The Peace of Christ completes the Paschal Mystery

I go to Mass everyday so I was interested to read an article on BBC News bbc.com/news/magazine-32849125, called "What I learned from 46 consecutive days in Church". While he had a very good experience, one thing he mentioned was that about a third of the homilies were very good, another third were so-so and the rest;  not so good. I found this to be true so I often supplement  by listening or reading to really good homilies online.

Listening to the Sunday homily on Wordonfire.org with Fr. Robert Barron is always excellent.
Another good source is this site of the Dominican Friars of Englan & Scotland.  torch.op.org. These Dominicans really live their name "Order of Preachers".

The homily for Pentecost Sunday is a wonderful example of how powerful and inspiring these homilies are.
http://torch.op.org/torch/the-peace-of-christ-completest-the-paschal-mystery

What if we did?

All Christians and “not just the few” are called to intensify their missionary spirit and go out to proclaim the joy of the Gospel, said Pope Francis this past weekend in an address to Italy’s National Missionary Congress .
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-all-christians-called-to-be-missionaries-not

Pope Francis reminds us of the call to be missionary which is the responsibility of every baptized christian. 

Our founder Fr. Judge was of the same mindset as Pope Francis. In the original 1930 draft of the MSBT Constitution he said, "Missionary Servants should be so filled with the holy fire that they will communicate it to all those who come in contact with them. Their wish and prayer should be that these (people) become a power for good. To encourage this zeal let them realize that the greatest help a Missionary Servant can offer (to the Church) is the help of spiritually trained Lay Apostles. They will try to realize the power of the faithful for good."

To effect this, Missionary Servants will induce those coming under their influence to pray to the Holy Spirit for His Gifts and Fruits, Wisdom and Fortitude especially, and encourage them to some work of charity or zeal. 

 There is so much need for people to be apostles in their daily life. The good news of the Lord Jesus Christ need to be shared through the lives of those who live vibrantly the call of the Gospel.

What if we did intensify our missionary spirit and proclaim the joy of the Gospel?

What would it look like if we put into regular practice the call laid out in yesterday's reading from the Gospel of Matthew: 

Come, you who are blessed by my Father. 

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 

For I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

a stranger and you welcomed me,

naked and you clothed me,

ill and you cared for me,

in prison and you visited me.

            

Back to Work

So I had most off the past year off. I went on Sabbatical for 10 months! One month was spent in moving and spending some time with family. For three months I lived in a cabin on top of a mountain in Spencer, West Virginia at Franciscan Appalachian Hermitage. Solitude, access to a lovely chapel and daily Mass. Thanks to Sr. Jeanne,  Cathy and the wonderful people of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Spencer I had an unforgettable experience of prayer, peace and rest.

Walking along Colt Run

November Scene

The cabin at the top of the mountain.

The second part of the sabbatical I spend in San Jose Costa Rica at the Trinity Missions Seminary with the Seminarians and the staff of Fathers Edgar Solano, ST, Fr. Carlos Zacharias, ST, Martha Vega, MCA and Cecila and Sandra. Again I was the happy recepient of generous hospitality. 

I was most fortunate in attending a program in Spanish at a great school called Intensa.

My Profesora Mireya Castro was excellent. She tortured me daily with verb tenses and direct and indirect pronouns. Now that I am in Mexico City I realize what a fantastic teacher she is! The staff at the school too, were most helpful. I would recommend this program to anyone wishing to study Spanish at whatever level.

Above are three photos from Costa Rica, the first of some of the Missionary Cenacle Apostlate members, the seminarians and one of the ST priests Fr. Jaime Serrano. Second is the view from the third floor porch where my room was located. And the third a beach scene at Puerto Jimenez.

As I begin my new mission in Mexico City on the MSBT Vocation Formation Team I know I have so much for which to be grateful to the Triune God!

Stuff

I'm moving soon. After 10 years of serving on the MSBT General Council I'm in transition towards a new ministry. But first I have to pack.

