[[“Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.” At first glance these words of the Grace Before Meals seem simple. After all, this is one of the first prayers parents teach their toddlers. Yet, in its simplicity, it expresses a profound, fundamental truth about our lives; all that we are and all that we have are gifts given to us through God’s bounty, in a manner of speaking, from God’s farm to our table. With grateful hearts we receive God’s abundant love and, in turn, offer our gifts and talents, our hopes and joys, our dreams and desires back to God to assist, in our unique way, in bringing about the Kingdom of God.
Juliana Barilla, OP has long understood the great joy it is to serve God by serving God’s people. Not many of us get to spend over eight decades living out this great joy. But Sister Juliana is privileged to say she has been doing so as a Grand Rapids Dominican for 82 years and still counting.]] (cf, Sister Juliana for access to Sister Juliana's story.)
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