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