I have accumulated a lot of stuff. I commented to some sisters the other day that when I entered I had one suitcase and one garment bag! Actually most of my stuff isn't clothes. It's stuff like books, knickknacks, cds, religious pictures and statues and souvenirs given to me from various places. I'm not taking it all with me! I sure don't need it. So I'm doing the three pile decision process: a pile for giving away, a pile for trash and a pile to keep. The last will be the smallest.

Having to move every so often is a gift. I have only one room to keep stuff, a vow of poverty and a low personal budget. These are great helps in keeping the amount of stuff I have low. It's good to think and pray about material things now and then.
Living in a first world country with a first class education chances are good that I'll have what I need; in fact more than I need. I came across this website which is another good reason to live more simply.

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/

Go Out and Tell the Good News

My or our community evolved from a group of laity, who were gathered together by Fr. Thomas Judge CM.
His big concern was the people who were Catholic, but were in the pews on Sunday, who weren't receiving the Sacraments, who were losing the faith.
So no matter what we do, be it social worker, pastoral ministry, religious education or retreat work, that concern for those, at risk of losing their faith, is of great concern.
So the Church's thrust for New Evangelization dovetails with our charism to work for the preservation of the faith.

Pope Francis' recent themes on Missionary Spirit and Evangelization say more clearly than I can, the path we Catholics need to follow in the work of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Here's a couple of link's to the Pope's recent words that I find very inspiring; on evangelization:
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-wednesday-mass-build-bridges-not-w
and on being a missionary:
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-homily-be-filled-with-an-evangelical

We are in the time of the Novena to the Holy Spirit as Pentecost is May 19th.
Here's our Novena: http://msbt.org/pages/aboutus/pdf/HolySpiritNovenas.pdf

Betrayal

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. Matt. 26:14

I'm so used to the Readings of Holy Week, but this year the theme of betrayal leapt out at me. Jesus was betrayed by Judas, by Peter and the other Apostles who took off, who left Him to face His accusers alone.  Only John and the ever faithful women stood by Him. 

Jesus was able to forgive. Perhaps even Judas was forgiven. Our God is a God of mercy.

Most of us have experienced betrayal of some sort. In my very blessed life I have not experienced too much of it.

But I know that I have been betrayed by the action or inaction those within the Church ; Bishops, Priests, Cardinals who took the easy road in response to knowledge of the abuse of children. We the people of the Church have been betrayed.
I was not abused. But sadly members of my family were. My innocent, trusting attitude towards the hierarchy was destroyed.

I've worked with survivors of incest and I know well how very difficult the road to healing can be. It's amazing that some can even forgive. Recovering trust is so very difficult. The effects of being abused are widespread. Relationships are  particularly impacted by the struggle to trust. 

I believe the effects of the abuse scandal on the Church is like that. The betrayal of trust is hard to overcome. Some people have left the Church as they cannot reconcile the behavior of some priests and bishops with the practice of faith. One man I know cannot get over the fact that the same man who consecrated the host would molest and rape a child. For me the choice of bishops to act with expedience over the choice to protect children is horrifying.
Certain experiences, that may seem unrelated can bring back the feelings of hurt, anger and humiliation. 

I wonder about those who have left the Church, who no longer show up for Mass nor participate in their parishes. Has anyone bothered to notice that they are gone? I know people (family members) who were in Church every Sunday, who financially supported the Parish and participated as teachers of Religious Education. When people like this leave and there's no response and seemingly no care to even ask why, then there is something wrong with that Parish and others like it. This is a big flaw with the Church; that people can leave and no one cares enough to go after them. 

There has got to be a better way to be Church.


I pray that we of the Church can heal, can reconcile and reach out to those who are betrayed. I pray that somehow our new Pope Francis can lead us & renew our Church. 

Love

Today the readings for Mass include the Letter to the Corinthians with the beautiful reading on love, 1 Cor 12: 31 - 1 Cor 4:13.

If you've ever been to a Christian wedding you've probably heard it. It reads beautifully. It is very hard to live out.

Today as I read it my mind kept going to the recent disillusioning story of Cardinal Mahoney and his role in keeping secret the actions of some abusive priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

I know that God is love and the life of Jesus was an outpouring of this love. I know to that we must not judge. But  the actions of some Church authorities in relation to the sexual abuse and rape of children are so contrary to the teachings and actions of Jesus that I have to express my sadness and disappointment.

