Sunday, December 25, 2022
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Fourth Sunday of Advent
As Advent moves along, and our celebration of Christmas nears, we are happy to share with you some ponderings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Special thanks to Thomas Trunkle, the director of the Ursuline Centre in Great Falls, MT, for his sharing!
My Advent reflection focuses more on perspective in one’s own life. Realizing that no matter how dark, unfair or negative we view our own lives, in most cases more often than not, someone else inevitably has it worse. Allowing ourselves the opportunity to take time out and to reflect on how good we have it (even the simplest of blessings), the more apt we are to reach out to those who are suffering and in a more challenging position than ourselves. I believe that focusing outward towards others centers and matures us in ways unrealized.
—Thomas Trunkle
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Third Sunday of Advent
Our Third Sunday of Advent was written by Sr. Pascal Conforti, osu. Sr. Pascal is a member of the Eastern Province and we are grateful for her reflection.
Sunday, December 4, 2022
Second Sunday of Advent
Advent is also filled with extraordinary hope. Isaiah describes this hope most beautifully with another image from nature, this time of the animals of the world living in harmony. What a glorious world it will be when even predator and prey can live together with no fear or conflict! Like the perfection that God created at the beginning, this world of harmony and peace is a thing of beauty. Ruling this perfect world will be the perfect king, described earlier as the one who will establish justice everywhere. This king is also described in Psalm 72 as one who will care for the poor and vulnerable, bringing peace and happiness. Such a reality may seem impossible, but it is the great hope of Advent. As we know from the story of the Annunciation, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). Come Lord Jesus! We are waiting in joyful hope!!
—Yvonne Racine
Holliston, MA
Sunday, November 27, 2022
First Sunday of Advent
From our Heart to Heart publication. We are happy to share with you reflections for each Sunday
of Advent and for Christmas 2022. We are grateful to Sr. Chabanel Mathison, a
Roman Union Ursuline of the USA Central Province, for inviting us into prayer
and reflection for the 1st Sunday of Advent.
1ˢᵗ Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
2ⁿᵈ Reading: Romans 13:11-14
Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44
“It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.” (Romans 13:11)
Some people spring right out of bed every morning just glad to be alive, grateful for another day of chances and choices. Others of us pull the covers over our heads and hope that we’ve just imagined it’s time to get up. Just another hour, another ten minutes, we plead with the clock. But time is an unforgiving monitor, and finally we are obliged to put on our slippers and get on with another day.
Paul says in the second reading for this first Sunday of Advent liturgy that we all know when it’s time to wake up. Advent is a powerful wake-up call. But many of us still like to pretend that it’s really not as late as all that. Maybe there’s a loophole as yet unexplored, a second opinion we might consult. We want to keep our eyes closed to the many fresh choices that are being offered to us with this season of Advent and a whole new liturgical year. It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating the fire of the Spirit at Pentecost, and next the Church opens the door to Advent and beckons us inside to a whole world of spiritual opportunity. Maybe it isn’t time yet for us to see if we can make a difference for just that one person who needs our help in some way. We’ve noticed her and her struggle for quite some time, and there is something we could do to help, but we just need a little more time before we get involved. Perhaps we could wait another month before we respond to the invitation we feel inside us to set aside a little quiet time in our day to listen for the voice of the Spirit in our lives. It can’t be time yet for us to reconcile and forgive that issue with a co-worker. Can’t we just sleep on a little longer and pretend it’s still night?
The start of a new Church year invites us to begin at the beginning and walk into the light with fresh hearts. The signature prophet for the season is Isaiah. In today’s first reading he offers a remarkable vision of a united world, anxious for instruction in the ways of justice and peace. Can we see that world from where we’re sitting? Are we ready to wake up and help make it happen, one small choice at a time?
Chabanel Mathison, OSU
St. Louis, MO
Sunday, November 20, 2022
Feast of Christ the King
On the last Sunday of each liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with his encyclical Quas primas (“In the first”) to respond to growing secularism and atheism. He recognized that attempting to “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law” out of public life would result in continuing discord among people and nations. This solemnity reminds us that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever.
Today as a Church, we conclude our liturgical year and celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The Gospel we proclaim shows the great mystery of our faith: In the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus is shown to be King and Savior of all.
Throughout
this liturgical year we have listened to Luke's Gospel which has been loaded
with surprises: the poor are rich, sinners find salvation, the Kingdom of God
is found in our midst. Here we see the greatest surprise of all. We are
confronted with the crucified Jesus, whom faith tells us is King and Savior of
all. The irony is that the inscription placed on the cross, perhaps in mockery,
contains the profoundest of truth. As the leaders’ jeer, the thief crucified by
his side recognizes Jesus as Messiah and King and finds salvation.
