News & Notes: March 27, 2012

March 27, 2012

 

Dear Parents,

 

God’s peace!

We are nearing Holy Week …a sacred time when we are called to walk through the passion of Christ from Palm Sunday, to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.  These are truly the holiest of days… we celebrate all that Christ has done for us… and as we reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus we are often drawn into His passion through our own experiences of dying and rising.  Each of us is to be Christ to one another… each of us has the grace to recognize Christ in the Word of the Gospels, in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, and in the hearts of those who long to be one with God.

This past weekend my sister and nephews attended a Christian concert by a group called Casting Crowns.  I wasn’t familiar with their music, so I began to ask my nephew what he liked about the band and their music.  He shared with me his favorite song, “Jesus, Friend of Sinners,” so I decided to find the lyrics online and listen to what had captured my nephew’s interest.  One line seemed to speak to me more than all the others…  The song begins… “Jesus, Friend of Sinners, we have strayed so far away, we cut down people in your name, but the sword was never ours to sway.  The truth becomes so hard to see…”  and  then the lyrics that touched me… “The world is on their way to you but they’re tripping over me.”   Imagine!  Each of us has the power to bring another nearer to Christ…and yet, so often … on our way to the one who is everything for us… others trip over us because of our bad examples…our negative words and attitudes…and our lack of enthusiasm for God’s way.

When Gandhi was asked why he was not a Christian even though so much of what he did reflected the gospels, he replied simply, that “I’d become a Christian if I ever met a real one.”  In the Scriptures it tells us that others will know we are Christians by how much we love one another.  It is easy to look beyond the shores of our country… the boundaries of our cities…the limits of our workplaces…to judge the unchristian behavior of those who take lives…destroy reputations…and carelessly deceive others…but what of my example?  What do I do to influence others to grow nearer to the Heart of God?

I suspect the best we can do to bring others to Christ is to live justly, kindly and lovingly.  The other day I shared with our Kindergarten students a short video I found on You Tube. The video simply witnessed everyday people doing simple acts of kindness in an effort to help someone else, and that one small act of kindness was enough to inspire someone else to do the same.  We had quite an interesting discussion in the Kindergarten room that day…and the challenge was offered… what if we could find ways to do small things for others?  What would happen?  These young children responded simply…  “Well,  I guess we’d change the world.”

What if this were true?  That one small act of kindness could move the heart of another and set him or her on the path to seeking the one who is love…whose every act was done for the sake of the other?  If this were true… would you do it?  Christ modeled for us this giving of self that we might in turn do the same, and in our kindness and compassion others might see Christ alive in us.

As we reflect on Christ’s passion, death and resurrection these next days, let us join our life experiences to His, that we might truly be Christ for one another.

May every grace be yours as we join our lives with the life of Christ and recognize in His ways… an example of how we are called to live our lives.

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

 

I invite you to take five minutes out of your busy day and click onto this link… be inspired by these simple acts of kindness and be inspired to do the same!

News & Notes: March 20, 2012

March 20, 2012

 

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

I have been reflecting of late on the Providence of God.  How often do we assign happenings, events and actions to God’s will or providence? I I image that in some cases we are accurate in recognizing God’s presence in daily events… and at other times… although we might assign these things to God… they really aren’t his.

In Scripture we read that “God’s ways are not our ways…” then how do we know what God’s ways are?  I find there are times in my life when I think ( and at times I am so bold to say “I know”) what God wants for me.  If I am honest, I may well be substituting what God truly wants for me for what I truly want for me.  I used to think that God turned life upside down at times…but nothing could be further from the truth.

If I am really in tune with God, then I am open to all that comes to me on any given day… I am responsive to others and to each situation as God would be… decisions made with this stance are always seeking for the true good of the other.  This is not always an “easy” way to respond… but it is the “right” way.

Here at St. Rita School we take learning seriously.  Certainly learning takes place in Religion, Mathematics, Reading,

Social Studies and other formal classes, but learning is even more important in experiencing “life” outside of the classroom.  I cringe when I hear that going to the principal’s office is a punishment… I don’t view it that way at all.  When a student makes a bad choice it’s an opportunity to learn… to recognize the wrong… to work to make up for it…and to find the strength and wisdom to choose the right the next time.  Sometimes this process has to repeat itself… learning is like that… some get it the first time…for others… it may seem more like “again and again.”

