Sister Manuela's Talk

Farley Jones
June 1971

Next door to the Upshur house in Washington live four Spanish nuns in a yellow brick house. Recently, Farley Jones invited them to come to one of the Saturday night prayer meetings to pray with us. Afterwards, he asked the leader to share with us some of the insights that she had gained in her long years as a nun. What she had to say had particular reference to growth, that is, establishing personal habits leading to the highest kind of spiritual life.

"I will follow my spiritual obedience to you and tell you about myself. I was born in Spain in a large family. I like the Unified Family because it is from good families that we will make a better world. I like your movement and spirit.

At 18 I went to the convent. I give thanks to God what I never hesitated one moment. I am happy in my service to God. God never forgets those He chooses. I believe I was chosen to be in His home and give my life for Him.

I would like to talk about the life of freedom, sacrifice and love in spiritual work. There is a Spanish word "SAL" which translates into "salt" in English. This is essential in spiritual work to have "SAL" or S for Sacrifice, A for Amore (Love) and L for Liberty. These will be the three points I talk about. The most important of these will be the Amore or love. Without the "amore" there cannot be anything. Life has no purpose. People can work for money, or position, but if they have no love they work for nothing. Even if I give my own life, but have not true love, I am nothing in the eyes of God.

The word "love" is so misused -- We see it everywhere, written on walls, buttons, papers. Do people really know what love means? I worked with children, and their concept of Icy-e is in terms of getting. "I love this person because he gives me things." When I think of love I think in terms of giving. God loved us before we came into existence; because He loved us He created us. He gave us everything so that we can return it to Him.

To love before I can receive anything; to love without expecting anything in return; to give our lives for those we love. Most of the time when we say "love" it is selfish -- I love you because you do this for me, or give this to me. True love loves anyone and everyone.

Self-Sacrifice: We must love one another because we are brothers and sisters. We all have the same Heavenly Father. I must give up myself for God and for the good of others. A person living in the forest can love God, and perhaps is living a life of sacrifice by being in the forest; but in community we have to have more self-sacrifice. I consider that to live happily, loving one another, we have to live of sacrifice. This begins in the family.

Families do not have this spirit of sacrifice. The father works hard all day and comes home to a messy house, no dinner cooked, etc. How does a wife show love to her husband? By outward forms of affection? These are nothing. We show love by serving the needs of those we love.

Amore: respecting one another's wishes. I hear many husbands and wives complaining all the time, and most of the time it is because no one wants to give up their own way of thinking. "This is what I want, therefore -- "

With children it is the same. We must help them think of others. At the dinner table, for example, it is not seeing; "what is best for me", but "what is best for my brothers and sisters." Children must be taught by example.

Freedom (Liberty): If there is true love in a household, you don't have to have set, rigid rules. If the wife truly loves her husband and the husband his wife, with a spirit of self-sacrifice, there don't have to be so many "Do's and Don'ts. We must believe what our mates tell us. Trust grows out of this. If not, we don't have the freedom to live in happiness.

A few months ago, I picked up an old lady on the street on my way to see another sister. It was a long way to drive her, and she knew I would be late for my appointment. ''he pressed me to let her call the sister, but I knew it was not necessary. The sister would trust me, knowing that I had a good reason to be late. So it should be in the family.

"Sal" or "salt" means to preserve. If we have all three ingredients, there would be no way for corruption. When we are prepared with love for God in our hearts, the spirit of self -sacrifice and love, we can go out and preach. However, if we have no love, it is better not to go out. Wait until you are truly living in the spirit of what you preach.

We have to be like a glass of water, overflowing with Spirit and the love of God, before we can fill others. St. Paul worried that even after many years of preaching love of God, he himself wouldn't be saved.

`Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I sell all my goods and give the money to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it is all for nothing." (I Corinthians, Chapter 13)

(From the "New Age Frontiers" published by American Unification Church)