Jesus
is King, but not the kind of king we might have imagined or expected. His
kingship was hidden from many of his contemporaries, but those who had the eyes
of faith were able to see. As modern disciples of Jesus, we, too, struggle at
times to recognize Jesus as King. Today's Gospel invites us to make our own
judgment. With eyes of faith, we, too, recognize that Jesus, the crucified One,
is indeed King and Savior of all.
This
week we gather to celebrate the gift of Thanksgiving on Thursday and next
Sunday will be the First Sunday of Advent.
May we do all things this week to honor Jesus.
Sunday, November 13, 2022
World Day of the Poor
World
Day of the Poor
Pope Francis has declared Sunday, November 13, 2022 to be the sixth World Day of the poor, with the theme of “For your sakes Christ became poor” (2 Cor 8:9).s
In his message for this World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis reflects on the words of St. Paul to the Church in Corinth and invites Christians to greater solidarity and responsibility for the poor."
Pope
Francis notes that the year comes “as a healthy challenge, helping us to
reflect on our style of life and on the many forms of poverty all around us.”
In his message for this year’s World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis said that no Christian is exempt from helping those with fewer resources than ourselves. The worst thing that can happen to a Christian community is to be “dazzled by the idol of wealth, which ends up chaining us to an ephemeral and bankrupt vision of life,” he said. “Where the poor are concerned, it is not talk that matters; what matters is rolling up our sleeves and putting our faith into practice through a direct involvement, one that cannot be delegated.”
Before his general audience on Nov. 9, Pope Francis blessed a new sculpture by the Catholic artist Timothy Schmalz. The life-size bronze work, called “Sheltering,” depicts a flying dove pulling a blanket over the naked body of a sleeping homeless person. This work, which he described as "a call to action," is meant to make "visible," the poor who are "so often invisible.”
What
can you do?
On this day we are invited to offer friendship, solidarity and welcome to the poorest of our sisters and brothers. As we reach out with love and support, let us hold all members of our global family in our prayers.
Sunday, November 6, 2022
Election Day Prayer
As we prepare for Election Day 2022, let us pray for those seeking office as well as those who are voting. May God guide our choices and bless the USA.
Prayer Before An Election
Lord God, as the election approaches, we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our
city/state/country, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful
citizens in our community.
We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other as
brothers and sisters, one and equal in dignity, especially those who are
victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.
We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those
abandoned, Men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender. We ask for minds and hearts that are open to
hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.
We pray for discernment so that we may choose
leaders who hear your Word, live your love, and keep in
the ways of your truth as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles and
guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus
Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Author Unknown
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Zacchaeus, Come Down
In today’s gospel we hear the familiar story of Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector. Due to
his position, he was not popular with the people. Zacchaeus saw a crowd and wanted to know what
is going on, trying to get close to Jesus, he climbs a sycamore tree to see
Jesus. Jesus calls him down and tells
him he is going to host a dinner for Him.
Hospitality is so important in Zacchaeus’ time as well as in our own
times. God calls us, comes to us, and
encourages us to change anything that is keeping us from following. Jesus comes and invites us to be His friend,
welcomes us, knows what we are about and gives us countless chances to welcome Him
into our hearts, all we have to do is accept the invitation.
What keeps us from accepting Jesus’ invitation to
follow? There are many reasons why we
shy away from accepting Jesus’ invitation.
We are fearful, anxious, burdened by the needs of our times, and concerned
about what will people think of me. Jesus
recognizes the faith of this tax collector exhibited in his search for
salvation and calls him down from the tree. In the hospitality he extends to
Jesus and in his conversion of heart, Zacchaeus is raised up by Jesus as a
model of salvation. We, too, can experience
what Zacchaeus did if we open our hearts to humility and accept Jesus’ call to
follow in faith and hope. Jesus only
wants what is good for us. He wants us
to be happy, to care for one another, and follow Him unreservedly. We are called not to a certitude of the mind
but a certitude of the heart. Let us be
like Zacchaeus open to Jesus’ invitation to follow with hearts full of love and
joy.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Celebrating St. Ursula
On Friday, October 21st, for the first time in two years we were able to have an in person prayer service for the Feast of St. Ursula. It was a lovely gathering that in many ways mirrored the original company founded by St. Angela in 1535. There were about 28 of us present and we gathered in the context of prayer and shared a meal together. The prayer service we used was prepared by one of our Ursuline sisters from our Central Province and was perfect for the occasion.
The legend of St. Ursula, flourished 4th century, she was the legendary leader of 11 or 11,000 virgins reputedly martyred at Cologne, now in Germany, by the Huns, 4th-century nomadic invaders of southeastern Europe. The story is based on a 4th- or 5th-century inscription from St. Ursula’s Church, Cologne, stating that an ancient basilica had been restored on the site where some holy virgins were killed. Her story was that she was to be married to a pagan ruler and she asked to go on a pilgrimage. There she met her fate.