Consequence is one of our best teachers.  Some consequences are natural… I attempt to climb to a top shelf on a rickety make-shift ladder and I fall… the result… a broken leg.  Other consequences don’t flow as easily from cause to effect, but they should be just as natural.  When I said “huh” or “yeah” as a kid my parents, teachers or other adults called me on it… and after what must have seemed a very long time… I learned.  There were other consequences in my life that weren’t so “gentle”… Trying to jump onto a moving train car could have resulted in a natural consequence (my mother threatened me with the possibility of death…) but when I was caught doing this it resulted in having more time inside the house (while others enjoyed the great outdoors) so I could ponder my disobedience.  When I lied to my brother I was called on it… In my house my parents never uttered… “kids will be kids”… for my mother and father knew that if their expectation was that this lying or disrespect was “innate” or was to be expected…I would grow into adulthood without learning what was right and what was acceptable.

When we find ourselves in a quandary over what to do… how to respond…we must turn to “God’s ways” and we can do this only by being in sync with him.  Prayer is our way of growing in relationship with God.  We seek His ways through the example of his encounters with others… and through our reflection on our ways.

During these last days of Lent, perhaps we might find time to pick up Scripture and reflect on how Jesus responded to the events in his life.  If we can grow in understanding His ways… then we will be better at living ours… We may not have the power to make the blind man see… but we can help our children to recognize the truth… we may not be able to turn water into wine… but we can patiently encourage our children and guide them so that they “turn from what is evil and learn to do good”.

May every blessing be yours as we continue our Lenten journey…

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

News & Notes: March 13, 2012

March 13, 2012

 

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

This week we will gather as a school community to celebrate the charism of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that first stirred the heart of Clelia Merloni who founded this religious congregation. The Holy Spirit is truly the one who moves in and through us… and the Spirit is the one who evokes a passionate response to God’s great gift of love.  When this response is experienced by many… we often see it manifested as charism.

When we speak of charisma we speak of being drawn to someone for reasons of personality or traits of character.  Charism tends to draw people by means of the same shared Spirit.  I was blessed to attend Cor Jesu Academy (Sacred Heart Academy) in St. Louis, Mo.  As a junior in high school I felt something “stir within me.”  At that time I wasn’t quite sure what that “stirring” was(and to be honest… I initially wanted no part of it!)  When people asked me why I considered a religious vocation, I said simply that the sisters who taught me (Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) had something I wanted.  At the time I didn’t quite know what that “something” was… but as I journeyed through religious life I discovered that what I recognized in these sisters was a specific charism… a love for God manifested in a special way for the good of all… for the same Spirit that moved the hearts of these sisters now moved my own heart

Clelia was the first to know this specific call.  Her life was one of great joys and great sorrows.  She suffered loss at a young age… she knew betrayal in many forms… she was abandoned… accused falsely and eventually was denied a place in the congregation of sisters she formed.  In the midst of all these painful experiences she held fast to the hope that this was what God asked of her…and God was the source of her great peace and joy.  Clelia was to offer the living of her life for the life of many.

Because her willingness to be open to the movement of God’s spirit… the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were born as a religious community.  Today Clelia’s spirit is reflected in the lives of her sisters who serve the Heart of Christ in service to God’s people.

Clelia was quite the apostle…but rather than placing her and other saints on pedestals that put them out of reach… we must recognize that their examples call us not to imitate them… but rather to become who we really are…God’s beloved. (just as they did!)

I am not Clelia… I’m her daughter… and like daughters of other mothers I might share a characteristic or two, but how these characteristics are manifested is distinctive.  As Clelia was open to God’s spirit moving in and through her everyday experience, I must do the same.

I invite you to join our school community in celebrating this life of commitment to God’s heart.  Each of us has this same Spirit calling us to respond to all that is before us.  Perhaps the Spirit might move some among us to follow Clelia’s charism through a commitment to religious life… in living a devoted married life…or in chosing to live a faith-filled single life.

May each of us be open to the Heart of Christ who loves us without measure!