My heart is broken again. My first realization of this type of approach to the abuse of children by priests was in 1995. The experience was like the death of a loved one. But you don't stop loving even when betrayed. One can work against this evil while within the Church. The most incredible witness I've experienced to an active love of Christ and the Church is among parents of abused children who continue to be practicing Catholics in spite of such a horrible experience. They are able to separate out the evil actions of flawed, sick people from what is essential to their faith. They have even gotten involved in helping others to heal from such experiences and in challenging Church authorities to act with integrity and to afford no tolerance to such behavior.

I listened this morning to Fr. Robert Barron sermon on Corinthians (Word on Fire). He says, quoting Thomas Aquinas "to love is to will the good of the other".

Living as a Catholic Sister means that my life needs to be centered in Christ and in the Catholic Church.  

":It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
I hope and pray that we in the Church can continue to struggle against the evil and expedient actions of some in the Church. May the Blessed Trinity help us.

Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.
At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Thanks for my life!

Recently in Massachusetts, the state where I was born, there was a question on the ballot about "Death with Dignity". The details of the ballot question can be read at the following link.
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_%22Death_with_Dignity%22_Initiative,_Question_2_(2012)

The question was defeated by a small margin but hearing about it and hearing the opinions of some friends and family members really alarmed me.
It seems that people believe their life is theirs and theirs alone. The opinions I hear against the measure were all about distrust of doctors, of the methods used etc. Others felt it would be a good thing, a compassionate thing. Why should they suffer? There was no mention of God or the commandment, "Thou shall not kill".

Without that knowledge that our life is a gift from God it becomes easy to look at life as a disposable commodity. So when life gets painful or inconvenient since it's my own I can end it. Or if I'm carrying a child, it's my body so I can end that life if I want to.
I know there's lot of rhetoric on this topic. But the value of life seems to be overlooked more and more. I am grateful to God for my life , the lives of my loved ones and for the gift of the life of our incredible universe.



http://bustedhalo.com/features/thou-shalt-not-kill-god

Pray the Rosary

I have acquired a few daily habits over the years. One of them is praying the rosary. The Rosary was not my favorite prayer as a kid! It was too long and boring and we had to kneel and listen to Cardinal Cushing on the radio think nasal and grating. Well I've gotten over that and now it's part of the daily routine.  In the rosary one can meditate on the different aspects of the lives of Jesus and Mary and place in Jesus' hands whatever needs, sorrows, joys and thanksgivings that arise in one's heart and mind.
The Rosary is a mobile prayer app. You can take it with you wherever you go. Which was part of its' original appeal. One didn't need to be in Church with the books required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

Through the years the Blessed Mother is the one to whom I would often turn for help in praying for others, especially people's  more serious needs.

Below are some wonderful resources for praying the rosary.

The one I use everyday is a podcast of the rosary found at this site: http://www.churchofstmary.org/podcast_prayerdevotional.html

No extra prayers just the rosary nicely lead by Fr. Michael McGovern of the Church of St. Mary, Lake Forest, IL

For a printed how to pray the Rosary: http://www.newadvent.org/images/rosary.pdf 

Also http://www.nccbuscc.org/prayer-and-worship/devotionals/rosaries/how-to-pray-the-rosary.cfm
Busted Halo has a bunch of reflections on the Rosary as well as some questions and answers.
http://bustedhalo.com/features/holy-mary-mother-of-god

Since it's said St. Dominic received the Rosary from Our Lady herself here the Dominicans site on the Rosary:

http://www.op.org/en/content/rosary-old-and-ever-new-dominican-devotion

Our friends at Wikipedia have an interesting article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosary

http://www.nccbuscc.org/prayer-and-worship/devotionals/mary-and-the-saints/frequently-asked-questions-about-blessed-virgin-mary.cfm

The Instruments of God

The Spirit of God wants to use you; you are His instruments. You are tools with which He is going to chisel out salvation for many souls. You are to work upon the lives of others. Fr. Thomas A. Judge, CM

Two instruments of God who had/have a profound effect on my life died this past month. One I've known since I entered the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity on September 17, 1978. The other I never met in person and I'm sure he had no awareness of my existence, yet his work as a Biblical scholar has influenced my thoughts and actions for the good.

