It's never too soon.... It's never too late...to love like crazy!

Last Wednesday I had the privilege to be with about 50 girls from various parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, several Vocation Directors and a number of parents and volunteers. We were at the St. Joseph in the Hills Retreat House in Malvern, PA for the Goretti Girls Vocation Conference. Sisters Genevieve and Christine also accompanied us.

St. Maria Goretti is the patron of adolescent girls and vocations. She was the victim of an attempted sexual assault. She resisted her attacker and he began stabbing her with a knife, but what is truly important is that she forgave him, even beyond her death! Alexander rejected her forgiveness until one night he had a dream that he was in a garden and she gave him flowers. When he awoke, he was a changed man. He repented of his crime and reformed his life. Twenty seven years later he was released from prison, and was in the crowd at St. Peter's to celebrate her canonization. Maria Goretti truly mirrored the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Crazy by this world's standards, but our ideal as Christians. That's the reason "love like crazy" is on the T-shirts we received.
The girls were in the sixth through eighth grades and made a deep impression on all the adults with their great spirit, their devotion and their interest and enthusiasm for all the activities of the day.
They had opportunities for Mass, Confession, arts and crafts, outdoor games and, of course, several conferences. They also had time to ask the Sisters anything they wanted to know about us and our Communities. The questions ranged from, "how long does it take to become a Sister?" or "how did you know this life was for you?" to "what's your favorite TV program?".
You could tell that as young as they are these girls are already thinking about life choices. It's never too soon to do that! My hope is that each one will continue to think, pray and reflect on how she is going to spend the great treasure that is her life so that she can serve God and God's people in the way that is best for her. One Sister put it so well when she said, "I believe this is where I can be the best me".
And isn't all of life like this to some extent? We need to continue to ask ourselves every day, "where and how I can best serve God and God's people today and in the days and months and years ahead". That's part of "loving like crazy". It's never too late to do that!