Our prayer began with listening to the song Standing on the Shoulders by Earth Mama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjjKXuceRYQ. In this song we recall that we stand on the shoulders of the ones who came before us. During our prayer we were able to name those whose shoulders we stand on. It was very powerful to listen to the names of those whose shoulders our province stands on. Our evening concluded with a festive dinner together.
I invite you to listen to the song and think about those whose shoulders you stand on.
Sunday, October 16, 2022
The Glory of God's Creation
This past weekend I had the opportunity to drive up to
Malone, New York for a meeting with our Associates there. It was an incredible drive filled with so
much beauty and recalling fond memories.
As we drove north, I keep seeing trees in various stages of change. The colors varied from green, yellow, orange,
and red. The further north the deeper the
color changes. It was a moment of awe
and wonder in the glory of God.
During the drive I kept thinking of Marty Haugen’s song,
the Canticle of the Sun.
The heavens are telling the glory of God,
And all creation is shouting for joy!
Come, dance in the
forest, come, play in the field,
And sing, sing to the
glory of the Lord!
Praise
for the sun, the bringer of day,
He
carries the light of the Lord in his rays;
The
moon and the stars who light up the way unto your throne!
Praise
for the wind that blows through the trees,
The
seas' mighty storms, the gentlest breeze;
They
blow where they will
They
blow where they please to please the Lord!
Praise
for the rain that waters our fields,
And
blesses our crops so all the earth yields;
From
death unto life her mystery revealed
Springs
forth in joy!
Praise
for the earth,
Who
makes life grow
The
creatures you made to let your life show;
The
flowers and trees that help us to know
The
heart of love
As
we drove through the mountains, I kept recalling this song and simply enjoyed
the beauty surrounding me. During this
fall season take some time to enjoy the beautiful gift of the change of
seasons.
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Gratitude
In our readings today we are invited to
reflect on gratitude. St. Teresa of Ávila
once said, “In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and
in all things give Him thanks.” We are reminded to be grateful for
the many blessings our God has showered upon us each day. As I thought about gratitude, I came across
the poem by Rumi. May we always have
hearts full of gratitude.
Guest House
An Inspiring Poem About
Gratitude
Written by 13th Century Persian poet, Rumi
~~~~~
This being human is a
guest house.
Every morning a new
arrival.
A joy, a depression, a
meanness,
some momentary
awareness comes
As an unexpected
visitor.
Welcome and entertain
them all!
Even if they’re a crowd
of sorrows,
who violently sweep
your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest
honorably.
He may be clearing you
out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the
shame, the malice,
meet them at the door
laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever
comes,
because each has been
sent
as a guide from beyond.
Sunday, October 2, 2022
Season of Creation Concludes
The 2022 Season of Creation closes with the celebration of the feast of
St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th. The prayer/reflection below was
prepared by Mary Ann Dooling and Pat Harris from UrsulineAcademy
in St. Louis.
The Season of Creation/Service of Commitment
As followers of Angela, we share her Franciscan roots and her love of
all creation. Angela, who found beauty and strength in the world around
her, calls us to be lovers and stewards of the world God has entrusted
to us.
Opening Song: Canticle of the Sun
Reading: The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence,
there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail,
in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass
from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the
soul, but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches
us that “contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s
grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in
creatures outside ourselves.” Laudato Si #233.
Response of Gratitude
For the galaxies, the stars, the solar system which ignited into the
wonder, the beauty,vand ecstasy of the Universe. We Thank You.
For all creatures, may they open our ears and move our hearts and
teach us to contemplate and listen to the voice of each as they declare
your glory. We Thank You.
For the cries and pleas of indigenous people, women and the whole
bioverse; let us listen and hear their voices and laments; let us be
grateful for their continuing care of the earth. We Thank You.
For the Voice that is telling us what to do; the time spent in reflection
on the vastness of creation: and the gratitude for our ability to continue
to stand on this holy ground. We Thank You.
For the determination to imitate the Creator's love and care for creation
as a "brother", a "sister", a “neighbor" as we live out our growing
convictions. We Thank You.
For the resolve to promise direction and hope, commitment, and love for
the Earth and Humankind. We Thank You.
Reflection: I Will Be a Hummingbird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGMW6YWjMxw
Commitment
Have hope and firm faith in God, for God will help you in everything.
St. Angela
As a follower of Angela
and member of the Ursuline family, I promise:
~ to advocate for those
who lack the power to advocate for themselves
~ to recognize all of
God’s creation as gift and worthy of care
~ to live simply and not adopt
a consumerist mentality
~ to learn more about the true costs and advantages of the
“green economy”
~ to engage with others in specific action to improve our local
environment
~ to investigate more
about the impact of my actions on climate change
~ to spend time in nature
celebrating the wonder of creation.
Closing Prayer: God of all life, guide and strengthen us that we may truly be
co-creators and cosustainers with you. Grant us the insights and energy
to fulfill your call to us to respect, repair and renew your precious of
creation. We pray in the name of our brother Jesus and through the
intercession of Saint Angela. Amen.