Sr. Francis Michael Proulx died August 12.  Each of her mission responsibilities included cooking, housekeeping and maintenance responsibilities. Whatever she did she did with love. In one of her evaluations of her ministry she wrote: “I am happy...being here for my Sisters, my way of thinking is,  a well fed Sister is a better Missionary. Please God, I will be able to cook and serve God in this way.”

In so many ways Sr. Francis Michael paid attention to others. She noticed if you were happy or sad. Her caring included everyone she met in the providence of her daily life, our staff in the Motherhouse, doctors, nurses, people she knew from her contacts in local stores and her family. Till her last day she was helping people whether they needed a listening ear, referrals to counseling or a cheerful smile of encouragement.

Carlo Maria Martini died August 31st. Several years ago I became aware of Cardinal Martini because his book, "The Joy of the Gospel" was mentioned in a workshop that I was attending. Thanks to the speaker, a professor of Biblical Studies at the Seminary in Philly at the time, I gained access to a writer who combined his deep understanding of scripture with great knowledge of the everyday needs of Christians.

From the news reports Cardinal Martini was considered liberal or progressive. He gave an interview to an Italian daily Corriere della Sera. shortly before his death calling for the Church leadership to reform, "The Church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops. The paedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation," he said.

I must admit I do agree that the wounds left from the pedophilia scandals continue to fester. The response from Church leadership in many diocese has been lacking, leaving many of the wounds to victims and their families and others unhealed.

These two people, so very different in many ways were so very alike in that their lives were centered in Jesus.

He authored many such books and devoted much of his time to the youth and young adults of his Archdiocese, Milan, Italy. Another big favorite of mine is his book, "The Gifts of the Holy Spirit"

For the instruments they were in my life and the lives of many others I give thanks and praise to God.

What I do

Well it's 4:30 AM and I'm awake because I started to think about the events of yesterday. Which actually was pretty typical of what my days are like. So then why am I awake now? Maybe to just put it all in God's hands.

Mornings I usually start with a walk. I have some prayer podcasts that I regularly download so as I walk I pray the rosary with www.churchofstmary.org/and listen to a reading and reflection from the daiIy Mass that the British Jesuits do, called "pray as you go" Next is Mass, breakfast prayers and work. So that's how I started off yesterday. The opening song for prayasyougo.org was "You Lord Are in this Place" by Keith Duke, a kind of harmonic chant about the presence of God filling all aspects of life.
In our offices, known as the Generalate, there's five of us in a wing of our Mother Boniface Center. It's named for our first General Custodian, Mother Boniface Keasey, a beautiful, holy and courageous woman.

Sometimes our Sisters wonder what we do. Well yesterday was Tuesday. First I answered some phone messages. A couple from our sisters about how to fill out an online survey we sent them and some financial questions. That took an hour or so. Then it's on to e-mails. A couple of Sisters are coming to Philadelphia after many, many, many years of ministry. They're anxious about packing and how to close their Cenacle. So I answered some questions about that. They're also worried because some Parishioners asked them about the LCWR investigation by the Bishops. One of the Sisters hoped we would remain part of the Church. I assured her we would! I feel bad that this Sister after over 60 years of a life of dedication to God, the Church and God's people should have to worry about this. We are cursed with living in interesting times.

Then I call another Sister to make a date to talk. Her position was eliminated by the recent layoffs from the Archdiocese. Alternate sources of income are hard to come by but the priests and other folks with whom she works are looking into it. It's getting harder for us to serve the people we want to. The parishes of the poor just don't have the money to pay us and unfortunately we can't afford to work for nothing. Maybe we'll hit the lottery. Oh yeah you have to buy a ticket.

After lunch I worked on to photo formatting, a project started in June! Maybe it will get done before August. More calls to our sisters, an e-mail or two then some filing of papers. It's an exciting job which I usually leave till the piles get to me.

