On April 10th, Sister Angela Faustina, CSJ spoke with Fuel the Body, Fuel the Soul participants about being surprised by God. Sister Marion Renkens, CSJ provided her recipe for yogurt pie. Find the yogurt pie recipe and a recording of Sister Angela’s presentation below!
Fuel the Body, Fuel the Soul is a monthly series held on Zoom. Each session features an introduction to a healthy recipe presented by a sister, a presentation focusing on a spiritual topic and discussion and prayer with a community of women from around the country. There is no cost to attend. Join us for our next meeting!
Yogurt Pie Recipe
by Sister Marion Renkens, CSJ
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Freeze Time: 2-3 hours
Yield: 5-6 servings
Ingredients:
- Graham cracker pie crust
- 1 container of whipped topping
- Blueberries (or fruit of choice)
- 18 oz blueberry yogurt (or fruit flavored yogurt of choice)
Directions:
Mix together the whipped topping, small pieces of fruit and yogurt flavored the same as the fruit. Carefully spoon the mixture into the graham cracker pie crust, spreading it evenly. Cover and place pie into a freezer for around 2-3 hours or until preferred texture. Slice and serve. If the pie begins to melt, return it to the freezer until firm. Enjoy!
Surprised by God
by Sister Angela Faustina, CSJ
Toad said, “My list tells me that we will go for a walk.”
“All right,” said Frog, “I’m ready.”
Frog and Toad went on a long walk. Then, Toad took the list from his pocket again. He crossed out, “take a walk with Frog.” Just then, there was a strong wind. It blew the list out of Toad’s hand. The list blew high into the air.
“Help!” cried Toad. “My list is blowing away. What will I do without my list?”
“Hurry,” said Frog. “We will run and catch it.”
“No!” shouted Toad. “I cannot do that.”
“Why not?” asked Frog.
“Because,” wailed Toad. “Running after my list is not one of the things that I wrote on my list of things to do!”
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
Nothing messes with your list like life turning left or going cattywampus! Life is what happens when we are busy making plans.
The theme of God surprising us has been with me for a very long time. I think that God reveals Godself in the unexpected. It’s very important for us to be open to these surprises, whether we perceive them as good or bad. When something doesn’t go as planned, I always say to myself, “Angela, pay attention! Something’s going on here. Somebody else is in charge.”
If you look at the Bible, God surprised people all the time. Moses was surprised by the burning bush, and it was God revealing Godself in that bush. It shows how God uses unassuming things and extraordinary ways to show God’s glory, to show God’s presence. And the birth of Jesus! Nobody expected the Messiah to come in a humble manger. They were expecting royal splendor. Soon, we will celebrate Easter. The ultimate surprise—when life emerges from death! God is always surprising us.
As I was prepping for this talk, I thought about what doors God has opened for me. The doors I have refused to go through and the doors where I was open to whatever God wanted to reveal to me.
Several years ago, when I was leaving Hawai`i, I took a sabbatical. I had my sabbatical all planned out. I was going to a blessing place in Louisiana to work with clay and nourish my creative side. Then, I was going to Notre Dame to study and update my theology.
Being at the blessing place was such a powerful experience, I wanted to stay there. But, I had already made my reservations at Notre Dame and really wanted to experience winter for the first time. Would the blessing place even allow me to continue to stay? Could I ask? Finally, one morning I woke up with the thought, “Just go and do it.”
That was the same thing God said to me when I was trying to decide whether or not to enter religious life. “Just go and do it.” So I asked the blessing place, “Can I stay?” And they said, “Of course.” I canceled the Notre Dame experience and went back to the blessing place in Louisiana.
While I was there on March 19, one of the sisters walked in and said, “Angela, it’s snowing.” I said, “What? You’re kidding, aren’t you.” It never snowed in southern Louisiana in March, but that year, it snowed. To me, that was God’s surprise. “Angela, you wanted to experience winter. Here you go. When you pay attention to what I am calling you to do, I will respond in ways you can’t even imagine.”
More recently, I had a friend in our community who got Alzheimer’s. While she was celebrating her 60th jubilee, she really didn’t know what was happening. I went to visit her with my family, who also knew her. They loved her. They wanted to celebrate her. We had a wonderful celebration.
Afterwards, I took her to her room. She looked at me and said, “Why are you so kind to me?” So I asked her, “Well, why do you think that is?” I figured she’d say, “Because you love me.” Instead, she said, “Because I love you.”
After I finished crying, I thought of St. John’s letter. It’s not that we love God, but it’s that God loves us. God’s love gives us the ability to do anything, even just to be. That was what I had experienced with my friend. Her surprise response revealed God’s love to me.
When you have a surprise—good or not so good—we have three choices. First, we can do nothing. Ignore it, chalk it up to coincidence, consider it meaningless. Second, we can consider it. We can keep it in mind, but not do anything, not let it take us anywhere. We can remain secure in the place where we are. Finally, we can really listen to the message and act. We can try to move forward into whatever it is challenging us to, whatever it is calling us to and move forward into the unknown. We can ask ourselves “Where is this leading me?”
Nothing happens by accident. Look for God’s surprises, how they were revealed to you through people, circumstances or challenges. Are there moments when you have encountered God unexpectedly? How can you cultivate a mindset of openness and trust in God’s plans for you, even when they don’t align with your expectations? Think about it!