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

News & Notes: March 6, 2012

March 6, 2012

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

Last week we reflected on some aspects of celebrating Sabbath.  I thought I might take this opportunity to continue this reflection from a different perspective.  Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, omi, shared a story that highlights the power and the necessity of celebrating Sabbath.  The story begins with two married couples who took a week’s vacation together in a place that was secluded… and warm!  They enjoyed good food and good wine… good conversation… swimming… touring… and simply relaxing with little thought of work and all that was happening back home.  On their return one of the husbands found himself in conversation with Fr. Rolheiser…he shared with him his experience of vacation as well as his experience of his return.  “Father, we had the best of times… good food, good drink, good conversation…just relaxing and enjoying each others’ company…that’s what the week was!  And now… it’s only a few days since my return and I’m exhausted… what’s with that?”  Fr. Rolheiser smiled and asked… “In the midst of this great time… did you spend any time letting go of resentments or forgiving anyone?”  The man was stymied… “Let go of resentments?  Forgive someone?  What does this have to do with vacation?”  Rolheiser reflected back to the man that vacation is a “Sabbath” experience… and if that Sabbath experience is to have a lasting impact it must include “letting go of all that binds us.”

How often have we gone on vacation (or even on retreat) and given a thought to this aspect of Sabbath?  Holding resentments and failing to forgive wearies us far more than work or hurry.  Even if our clinging to resentment is not foremost in our thoughts, it’s there…draining our energy…weighing on us.  If we let go of all that holds us bound… we are truly free… and after all that’s why Jesus came… to set us free!!!

As we journey throughout Lent, perhaps we can take the time to reflect on resentments that we hold as well as those people we need to forgive (for what they have done to us or for what we “think” they have done).  We must first allow these resentments to surface  (some reside very close to the surface while others are buried under years and years of cobwebbed memories).

Even as we do spring cleaning in our homes…perhaps we need to do some spring cleaning of soul…

Let us pray for one another as we continue to seek…to find…to be set free!

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

2012 Archbishop’s Annual Appeal

This month, after years of study, 8 men are being ordained to the priesthood. During their years of preparation for this vocation, they were supported by family and friends – and by everyone who made a gift to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. When you make a gift to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, you help meet the cost of priestly formation and education, since a portion of the Appeal funds are used for this purpose. Please support our seminarians by making a gift to the Annual Appeal today.

K of C Council #14664 Events Calendar

News & Notes: February 28, 2012

February 28, 2012

 

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

 

Last Wednesday we began our Lenten journey as we were signed with ashes and told to “Repent and believe the Good News.”  During our break last week I had the luxury of taking some extra time to anticipate this time of greater prayer, penance and almsgiving.  I viewed a DVD of Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, who spoke of the importance of Sabbath in our lives.  For some reason Sabbath has been a focus of mine throughout my adult life.  Some might think me a slow learner…for the concept of Sabbath seems to be simple enough…for isn’t Sabbath simply not working?  Would that it would be that easy…not only in concept but in reality as well.

 

I find it interesting that one of the commandments commands us (isn’t that what a commandment is? …a command? not a suggestion…not a response of “if you have the time”…)  to keep holy the Sabbath.  This command is no less important than coveting our neighbor’s wife or goods… no less important than not stealing…  God did not highlight or put in bold letters a few of the commandments relegating the others to secondary importance.  So… with this in mind… I began to ponder the importance of Sabbath.

 

The commandments were not written “in time.”  Since it was God’s wisdom that created them… the grace and guidance they hold reaches far beyond the time in which they were given to us… So let’s look at why the Sabbath is so important.

 

Sabbath is a time of doing what is “un-ordinary” as Rolheiser shares.  It’s a time to be engaged in something we don’t normally do the other six days.  There is always the perennial question that follows something like this… “Can I cut grass on the Sabbath?”  Perhaps the best answer to this question is not a “yes” or “no” but rather… If your job is to cut grass throughout the week… then on Sabbath you “rest” from this type of activity.  If I sit behind a desk all week doing accounting… then I am called to “rest” from accounting on the Sabbath.  The wisdom of this approach is not to punish, but rather to call us to rest… to revive… to breathe deeply… to step back…

 

Sabbath provides us with more time to spend with family… friends… and more time to focus on giving thanks to God… primarily in the Eucharist.  One day a week we are called to recognize in a real way, that “God is God and I am not.”  The world will not end (not even our corner of it) if we do something different… less frenzied… and simply give time to “be with” others, ourselves, God.