The last couple of hours are spent in more individual meetings with sisters.
One is going off to school so we discussed the details of that upcoming adventure for her. Then I visit with another sister who is recovering from back surgery.

Usually we on the General Council meet together for 3 -5 days to report on our activities, updates on various sisters who are in some kind of transition and plan together for the future of our community. July however is one of the two months we don't meet as its a month for retreat and vacation.

We often eat at our Motherhouse. We have a great food service so it makes sense to eat there and enjoy the company of our sisters. The five of us have evening prayer together at 7 PM. We five live in the oldest building on our grounds. A big, old mansion type building which is regarded as beautiful by many. Our chapel on the first floor has beautiful old windows. In July its a bit warm as we're in Philadelphia. The rest of the evening is spent with a little TV, then some reading and bed. Not too thrilling except that I get to support the sisters who are trying to
carrying out their small part of building up the Kingdom of God.

From our beginnings as a group the Missionary Cenacle Family has had a devotion to God the Holy Spirit. Our founder Fr. Judge imbued the earliest members with the necessity of constant prayer especially to the Holy Spirit. This would help us to be more under the influence of the Holy Spirit and to make sure our actions were under the impulse of the Holy Spirit and not our own desires or blind judgement.


Recently I came across this quote which sums up my  belief in the Holy Spirit,

The Spirit of God is like our breath.  God's spirit is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves.  We might not often be aware of it, but without it we cannot live a "spiritual life."   It is the Holy Spirit of God who prays in us, who offers us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace, and joy.  It is the Holy Spirit who offers us the life that death cannot destroy.  Let us always pray:  "Come, Holy Spirit, come."

Henry Nouwen

Although I knew about the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost as we said pre-Vatican II from my earliest memories, it was my sister Terry who first taught me that the Holy Spirit would offer guidance and oh so many other gifts to stir our daily living in God's direction.
Asking for the Spirit's guidance and power in daily decisions and actions has become a habit. I know it's given me the power and drive to do so many things that I would never dare do on my own, from quitting smoking 30 years ago, daring to speak Spanish, however badly accented, to being able to make decisions about my life and those of others as a member of our General Council. For me the important thing is the daily prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit. So many times a thought or idea has come to me that I know did not exist in my mind beforehand. When those thoughts and ideas prove to be part of  a plan or project with good fruits it is plain that the Spirit is at work.


Last year one of our sister shared a reflection on the Holy Spirit which included this annotated prayer:

When the Holy Spirit comes to live within a person, she cannot cease to pray because the Holy Spirit prays within her without ceasing. Whether she sleeps or is awake, the work of prayer is always in her heart. 

While she is resting or sharing or working, the incense of prayer rises spontaneously from her heart. 

This prayer of the Spirit is not limited by a determined time or place.It cannot be interrupted. Even the silence within a person becoming free is itself already prayer.

Her thoughts are gently inspired by God.  The slightest movement

of her heart becomes a voice which silently and secretly sings and

chants in the presence of the faithful, loving Trinity!

taken form St. Issac the Syrian – 7th Century


May the knowledge and love of the Holy Spirit spread to every human being.

For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’Acts 17:28

Obedient Unto Death

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality 
with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

CrucIfix Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat
Photo by Sr. Nancy Walsh MSBT

Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil. 2: 6 - 11



Sometimes I wonder what kind of God is this that comes among us with such vulnerability? All the values of our society: to have things, to be important and powerful, to be in control, even to be well regarded by others seem unimportant in the life of Jesus. 


The usual response to violence is to seek justice, even revenge. We want the one who hurt us to be hurt. 
Jesus asks for forgiveness for his tormentors. 

This rejection of power, this putting oneself in the hands of others is disturbing. For me it means I need to look at my motives everyday in order to follow this Jesus who gave himself over to us for love.

Religious Liberty, Catholic Institutions and the U.S. Government

After graduating from Catholic University with my new degree in Social Work in 1990, I went to work at NYC Catholic Charities Family Services office in the lower east side of Manhattan. There were four to five MSBTs working there. We offered some counseling to families and individuals (non therapeutic), advocacy, budget advice, direct services, food and much, much more. 

