Year of Faith Companion

Magnificat's "Year of Faith Companion"

The UMW Campus Chaplain, Fr. Edlefsen, ordered The Magnificat "Year of Faith Companion" for all of the FOCUS Missionaries on campus. The booklet contains a short reading for everyday of the Year of faith, usually only a few paragraphs long. The short readings are either a prayer, or a poem, or a meditation, or an explanation of a section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or a profile of a Biblical figure.

My favorite readings so far have been the profiles of Biblical women. The Companion started with Adam and Eve and seems to be working its way through the Bible. The profiles are interesting on a number of different levels. I have found I don't actually know much about some of the women profiled, or when I do know who they are, I've never bothered to reflect on them as human beings.

My favorite profile so far has been on Sarah, the wife of Abraham. The author of the passage reflected on Sarah's role in dealing with the aftermath of Abraham's attempted sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22). The Bible doesn't mention Sarah in the story, but she was there to care for Isaac after he was almost killed by his father. She was there to comfort Abraham as he struggled to carry out the Lord's commandment.

As I was reflecting on Sarah, I imagined that Abraham probably didn't tell her what he was up to that morning, when he took Isaac up to the mountain on God's orders. And when she found out what happened, I feel like she might not have been particularly pleased with Abraham's actions. After all, Isaac was her son, too. Her only son, in very male-dominated culture.

Flipping through the pages of the booklet, I'm excited to learn more about different Biblical figures, some of whom I have never heard of. And some of the meditations come from Hans Urs von Balthasar, my favorite Catholic theologian!