Leadership Transition Prayer

Today the Ursulines Community celebrates the transition to a new Leadership Team for the Ursulines of the Eastern Province. It is also an opportunity to express our gratitude to the Ursulines who have served as the Province Leadership Team for the past six years. As we gather today, at this significant moment, we recall the words of Sr. Susan Flood, our Prioress General, at the conclusion of the General Chapter:

We have made a commitment to work together towards New Life...And always, this new life will be for the sake of the world, so that the Good News might be shared more effectively.

We have so many reasons to be confident. We recall that Jesus promises life in all its fullness.

We stand in the footsteps of so many who have walked this path before us, women who responded generously and with commitment to the signs of their times as they discerned them, women who continued to make the path begun by Angela as she pointed towards Jesus.

How, then, can we not set forth on this next stage of our journey together as women filed with joy and hope, a joy and a hope which will ignite an energy for life in everyone we meet along the way.

God our Creator, we come today to express our gratitude for our outgoing and new provincial teams: Sisters Jane Finnerty, Ann Peterson, Pat Russell, Maureen Welch, Brenda Buckley, Pat Schifini. Bless them with the gifts of the Spirit that are needed to serve our province and its mission. Help them to undertake the work of our province with energy and hope. Help all of us, members to embrace them with support, love and prayer. Guide these Sisters to lead with integrity and prudence. Give them wisdom to make intelligent decisions. Give them courage to undertake the tough decisions with grace and fortitude. Help all of us to be supportive, welcoming and hope filled people. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Father's Day

Today we celebrate Father’s Day.  The presence of fathers in the lives of children is important to their growth, development, and well‑being. Fathers serve as role models to their children, exemplifying hard work, devotion to family, self-confidence, and faith. Through their character, determination, strength, and direction, they guide our futures toward happiness. Thus, it is no surprise that research increasingly shows involved fathers can help foster self-esteem, success in school, empathy, and positive behavior in their children.

By raising children to be happy, productive, and responsible adults, fathers play a critical role in shaping our society. Our fathers set an example for us of how to be our best in every aspect of our lives. The lessons they teach us guide us as we strive to care for our families, succeed at school and at work, serve others, and contribute to our communities.

Today we celebrate all those who have been or are fathers and those who have served as father figures for children.  May all fathers and father figures know the love and gratitude of their children.  Happy Father's Day to all!

Trinity Sunday

From the Archdiocese of New York

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” From today's Gospel JN 3:16-18

Spring is a beautiful reminder of new life, where everything blooms. Summer is a beautiful reminder of joy, where we get to enjoy the beauty we saw blooming before. Then follows fall and winter, a time where the same beauty we once appreciated and enjoyed comes to an end and perishes. This could be the case with everything around us, just like flowers don't last forever, many of the things we buy and try to hold on to, pass away, even ourselves. Today’s Gospel reminds us of something that is beautiful and everlasting, faith in Jesus. He has promised that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but instead shall live in an eternal spring of everlasting life.

As we believe in the Son of God and accept Him as our savior, how do we live in this world of perishable things? The answer is time. Let’s take time to invest in things that do not perish, let’s make time to grow in our relationship with God. How to do that? Our prayer life for example, it is there that we can have a glimpse of eternal life when we come into contact with the Father. Reconciling with others, is also a very important part of having a healthy relationship with God.  By forgiving we are set free of grudges and resentments. Even if there is a justifiable reason for us to feel that way, these feelings weigh us down and take the space in our hearts where God wants to dwell.  And lastly, having a peaceful life, and this does not mean a problem-free life, but on the contrary to embrace our problems with love and faith. Living this way will make us emissaries of peace, men and women who know that even the biggest problem shall pass like everything else, but the peace will remain.

A good example of someone who lived a life trying to increase in “non-perishable assets” was Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She had nothing that she could call her own, but her relationship with God.  She poured out her love for God through her work with the poor, and she was full of peace.  Her way of life, her Christian example, made her a model of peace. When she died, she didn't take anything with her, she died poor and weak, yet wealthy and strong in the love of God, and as a saint of heaven she will not perish.  Nor will the things that she did for others in the name of God, that are still bearing fruit in the world today.

Let us reflect on the things we do and give, and how these things are helping us grow in relationship with God, perhaps how these things will bring us a step closer to heaven. Just like Mother Teresa said: “Is not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts”, and this love can only be given if we truly believe in the resurrected Christ.

On this day, when we have witnessed weeks of turmoil in our cities, as believers in the One True God, who created all men and women in His image, we pray for peace, for an increase in faith and a fuller conversion of hearts for us all. Amen.