communitas et caritas

Well, it has taken me a month, but I think I'm finally ready to write about making my first vows!  I'm really not sure why it's taken so long, except that I was traveling, moved, and started a new job in that one short month, so I've been distracted and busy! The day was beautiful--but a sweltering 104 degrees.  Thank you, St Louis!  My poor Montana family might have died, but, fortunately, everything is air-conditioned.  The celebration took place in St Charles, Missouri, at the Shrine of St Philippine Duchesne, the Religious of the Sacred Heart who brought the order to America in 1818.  The chapel was beautiful, as you can see in the pictures, and I think everyone was very happy to be there.  My whole family came, my one sibling and his family, my parents, and my two living grandparents (I'm sure the others were with us, too).   I'm really happy.  That must be a good sign.  At the same time, I'm struggling with the transiti...

So that I don't seem too negligent in keeping this blog updated... I have a bit of good news!  I have been approved to make first vows!  Woohoo!  They will be in July in St Charles, Missouri, at the Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne!  I'm very happy.  And second piece... today I begin a 30-day Ignatian retreat...so the silence will be intentional for awhile!  Please say a little prayer for the Society of the Sacred Heart and for peace in our world! Good bye until June.  May God bless all who come here.

I had the great honor to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at the University of San Diego yesterday.  He is charming and funny--and so wise.  At the core of his message, he says that each of us should get to know our own mind, and choose to feel compassion and respect for others, instead of anger, hatred, and fear.  By choosing these positive things, our actions bring about happiness in ourselves, and peace in our world. He said that anger and hatred are things that we can choose not to feel, because they come from within, while things that harm us from the outside are not things we can choose.  That seems like a good reminder.  Yet, he also said that it doesn't mean he doesn't get angry--that we are all human.  But we can cultivate a peaceful mind, and that will make us happier than any material possession would. He was asked about the most difficult situations in our present world, and he named several (Syria above all).  He says he...

Giving Voice January 2012 Last weekend, eighteen young women religious from (I think) fifteen different congregations came together in Phoenix.  We talked about our lives, our hopes and dreams, our sorrows, and just shared our stories with each other and with God.  We have much in common, and yet we have very different lives.  Part of the beauty of the group is the many ways we go about God's work.  The many different charisms of our different religious orders share that one goal: seeking God's kingdom.  I love that! This was the prayer center we created.  We each painted a votive holder. Another sister who was there shared the details of the weekend on her blog, The Life of a New Sister , and so I'll send you to her to read that.  She also posted the poem that we worked from all weekend, Edwina Gateley's "The Sharing" -- lovely! Another joy of the weekend for me was the road trip!  I was the only one of the 18 who w...

I've been meaning to post here for ages, but time just got away from me.  December has been a whirlwind month for me.  The last weeks of school are always crazy, and I moved (literally all the way across the country) on Christmas eve.  Now I'm finally catching up on sleep and finishing my unpacking.  Plus, I'm catching up on California sunshine! Since yesterday was the feast of St. John the Evangelist, I've been thinking about the beginning of the Gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. image from BC's Trinity Chapel, which used  to be part of a Sacred Heart college for women All semester, my tenth-grade students were asking me HOW ...

The great church season of Advent has arrived.  It always makes me happy.  I've prepared a meager little Advent "wreath" in my prayer corner with stuff I found around the house.  I think I need to find a few more things, but the light is most important, and that has been established! Advent is one of the most wonderful seasons in our church. The expectant waiting, hope, joy, preparations--all are pregnant with God's love for us, just as we celebrate Mary's pregnancy, bringing the Christ Child into the world. I've been thinking about how I will teach Advent this week, to both eighth and tenth graders.  Such fun!  I found a book that reflects on Advent and Christmas music, and I think I will be using that.  (It's called O Come Emmanuel: A Musical Tour of Daily Readings for Advent and Christmas by Gordon Giles.)  It gives me a reason to listen to Advent music a bit today.  What I really want my students to begin to see is the myster...

Happy Feast!  I'm traveling today, so I don't have much time...but a blog post in pictures to celebrate one of my favorite saints!