Text carved over the main entrance to Saint Anne Convent, Melbourne, KY
Provincial House of the Sisters of Divine Providence
"I
commit myself to
Your Providence
But what does it mean to follow the designs of Providence?
And
how can we know
what God has in mind for us?
“For
I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your
welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call
me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you
will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with
you, says the Lord…”
(Jeremiah
29: 11-14)
A person who practices a spirituality of Providence tries to be grounded in the attitude that Jesus himself took toward life: embracing the present moment, and trusting God to provide whatever is needed to bring about what God has in mind, both for us and for the world:
“No
one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love
the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You
cannot be the slave both of God and money. That is why I am telling you not to
worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you
are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than
clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into
barns; yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?
Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of
life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the
fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even
Solomon in all his regalia was robed as one of these. Now if that is how God
clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the
furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little
faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to
drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on
all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your
hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other
things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow
will take care of itself….” (Matthew
6: 24-33)
Jesus’ advice is counter-cultural-- and it can be difficult to put into practice, especially in today’s world. But there is a spiritual path that helps us to deepen and grow in our commitment to live in this way. It is a path that also gives witness to our trust in Divine Providence, and to our desire to rely on Providence alone.
That
path is the practice of four fundamental virtues:
Poverty, Simplicity, Charity, and
Abandonment
to Divine Providence.
For
almost 250 years, the practice of these four fundamental virtues has been at
the heart of Providence spirituality, and we have experienced that powerful
energies of transformation and healing are released when this spiritual path
is embraced. As we try to allow our own lives become more open to the action
of God's Providence, God will also work through us to re-create places, moments,
and human hearts. The practice of the fundamental virtues as a personal
spiritual path is providence for our own times of great change and uncertainty.
“God’s
Providence governs all things, provides for everything, arranges everything,
and turns everything to good.”
(Blessed
Jean Martin Moye, Founder of the Sisters of Divine Providence and French
priest)
“To
human beings God even gives the power of freely sharing in his
providence….in order to complete the work of creation, to perfect its
harmony for their own good and that of their neighbors. Though often
unconscious collaborators with God’s will, they can also enter deliberately
into the divine plan by their actions, their prayers, and their sufferings...."
(Catechism #308)
We
collaborate with Divine Providence
by first trying to be open to
its action in our own lives. We do this through the practice of the four fundamental virtues,
which help us become more personally available to follow the designs of Providence.
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The Act of Abandonment to Divine Providence
© Copyright, 2006. Sisters of Divine Providence, Melbourne, KY. All rights reserved.