Aug 17, 2021
Join Franciscan Sister Nancy deMattos, a woman of great faith, as she tells her story and reflects on her experience of listening and responding to the work of the Holy Spirit in her life. Prepare to be surprised and inspired!
From Sister Nancy’s interview: “Franciscan values have always laid quietly in my inner self, but they've been brought forward by living community for these 37 years.
And living with the elderly has taught me the wisdom of listening. The joys expressed in even the smallest gifts, mostly of my time and theirs. Their humility and accepting what is, even when it may not be what they prefer. In these days of chaos, I have learned that a prayer will settle my thoughts faster than conversation. So I do a lot of that also. ….
Secular Franciscans are a part of the Franciscan family, which are the laity. … They have a formation program of about two years and then they make their profession and they do the Lectio Divina and they also study the scriptures and the Franciscan way of life. They're very much an active part of the Franciscan family. …
First of all, creation spirituality has always been an inspiration for me …. I got to visit the Teton range in Wyoming and the purple mountains majesty? I saw it. I felt it. Amber waves of grain, fields of grain waving at the base of the, going to the sun highway. And the, the waves of the, I have swum in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. And I have seen the giant sequoias and I have seen the cacti in Arizona and New Mexico. I've been extremely blessed, but I have seen God's creation upfront and personal, and that is a great part of my creation spirituality.
My woundedness is with the woundedness of Mother Earth, to see so much of it destroyed. And my prayer is that somehow we can regain and replace those things that have been destroyed and are missing for our children and our grandchildren, and my great-grandchild.
So that's my wisdom. The wonders of God's making the earth and repentance for us wounding it, with devotion to do what I can. Observations with joy of sighting a Monarch butterfly on Sunday, just sitting quietly at the entrance of the convent. Knowledge with love, reading, and reflections of the divinely inspired wisdom.
And I have been so blessed to have some divine inspirations from the Holy Spirit. Rainbows, when all seemed dark. Open doors when the way seemed blocked for me and people who have lent a hand, when seemingly there was no way to go forward. Those are the things that I considered wisdom of the Holy Spirit and my life. …
To others who are searching, I would say, find a comfortable place where you can state your needs to God as you would to your closest friend. And then sit in silence. When the time is right, you will hear God's will for you. Sometimes it's no. Sometimes it's yes. And sometimes it's wait, the time is not right for now. But God is always present. God will never leave you.”
For a full transcript, please include episode number and email: fslfpodcast@fslf.org.
References:
Sisters and Nuns seem to be used interchangeably….is there a difference between being a Sister or a Nun? https://anunslife.org/how-to-become-a-nun/sister-or-nun .
Process of becoming a religious sister or nun: https://anunslife.org/how-to-become-a-nun .
Secular Franciscans: For further information, please see https://secularfranciscansusa.org/.
Lectio Divina literally means “divine reading” and is an ancient practice of praying the Scriptures. See https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/lectio-divina-contemplation/ for further information.
Daily Scriptures and Meditations: For Catholics there are Scriptures for each day. There are also sources for meditation. Sister Nancy referred to The Word Among Us: https://wau.org/subscribe/. Another daily devotional is Give us this Day: https://giveusthisday.org/. The daily Scripture readings are available in English and Spanish at: https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading.
