This Burden of Devotion

[TheHeftyDonut 706]

Penned in devotion,
Reverend Sister Ildegardaia
Vicar of Theology
Diocese of St. Thomas of Gaekrin
Prioress of St. Judith of Czena

 

This Burden of Devotion

Meditation on the Pilgrim’s Path

 

Guardian of pilgrims and of all who journey, blessed by the Lord our God, who calls His flock to seek Him in all their going forth. O Saint Daniel of Abresi, I ask you to continue to guide the faith along the spiritual journeys the Lord inspires us to take. Upon my travels in service to God, I shall have no fears and remain in the loving grace of the Almighty Creator. We pilgrims place ourselves before the wisdom offered and faith built upon this pilgrimage and give thanks for the opportunity to continue such devotions. Amen.

 

 

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Have I known idleness in body and spirit? Many will hesitate to answer this question, but I believe it is a simple yes or no - yes, in some way, for either a brief or prolonged period of time, we become idle. . . forgetful. Many will forget to offer themselves and what they have acquired unto our Lord God. And I, too, have known not only idleness, but weariness in moments of service where duty felt heavy, and my spirit faltered beneath all that I’ve taken on since my perpetual vows. Yet, in service to the Almighty Creator, a path was made from the faith, discipline, and devotion to the Word that I, along with those aligned with me and under my tutelage, have come to hold over the years. In that Word, I have come to recognize a pattern: to go forth, to be tested, and to return changed, often through trial, through waiting, and through the quiet work of transformation.

The Progressus Primus was one attended by few pilgrims, so I did not journey alone. And yet, the journey itself called us beyond comfort into walking, into fasting, into the labor that binds the body to devotion. There were moments along the way when understanding did not come easily, when obedience was required without clarity, and when the road tested us in full. But I am reminded by the Word of the Lord God that even in my physical loneliness within this world, the Lord shall tend and shepherd those who have devoted a life's service unto Him, amongst the darkest of hours. Guiding the pilgrimage, we are to surrender ourselves to those pilgrims who render their burdens unto me through prayer and discipline, just as I, too, must surrender my own.

With the assistance and faithful devotion of the Reverend Father Florian ( @traurigcamper) and Father Kiriel ( @wildspaghett), I had planned for the instruction of the pilgrims of Saint Judith. I offered guidance through the lens of one who isn't without sin, but as a caring representation of the Light and Holiness of my Divine Spouse: leading, educating, encouraging, and in all things, remaining a student in my role, learning again what I am called to teach, and bearing not only my own burdens, but walking alongside others in theirs.

I hope that those who attended as pilgrims on this journey continue to show devotion to the Almighty God and deliver service unto Him. Hold fast to the Word, even when it calls you into uncertainty; be steadfast in discipline, even when the body grows weary; and be charitable with its message, as those mentors have guided you. For the journey is not one of arrival alone, but of continual offering of enduring trial, and of surrendering fully what has been given. And what once seemed a burden to carry, I have come to receive not as weight alone, but as a gift entrusted, not chosen, and returned in humility to the One who first gave it.

May the Lord guide the pilgrims, strengthen the youth, and correct my own spirit, that I may bear this devotion rightly, now and always. 

 

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Saint Judith, pray for us