Mother Joy Celebrates Ordination
February 10, 2023
Dear St. Marks,
On Tuesday, I was ordained into the Priesthood. It was a fantastic night full of celebration, tears, laughs, friends, family, and guides from various times in my life. Jordan and the choir made beautiful music, and the Daughters of the King hosted a rockin’ reception with incredible flowers from Valentinos, complete with excellent food. I am beyond thankful for your support and prayers – my beloved St. Mark’s community. No matter if you were there in person, online, in prayer, or if this is the first you are hearing about it, I’m grateful for you.
Transformation is a funny thing. It happens very slowly and also all at once. Something changed in this service on Tuesday night. At the same time, something has been changing for months. Something has been changing in my heart in every service since I began to serve with and among and alongside you all in July. In fact, I would say, it has been changing in my heart since I was made a Postulant in 2019. Indeed, God has caused a stirring in my heart long before that.
As my beloved friend, mentor, and now sister in the Priesthood whispered to me as she vested me in the chasable, ‘may the external transformation match the internal one.” As a side note, that is the same chasable Father James wore when he was ordained to the Priesthood. It is hand-made from former altar hangings – there are many gifts and connections.
Like many transformations, this is one that I will spend the rest of my life living into. I am at once fully transformed and, at the same time, I will grow evermore into this identity. Think of it like becoming a Christian or getting married. In one moment, things are shifted, and yet, the relationship is just starting. We continue to learn and love for the rest of our lives. This will, of course, be filled with mistakes, but those will be made tolerable by the balm of community and the gift of God’s grace.
What transformations are you undergoing? What work is God doing in your heart? The Holy Spirit can be sneakily doing work so quietly that you barely notice until you look up and your whole life is different. On the other hand, the transformation might be world-shifting from the very start. The life change could be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Pay attention, my friends! The moments of transformation come fast and slow. But no matter what, know that God is with you.
Yours faithfully,
Mother Joy