People knew we were Catholic and that we served everybody for free. Sometimes a woman would come in and tell me they were pregnant and couldn't handle another child for some reason. I would say to her, you came here to this office. Please tell me the name of this office. They would answer "Catholic Charities". I would then say " what do you think I'm going to say to you about your pregnancy?" Sometimes the woman would smile and say "I know sister" or say "I'm going to need help with getting what I need to have this baby" or "I need you to talk to my husband, boyfriend, mother, father, etc." We would always work with them to get the help they needed to have their baby and get the needed services be they counseling, financial assistance, referrals, etc. 

Our clients were smart they knew if they were looking for services regarding birth control and abortion they did not go to Catholic Charities. They knew where to go for what service.

Many such Catholic agencies and Institutions are staffed by lay people now. It seems to me that the days of such Institutions  are numbered. I believe the new guidelines about Medical, Educational and Service Institutions having to provide birth control services in employee health plans will mean big changes in Church run services.

Recently in Philadelphia there was an announcement that many schools will be closing next year.

The factor behind these closings is money. Not enough of it. But I wonder how many such Institutions will need to be closed now as Catholic Schools, Hospitals and Agencies will need to choose between disobeying Federal Law or God's Law.

Secretary Sebelius said  "This decision was made after very careful consideration, including the important concerns some have raised about religious liberty," she said. "I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services."

Well they may think it's an appropriate balance but I disagree. I think the disregard for religious liberty in this matter is unbalanced and will have significant consequences.

I wonder if this means there will be fewer educational, health and service institutions run by religious groups? Maybe this will mean Church resources will have to be removed from such institutions and spent on more explicitly religious services such as religious instruction of children and adults. 

Now I know many people think we Catholics are wrong if not crazy about this issue. But don't we have a right to honor what we know to be right? If you work for a religious organization don't you expect the organization to be run according to certain values and beliefs. 

I think religious liberty is being severely challenged in the United States today. I know for myself I an not comfortable in either of the main political parties of the U.S. My beliefs about how I treat undocumented people is considered illegal in some states and now this Health Insurance & birth control issue forces institutional behavior which I consider wrong. What's next I wonder?

http://www.usccb.org/about/media-relations/resources/wall-street-journal-op-ed-on-religious-freedom.cfm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/obama-administration-holds-to-birth-control-insurance-rule-but-gives-religious-groups-more-time-to-comply/2012/01/20/gIQAR84nDQ_story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/barack-obama-birth-control_n_1219622.html

http://www.usccb.org/index.html

http://www.hrsa.gov/womensguidelines/

The present of God's presence

 Here's a link to Sacred Space: http://www.sacredspace.ie/ where I found this lovely quote:

We are entering the last week of Advent, a week commonly filled with frantic plans to be attended to before Christmas Day. St. Columcille can help us to find a quiet space amid all our busyness and to listen for God’s annunciation to us. ‘Sometimes in a lonely cell, in the presence of my God, I stand and listen. In the silence of my heart, I can hear God’s will when I listen. For I am but a servant, guided by my king when I listen.

Let's give ourselves this most precious gift of being present to God.

Be Good to Yourself

I'm home in my Cenacle (that's what we call our houses or apartments) today because I'm taking a couple of sick days to recuperate from oral surgery. I feel okay but I have to do the ice pack routine of 20 minutes on & 10 minutes off. So I had plans to be totally self indulgent and watch some daytime TV like "The View", "Dr. Oz" a little VH1 music video (boy! have videos changed from the 80's!).


But - we just received the gift of the DVD series Catholicism. This is a series created and hosted by Fr. Robert Barron.  He  is an  author, speaker, a theologian and a  Professor at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago.
I'm familiar with his website, Word On Fire (www.WordOnFire.org). I often listen to his homilies Sunday morning as he's a very good preacher.


