August our Community of St. Joseph blessed Sr. Linda Wilk and sent her on mission to Sheltering Wings orphanage in Burkina Faso, West Africa. There were tears of awe shed as we saw before our very eyes the wonder of this quiet unassuming woman radiant with a courageous response. In October she will cross the globe to be with children awaiting her return, having visited them for a few summers.
Sisters of St. Joseph have inherited a book of 100 “Maxims of the Little Institute” which was written by Jean Pierre Medaille to guide the inner lives of our early community in the seventeenth century. Sister Marcia Allen, CSJ, tells us that they offer at best a fleeting glimpse of a real life that is fundamentally mystical. They bear the shape of relationship with God, with neighbor and with self.
As I reflect on Maxim 25, I relate to the happiness that so many have experienced in the choice Linda has made. I am so happy to see God’s glory shining through her. She is a living example of something Thomas Merton has said.
“There is no way of telling people they’re walking around shining like the sun.’”
