SPONSA RECIS - A SPIRITUAL REVIEW FOR SISTERS - DECEMBER 1963 - VOLUME 35 - NUMBER 4

Sep 21, 2026

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SPONSA RECIS is a spiritual review for sisters (December 1963, Volume 35, Number 4) containing devotional and reflective articles centered on “Our Father.” The issue presents a meditation on God’s active love, the audacity of addressing God as Father, and the New Testament invitation to call out “Our Father.” It includes related reflections on sonship, the Mass and Eucharistic prayer, conversion of thinking toward God, and humility in recognizing oneself by grace. Additional sections list authors and book reviews.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

"Our Father"

"OUR FATHER"

6PONSA RECIS A lamp is placed on a lamp-stand, not undenot under a basket. # SPONSA RECIS A SPIRITUAL REVIEW FOR SISTERS DECEMBER 1963VOLUME 35NUMBER 4 Our Father 93ROBERT GUELLUY Poem 98ANNE O'HARA Mental Tendencies of the Person 99GERMAIN LESAGE,O.M.I. Why Sister Can't Read 106HILARY SMITH,O.C.D. The Meaning of the Cross 109SISTER CATHERINE,O.P. The Psalms 116JOSEPH A.GRISPINO,S.M. Book Reviews 119 NIHIL OBSTAT:Reinold Theisen,O.S.B.,Censor deput.IMPRIMATUR必Peter W.Bartholome,D.D.,Episc.Sancti Clodoaldi. Published monthly by monks of Saint John's Abbey,Collegeville,Minnesota.Rev.Ronald Roloff,O.S.B.,Editor;Rev.Myron Kasprick,O.S.B.,ManagingEditor;Rev.Raymond Roseliep,Poetry Editor.Advisory Board:Rev.KilianMcDonnell,O.S.B.,Sister Ritamary Bradley,C.H.M.,Sister M.Rose Emman-uella Brennan,S.N.J.M.,Sister M.Emmanuel Collins,O.S.F.,Mother MaryRobert Falls,O.S.U.,Sister M.Jean Frances Fiffe,O.P.,Sister M.JeremyHall,O.S.B.,Sister M.Jerome Keeler,O.S.B.,Sister M.Teresa Francis McDade, B.V.M.,Sister Mary Virginia Micka,C.S.J.,Sister M.Charles BorromeoMuckerhirn,C.S.C.,Sister Mary Emil Penet,IH.M.,Sister Mary JamesWalsh,S.N.D.,Sister Annette Walters,C.S.J.,Mother Mary Florence Wolff,S.L.,Sister M.Francine Zeller,O.S.F. Address all correspondence except poetry to Sponsa Regis,Saint John’s Abbey,Collegeville,Minnesota 56321 (Checks payable to Sponsa Regis.)Poetryshould be sent to Rev.Raymond Roseliep,Loras College,Dubuque,Iowa 52003.1 year $2.50;2 years $4.00;single copy 25 cents.Sterling area(exceptAustralia):1 year 18s;2 years 29s;single copy 1s 11d.Australia:1 year 23s;2 years 37s;single copy 2s 3d.Agent for India:Asian Trading Corporation,Post Box No.1505,Bombay-1.Indexed in the Catholic Periodical Index.Printed by Sentinel Publishing Company,413 East Saint Germain Street,Saint Cloud,Minnesota.Second class postage paid at Saint Cloud,Minnesota.(Do not send mail to this address.) ## "Our Father'" The God of our faith is not inert;he is at every instant active,transforming.He is among us and in us,making us live with hislife and upholding us through his attraction to himself.We musttry to consent more wholeheartedly to this divine attraction inorder to live for his glory and to continue this difficult conversionof thinking solely of him and abandoning to him even the concernabout our spiritual problems.Our only care must be to know andlove him.Difficult and radical is such a conversion,which con-sists in seeing all things as a means of praising God;our usualpenchant is to view them as obstacles. What is proper to God is his gratuity,the ability to give fornothing.It manifests itself in creation,in the call of the chosenpeople,in the supernatural work of God in his Church.It is in-itiative,perfect freedom in a love which the wiles of pride cannotconfine.It is the bursting forth of a gift. We have believed in a God who is love,not only someone wholoves but someone who is the very activity of loving.This love isnot just some sort of benevolence or an anonymous sympathy;itis a paternal love.It is the love of the Father and of the Son inthe unity of the Spirit which extends even to us.We have theboldness to say,"Our Father!"If we presume to utter these words,it is because God invites us to do so.The whole message of theNew Testament is a clear,decisive invitation to cry out,"OurFather." In religions other than that of Abraham and of Christ,whenGod is called"Father"it is simply a way of speaking,of sayingthat he is benevolent and that one can count on his protection.In the Old Testament God is called"Father"with more insistenceon the true significance of the term,but nowhere is he directlyaddressed as such.The invocation never enters into the dialogueof prayer.It is the audacious innovation of the New Testamentto urge us to call out,“Our Father!” ## “OUR FATHER” It is obviously a solemn moment of the Mass when we remindGod of this audacity which he has given us,when we recall tohim this condition of

FAQs

What does the issue emphasize about God’s nature?

It emphasizes that God is not inert, but actively transforms people in every instant, making them live with his life and upholding them through attraction to himself.

Why does the text call addressing God as “Our Father” an audacious moment?

It describes it as a bold invitation of the New Testament, given by God, where believers dare to adopt the language of the holy Trinity in prayer and the Eucharist.

How does “Our Father” relate to conversion of thinking and spiritual progress?

The issue links the prayer to a radical conversion: seeing all things as means of praising God, abandoning self-focused concern, and asking confidently that God’s will be done.

Sep 21, 2026

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