Anyhow I watched one of the episodes called the "Mystery of God" In the dying words of Steve Jobs, "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow." For once I wish I had a bunch of money cause I'd go buy everyone of my family and friends this DVD series. Well I can't so I'm sending out a link to the TV schedule. 
http://www.catholicismseries.com/watch/tv-schedule

If you are Catholic or Christian be good to yourself and watch this series. Or at least part 3 on the Mystery of God.  I know you probably have not received good adult ed on your faith.
Watch Catholicism!  It's really captivating as well as educational.
I just watched the 52 minute episode 3 and forgot for that time span that I have a lot of pain and swelling from having oral surgery. Now I'm going to go ice my mouth and take 800 mg of Ibuprofen.


If you're not much of a believer watch this anyhow. It's wicked entertaining. If you don't believe at all watch it. Really know what it is you that you don't believe. 


If I should somehow win or be gifted with a lot of cash I will buy lots of copies and give them out to my family, friends, acquaintances and whoever I can.


Many people ask what Catholic Sisters do and the truth is we do a lot of different things but the underlying purpose is always about the love of God. Glorifying God and acting in ways that say God is love! And this is why I'm advertising this video.
God bless you!

Politics and Faith

Recently the NY Times' Bill Keller wrote an article

"Asking Candidates Tougher Questions About Faith"

Having read the article and his blog with the questions I find nothing objectionable about the questions nor the concept of asking candidates how 

their faith would effect their actions as a president. I do feel bad that Mr. Keller has lost his faith.

I too am concerned about some of the views of the candidates in question. 

Looking at Presidents up to the present I really don't know that their faith has impacted their presidential actions all that much, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter. Some would say that's a good thing because of separation of Church and State. Now I'm a Catholic sister so that's where I'm coming from but if your religious faith does not effect how you live every day. If it does not affect how you see the world and the choices you make then you're just playing games. 

I listen to some of the current crop of candidates and they pray, invoke God and talk about their faith but they seem to be cafeteria Christians and Mormons. Picking what they like and leaving out what is politically risky.

Through the years Christian presidents and other politicians have been able to ignore lots of the more inconvenient demands of Christianity. I think particularly of the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5 or Luke 6: 20 - 26 "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours". Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9TBRPDcMOk

Or how about this quote from Leviticus 19: 34?
"You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt.^y I, the LORD, am your God."

The 10 Commandments are pretty clear and we all struggle with them but with politicians it appears that number 8 is often ignored,

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16

Just wondering are all the commandments suspended when you're running for office? Is it okay to let PACs make up stuff about your opponents that aren't true?
During the last campaign I recall John McCain softly correcting a women who

repeated one of the many slurs about Barack Obama. I thought wow! Integrity! 

I know all of us are hypocrites to some degree. I too have a plank in my eye when it comes to certain demands, but the point is you keep trying to grow and change and be more aware. So I'm praying for all our candidates that they may live up to the demands of both their faith and our constitution.

It would help if they read their books of faith, Bible or Book of Mormon and the Constitution thoroughly and don't skip the hard parts.

Family Blanket Time

Years ago I entered the Missionary Servants of the Blessed Trinity (MSBT) because I believed that God was calling me to be a sister and the MSBTs worked a lot with families and I wanted to do that in some way. Members of my family had really developed my faith and trust in God so I wanted to pass that on to other families. In the Trinita Family program we get to do just that and have fun in the process.
Everyday volunteers (and this week I'm a volunteer) get to meet with their family for the week in a daily hour long session called blanket time. A committee of parents and the sisters and staff of Trinita meet in the months before the summer family program and work out the theme and activities. So all we volunteers have to do is read the directions get the materials and the blanket and be ready when the bell rings. The point of this is to give the family a chance to talk to each other on a littler deeper level than usual.

Many of the families with whom I've worked don't seem to be able to fit in time as a family. Schedules today are tight what with work, after school activities, sports and commuting time.

I saw this statistic and I have to say it's scary. The number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: is 3.5 minutes. Minutes!!! Kids spend an average of 4 hours in front of the TV. So who is having more influence?

If I could give kids one thing  I'd give them the attention of their parents and caregivers.
In my work with school children I was surprised at how willing the kids were to meet with me. I worked in a school K through 8, junior high and high school as a social worker and all ages were very willing to leave class and go talk with me.
Now sometimes it may have been getting out of class, but I believe mostly it was to have the attention of an adult. So that's always my free advice to any parent. Don't worry so much about giving your kids the material stuff, Give them your time, give them you.

