Being Present

It's been a while since I've written an entry and I apologize to our readers for the delay.

As I sit here and think about what has been going on in my Ursuline life, I realize that right now there has been a lot of medical concerns. One of our sisters had double knee replacement. Another sister had a melanoma removed and we are still awaiting the results. Plus a third sister is suffering from severe loss of memory and mobility. Well it's been a bit of challenge and sad, I also realize that God is calling me to be with those in pain.

I'm a real problem-solver and task-oriented person. I want to figure things out and take care of them all right away. But with these sisters and their medical issues, I am unable to do anything but pray, be present to my sisters, listen to their concerns and remind them of God' s love and care along with mine too.

It has been a real humbling experience to just have to be with them in their pain. I'm going to have to keep sitting with it and see what lessons God is trying to teach me. Instead of running to take care of the situation, I have to just be with it.

Where in your life do you find you just have to be and not do?

Jeannie Humphries, osu

Being with other women religious/sisters/nuns

Here it is the start of Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend.   For the past ten years or so, I've attended Giving Voice's Retreat for Women Religious in their 20s and 30s.  We met in Florida a few times and the moved to meeting in Arizona.  It has been a wonderful experience for me. I've met so many peer sisters who I can truly relate to and have fun with. Plus I get to share with them this mysterious thing called a call to religious life. It's hard to make sense of it at times; but being with others who also feel called helps.  I am unable to attend this year since I turned 40 in May 2011.  I am too old for this gathering and let me tell you being too old for something in the nun world is a new experience for me.  I'm usually one of the youngest or the youngest at a gathering. But now with Giving Voice-instead there I'm either in the middle of the age group or too old!!  Amen!!

This weekend once again a group will be gathering in Arizona for prayer, reflection, sharing and hang out time.  I'm so jealous and wish I could be there.  I just texted Jessi, a Presentation Sister to tell her to have fun and that I miss her already.  But it is not my time to be there.

Instead my friend Susan, a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace who is just a little younger than me and I will be going to New Orleans to celebrate her perpetual profession of vows and share some bonding time. We both realized that this Giving Voice gatherings are so important and wanted to keep getting together. This weekend will be fun.

New Orleans is where the first Ursulines went to in the United States and there is so much history of our congregation there.  We will be staying at one local living community with 2 of my Ursuline Sisters and visiting another community connected to Our Lady of Prompt Succor shrine. So I will see some of my nuns. Yeah!!

Also I will get a chance to visit with my former principal boss from St. Philip Neri School in the Bronx, Brother John Casey, a  member of the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

It will be a weekend of renewing relationships.  Thank God for friends to share the journey of life with me. 

Jeannie Humphries, osu

Praying Together

Here it is 7 am on a Saturday morning.  I'm up and getting ready to hit the shower so I can start my day.

Today is filled with two different prayer gatherings.  First, I'm going to be co-hosting and attending a retreat day for young alumnae from the classes of 2000-2011 from the Academy of Mt. St. Ursula. We have about 60 young woman say they are attending.  GREAT!!   We've had two other retreats and they have been so meaningful. What the young woman share and how they pray and are so open to God's Spirit truly inspires me!!  I am so looking forward to today.  I'm proud of our woman graduates from AMSU and count myself blessed to be one of them.  This event is from 10am-3pm in the Bronx.

Then from 4pm-7pm or so, I'll be with different Ursuline Sisters (many from the former St. Angela's community in the Bronx and one that I lived with and ministered with in Malone, NY) and we will share some prayer and conversation time together.  It's a form of faith sharing-we'll listen to some songs, poetry and the Word of God together. Then we'll each take some to reflect individually and come back and share our insights.  I'm really looking forward to this time together. It makes me feel connected to Angela, my sisters and God!  The experience truly reminds me of why I entered religious community.

I hope all my readers have a nice day. What do you have planned for this Saturday?  How do you enrich your soul?  Prayers and blessings to all of you!!

