Memorial Day

Today we commemorate Memorial Day. Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Let us pray this day for all who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

With Gratitude and Honor

Gracious God, on this Memorial Day weekend, we remember and give thanks for those who have given their lives in the service of our country. When the need was greatest, they stepped forward and did their duty to defend the freedoms that we enjoy, and to win the same for others. O God, you yourself have taught us that no love is greater than that which gives itself for another. These honored dead gave the most precious gift they had, life itself, for loved ones and neighbors, for comrades and country – and for us. 

Help us to honor their memory by caring for the family members they have left behind, by ensuring that their wounded comrades are properly cared for, by being watchful caretakers of the freedoms for which they gave their lives, and by demanding that no other young men and women follow them to a soldier’s grave unless the reason is worthy, and the cause is just. Holy One, help us to remember that freedom is not free. There are times when its cost is, indeed, dear. Never let us forget those who paid so terrible a price to ensure that freedom would be our legacy. Though their names may fade with the passing of generations, may we never forget what they have done. Help us to be worthy of their sacrifice, O God, help us to be worthy. J. Veltri, SJ

 

Hymn for the Hurting

May 27, 2022

Credit...Angie Wang

By Amanda Gorman

Ms. Gorman is a poet and the author of “The Hill We Climb,” “Call Us What We Carry” and “Change Sings.”

Everything hurts,

Our hearts shadowed and strange,

Minds made muddied and mute.

We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.

And yet none of it is new;

We knew it as home,

As horror,

As heritage.

Even our children

Cannot be children,

Cannot be.

Everything hurts.

It’s a hard time to be alive,

And even harder to stay that way.

We’re burdened to live out these days,

While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.

This alarm is how we know

We must be altered —

That we must differ or die,

That we must triumph or try.

Thus while hate cannot be terminated,

It can be transformed

Into a love that lets us live.

May we not just grieve, but give:

May we not just ache, but act;

May our signed right to bear arms

Never blind our sight from shared harm;

May we choose our children over chaos.

May another innocent never be lost.

Maybe everything hurts,

Our hearts shadowed & strange.

But only when everything hurts

May everything change.

Sixth Sunday of Easter

 

Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.  Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.  “I have told you this while I am with you.  The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.  You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.  If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.   John 14: 24-29

Today we celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter. During this special season we are invited to focus our attention on the Risen Lord and the hope that He has brought upon all Christians, the hope of everlasting life and true happiness with God. It is a time for us to rediscover our faith in Him and for us to return to our roots.

The Lord welcomes us all to follow Him, to be His disciples and followers. He calls us all to walk in His path, and He has taught us how to do so, through what we have heard in our Gospel passage today. In His own words, He said that we ought to keep His words and teachings and accept His truth wholeheartedly. That is what He expected us to do with our lives, as Christians, as His disciples and followers, and as His beloved people. All of us have to remain firm in following His path and not be easily distracted by the many temptations and pressures of the world and keep our focus on Him and not on other things.

There is a story of a young boy who saw a caterpillar struggling to break out of its chrysalis.  In an attempt to free the caterpillar, the boy went and got a knife and ever so carefully cut the chrysalis open.  The caterpillar did not live, and the boy was disheartened.  The caterpillar did not survive as it needed the struggle to free itself from the chrysalis to live.  In many ways the same is true of our faith.  We need to struggle for it to grow and strengthen. Like the caterpillar our faith continues to growth throughout our lives.

Let us do our best to inspire others to follow the Lord and to believe in Him, instead of pushing them away from Him by our arrogance, pride, or self-righteousness. Instead, let us show the path to the Lord by sharing His love and compassion, His mercy and grace by our actions, at all times. May God bless us all and our every action, for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore.

Prayer for the Ukraine

Watching the news one cannot helped to be moved by the reality of what is happening in Ukraine.  So many people have reached out to help in whatever way they can.  One of the ways everyone can reach out is in prayer.  When I was looking for a prayer for the Ukraine I came across this prayer for peace from Toronto.  May we continue to pray for peace and safety for all.

God of infinite mercy and goodness, with grateful hearts we pray to you today for Peace. You offer us your peace continually (Jn.14:27) and constantly remind us that peacemakers are blessed, “for they shall be called children of God” (Mt.5:9). May your voice resound in the hearts of all, as you call us to follow the path of reconciliation and peace, and to be merciful as you are merciful.

We pray to you for the people of Ukraine who are experiencing conflicts and deaths. Bless the leaders with wisdom, vision and perseverance needed to build together a world of justice and solidarity, and to break down walls of hostility and division.

 

To you we entrust all families and pray that they may never yield to discouragement and despair, but become heralds of new hope to one another in this challenging time.

 

May you continue to inspire all of us to oneness of heart and mind, to work generously for the common good, to respect the dignity of every person and the fundamental rights which have their origin in the image and likeness of God impressed upon every human being.

 

Grant eternal rest to the dead and quick recovery to the wounded, we pray through Christ our Lord, Amen!

 

As we celebrate Mother’s Day today let us pray…

 Good and Gentle God,

We pray in gratitude for our mothers who have joined with you in the wonder of bringing forth new life. You who became human through a woman, grant to all mothers the courage they need to face the uncertain future that life with children always brings.

Give them the strength to live and to be loved in return, not perfectly, but humanly.

Give them the faithful support of family and friends as they care for the physical and spiritual growth of their children.

Give them joy and delight in their children to sustain them through the trials of motherhood. Most of all, give them the wisdom to turn to you for help when they need it most.

Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter

 

On this third Sunday of Easter, Jesus continues to reveal himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything.  Jesus encourages them even though they did not catch any fish. He told them to cast their nets on the other side.  Listening to Jesus, they caught an abundance of fish. 

The disciples had to be emotionally and physically exhausted.  Yet, they listened to Jesus’ command to “cast their nets on the other side.”  Listening to Jesus and recognizing him is the first step.  We are called to renew our faith even amid feelings of emptiness and exhaustion.  Our living faith helps us move from doubt to confidence in the Lord who loves us beyond all imagining. 

As I look back on my own life, I realize that Jesus accepts me where I am and encourages me to keep growing and developing my own relationship with Him.  I am continually called to a deeper more mature faith.  Jesus heals, strengthens, and forgives.  I know in my heart that God is always providing opportunities for me to recognize His love and compassion.  The saying, “God is good all the time, and all the time God is good” comes to mind. 

After the meal, Jesus begins speaking to Simon Peter. Jesus and the other disciples remembered Peter’s denial of Jesus. However, in this conversation with Peter, many scholars believe that Jesus forgives him. In the same way that Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  I wonder how Peter felt being asked by Jesus three times.  Did he feel not worthy, not trusted, or simply awful?  Let us remember that following Jesus in a life of service we find our way to grow closer to God.  May we always remember God’s abundant love for us.

Celebrating Jubilee

 

Yesterday we celebrated the Jubilees of fourteen member of our Province.  We have not been able to have this celebration for the past two years, due to Covid 19 so we honored 2020, 2021, and 2022.  In total the sisters combined for a total of 815 years of religious profession.  For these sisters the witness of their fidelity has spanned three for seventy years, eight for sixty years, two for fifty years, and one for twenty-five years.  What an amazing witness of fidelity and trust in the promises of God.

The celebration was enhanced by the fact that we had a dear friend of the Ursuline Sisters was our celebrant.  Adding to the festivities was the presence of some of our Associates.  The theme of this Jubilee was “How can I keep from Singing.”  And sing we did.  It was a real celebration of this special group of women.  We are so grateful for their dedication and service and wish them Ad multos anos!