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!

Easter Sunday

 

Happy Easter!!!!

We wish you a very blessed Easter.

We are overjoyed that today is the day our Lord has risen.

 Jesus has paved the way for our salvation.

May God bless you and all those you love this Easter and always. 

Let your light shine forth to the rest of the world.

Palm Sunday

 

Today we commemorate the day Jesus rode triumphally into Jerusalem as we begin Holy Week. May this week be richly blessed for all.

On the outskirts of Jerusalem
the donkey waited.
Not especially brave, or filled with understanding,
he stood and waited.

How horses, turned out into the meadow,
   leap with delight!
How doves, released from their cages,
   clatter away, splashed with sunlight.

But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited.
Then he let himself be led away.
Then he let the stranger mount.

Never had he seen such crowds!
And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.
Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.

I hope, finally, he felt brave.
I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him,
as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.

+ Mary Oliver

Fifth Sunday of Lent

 

Today we mark the fifth Sunday of Lent.  These days have gone very quickly. During this Lenten season, Jesus continues to show us that God is full of mercy and forgiveness. God looks beyond our faults and sees what we need. All of us need God’s love which is everlasting no matter what.

In our Gospel today we hear the familiar story of the woman accused of adultery being brought to Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus knew what was behind them bringing her before Him.  They brought the woman but where was her partner as it takes two to tango.  He was nowhere to be found.  At this point we see Jesus bend down and start writing in the sand.  What was He writing?  Was he writing down the names of those present?  Was He writing down their individual sins down?  As Jesus writes they begin to leave one by one, dropping their stones as they left.  Jesus extends mercy and forgiveness to all.

Our loving God knows us at our deepest level.  God knows our strengths and abilities. God knows limitations and weaknesses but always offers mercy as his gift to us all. When we look back over our lives and how far we have come, we know that it must have been the hands of God that saved us from ourselves.

I remember being on retreat once and the director invited me to take a walk on the beach and sit with this Gospel.  As I did so she had given me an exercise to do where I was invited to write in the sand all the things I wanted to surrender to God.  It did not take long to write in the sand.  The hard part came when the next direction was to read the list I had written and then move my hand over it and erase it all symbolizing leaving it with God.  It was a most powerful exercise that I have gone back to many times in my life.  What I learned from this exercise was the abundant love and mercy of God.

Perhaps today is a good day to look at the reality that God’s love surrounds us, and God knows us better than we know ourselves.  God’s love for us is everlasting and will never change.  Let us drop our stones and live in the love and mercy of our God.