Sr. Jeannie Humphries, osu

Ending 2011

Apologies to all for not getting online and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!!  Belated wishes!!

I hope everyone had a great day with family, friends, Santa and Jesus!!

I was fortunate to share the time with friends who are family to me and community members.  Plus I've had some R & R-both time to relax and re-create which I so needed!!   Amen!

I can't believe that tomorrow will be the last day of 2011!!  Wow!!  This year really flew by. 

Taking the time today and tomorrow to think over the past year.  I'm proud of my accomplishments-my dissertation proposal was accepted and approved, took better care of my health (both physical and mental), and energized my personal prayer time!! 
I'm also proud of what my Ursuline sisters have done as a group-got more involved in working to help those victims of human trafficking, took some stands on immigration, made decisions about our community and province life promoting ministerial works,  and there has been a resurgence of energy and work about vocations to our Ursuline way of life.  Check out our Vocation Blog-Back lit with Joy and read more about Ursuline life!!

My life surely has its challenges just like everyone's else's but I do have to admit I feel blessed and fortunate to be connected to so many great Ursuline women.

Prayers and blessings to all at the end of 2011! 

More Good News to come in 2012!!

Sr. Jeannie Humphries, osu

Being with a piece of the Christmas manger

Currently, I live in NYC in an intercommunity women religious convent. (This means I live with many different sisters from other orders, not just Ursulines) There is a wonderful  Advent/Christmas tradition here that I really enjoy.

At the start of Advent, the Christmas stable is taken out of its box. All of the figurines are wrapped in tissue paper and placed in a big basket. Each sister is invited to reach in the basket and take a wrapped figurine.  Then we are encouraged to pray with that figurine throughout Advent. 

People will be picking one of the wise men, a sheep, a camel, Mary, the infant Jesus or any of the other creatures that grace the Christmas manager scene.  Then we pick a date close to Christmas and share about our journey with the Christmas figurine.  That is what we did last night. I loved it!!

Listening to other sisters talk about how a shepherd reminded them of the need to look out for the lost and forsaken, the camel who keeps plodding straight ahead to Jesus  reminds one to keep on plugging away with school and work, and Joseph helps someone accept things that are not always clearly understood.  It was a very touching experience for me.

Then we shared in tree decorating and some yummy Red Velvet cupcakes.  It sure was a great way to spend a couple of hours together.  This type of night reminds me of why I entered religious life and community.

Thank you to Pat, a Sister of St. Agnes who introduced that tradition here!

Sr. Jeannie Humphries, osu

Christmas

On Monday, I attended with two of our sisters-Ann Peterson, osu and Maureen Welch, osu the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  It was wonderful to see the Rockettes, all the dancing, creativity and signing.  It really put me into the Christmas spirit. 

One piece that really stuck out for me was the Living Nativity Scene with the actual live camels, donkeys, sheep.  Wow!!  To see that in the middle of NYC on a stage-so amazing!! However, I was even more touched when I realize it all comes back to the birth of a baby.  How precious!!

Joy to the World was sung during the scene and I left humming it.  I also left thinking that if the show could mainly focus on Christmas, then I need to get moving and really do that too.  I have become overly respectful of other's holidays which is good. But I need to be more proactive and open about my beliefs-so I need to start uttering Merry Christmas and talking about the birth of Jesus!!!

Thank you Radio City for reminding me of my faith!!

Sr. Jeannie

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

We celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a day on which we honor Mary a true model of holiness.  It is a feast that confuses many.  The real meaning of the day is the celebration of the reality that Mary was conceived without original sin.  It is a holy day of obligation as it is the Patronal Feast day of the United States. As I thought about this day I was struck by the Gospel reading for our liturgy. 

Gospel Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.  And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."  But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."  But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"  And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.  And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;  for nothing will be impossible for God."  Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word."  Then the angel departed from her.

Mary's yes calls me to look at my own"Yes" to what I am called to do and to always remember that, "nothing is impossible for God."

What are you being called to this Advent?

Sr. Pat