The Holy Spirit Drives Out Our Fear

This weekend as we celebrate Pentecost we see how the great love of God in the Holy Spirit drives out the great fear the Apostles and disciples - they were staying behind locked doors out of fear.
Then the Holy Spirit pours out upon them tongues of fire and great gifts for mission.


I think the greatest gift was the part about driving out the fear. Fear for our lives, fear of the unknown, fear of making a fool of ourselves, fear of doing things in a way that's not up to our standard of perfection, fear of ____________? Whatever your favorite fear is.


I know the Holy Spirit has helped me so many times to shed my fear and do what I needed to do, to say what needed to be said, yes even to make myself understood in a second language, maybe not well but good enough.
With the Spirit help I have been able to do things like speak in front of large groups of people, travel on planes (which I hate to do cause I'm not in control!), get through graduate school, keep my mouth shut when I need to listen, hold my temper when everything in me wants to be violent, work in countless meetings, committees and groups to grapple with how to work together in mission.


The point is the mission, the mission which is God's mission to spread His love and Truth as made so very evident in Jesus Christ to all people.


So we pray for the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom,understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord - which enable us to show forth in our lives the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.


In 1913 our religious family, the Missionary Cenacle Family, began a perpetual novena to the Holy Spirit. To this day there are always two or three groups of our sisters, our lay groups, or brothers and priests praying the Novena. During the nine days before Pentacost Sunday we all pray the Novena.

We offer the Novena for the following intentions:

• for the spread of devotion to the Most Blessed Trinity, in a particular way to the Holy Spirit
• for the spread of the knowledge of and devotion to the mystery of the Incarnation and all the mysteries of our Lord Jesus
• to exalt in the holy name of Jesus
• to console the heart of Jesus
• for priests
• for the success of the Ecumenical movement and for the coming of the reign of God among all God's people.

Here's a link to the Novena prayers: Holy Spirit Novenas  Y en espaňol: 

Novenas al Espíritu Santo                                                                                                                                                                       




     

Living Easter Every Day

Easter - the central most important Event in the Christian calendar. Why?  Its only because of the the death and Resurrection of Jesus that we are followers of Jesus the Christ. Without this event, life as a Christian would not be possible. 


As I go to Mass daily I get to experience a lot of homilies and I must say most are very good. Unfortunately the sermon I heard during the Easter Vigil this year was uncommonly poor. As I wondered why the priest could not just talk simply on the beautiful mystery that we were celebrating my mind moved back to a passage in Ronald Rohlheiser's book "The Holy Longing" on the Paschal Mystery. 


“a process of transformation within which we are given both new life and new spirit. It begins with suffering and death, moves on to the reception of new life, spends some time grieving the old and adjusting to the new, and finally, only after the old life has been truly let go of, is a new spirit given for the life we are already living”.


Fr. Rohlheiser outlines Jesus' paschal journey in stages:
1.  Real death (Good Friday)
2.  Receiving new life (Easter)
3.  A time to grieve the old and readjust to the new life (the 50 days)
4.  A time to let go and let the old bless you (ascension)
5.  Receiving the new Spirit to go with the new life (Pentecost)


He then gives examples of people who have lived the paschal mystery in their lives. The idea is they go through a kind of death in their lives; an experience of loss of some kind that causes great pain. Within the grieving of the loss they receive a new life and eventually the spirit to live that new life.  


This makes clear the living presence of the Spirit as we go through the ups and downs of life. Our faith in the Risen Christ does not protect us from the painful things of life. It does not make us rich, handsome or smart. 
The gift of the presence of the Living Christ in our lives is all about presence and relationship. Through our relationship with Our Lord we have what we need to go through the many transitions of life, both the joyful and the sorrowful. And yes to get through the ordinary not so exciting times too. 


Dear Lord, please give us the grace to continue to live the Easter celebrations in our everyday lives. May we go through life open to recognize your Presence and ready to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.