 

If we would like to venture into a greater awareness of Sabbath we might even find Sabbath in our daily lives.  It might take the form of savoring a good glass of wine … time spent in conversation with a good friend… listening to a favorite piece of music… taking a walk…sitting in quiet prayer… or perhaps simply taking a moment to recognize the sky’s grandeur on a clear morning.

 

We need Sabbath for our physical lives as well as our spiritual lives.  THAT is why God commanded us to keep it holy…sacred.  To live without Sabbath in our lives condemns us to perpetual, senseless motion.  It robs us of living a reflective life that provides us with “prosperity of soul”.   It leads us to believe that we are essential to all we do… that we are in control of all for which we are responsible… in essence… that we are God.

 

Perhaps this Lent we might engage in getting in better touch with the meaning of Sabbath.  Slowing down… taking time to do something “un-ordinary”… reveling in time spent with others, ourselves and God.  Sabbath is a choice we make…   Let’s make it.

 

Let’s pray for one another.

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

News & Notes: February 14, 2012

February 14, 2012

 

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

 

I would imagine after almost five years that the reflections written might repeat themselves from time to time… but then I remember a line from the Old Testament that reminds me that “there is nothing new under the sun!”  Same lessons learned… same truths known…but different experiences portray what we have learned and known as life carries on.

Last evening I met with one of our sisters to discuss a meeting we need to prepare for during the summer months.  (It sound pretty important, but the reality is we’re the “entertainment committee”… so not very serious!)  We decided to meet somewhere for dinner, and the place was determined by a gift certificate I was blessed to receive.

As we began to enjoy our dinner and talked of our summer plans for the meeting, the hostess visited our table to let us know that some generous soul had picked up our bill…not only that…but someone else wanted to pick it up and was disappointed that it had already been paid! (Imagine!)   As a result he paid for gift certificates for our next visit to the restaurant.  We thanked both kind people for their kindness to us… and in speaking to the gentleman who gave us the gift certificates (Joe), he shared with us his pride in being a part of a project that he helped to create.  The project was building a small school in the poorest section of Jamaica.  Joe began to speak of friends who boasted of more visible feats of valor… being a part of large building projects… donating large sums of money and receiving recognition… endowing multimillion dollar projects… but as Joe began to share his experiences his eyes lit up when the conversation turned to Raymond, a three year old boy he met in Jamaica.  Raymond didn’t speak.  Although surrounded by plenty of active children, Raymond kept to himself and didn’t respond verbally to any question or in response to any need.  Joe found this curious, so he made arrangements to have Raymond’s hearing checked.  The results were just as Joe suspected… Raymond was deaf.  Joe didn’t stop with this diagnosis.  He made arrangements to have Raymond checked out by the best.  Because of Joe’s persistence and his generosity, Raymond went through surgery to correct some of his hearing loss. This surgery coupled with hearing aids allowed Raymond to hear…and eventually to speak for the first time.

Joe glowed as he spoke of Raymond.  “He’s nine now… and he can speak!  This is the greatest of all accomplishments… to know that I could help to make a deaf boy hear.” This delight must have been what Christ experienced when he healed the deaf…and last night I glimpsed Christ’s face mirrored in Joe’s… I am certain of this.

Some may be called to fashion large buildings… make sizeable donations… influence thousands of people… but Joe simply found a way to share his abundance by influencing others through education and through following a hunch when it came to opening a whole new world to a little deaf boy.

What are we called to do?  If we’ve been given great wealth perhaps we are called to find ways to share it with those who have little…  If we’ve been given talents perhaps we are called to share them with others so as to enrich their lives … If we have been given the gift to listen… to make others laugh… to share wisdom…then we are called to share these with others as well.  Each of us has been given so very much…  what if we were more like Joe and thought of others first and ourselves well after that?

Although Joe provided us with a meal last night… he provided us with so very much more… he shared with us nourishment for the soul…and stirred in our hearts the need to do more…

When I shared this story with others… most were amazed at having the tab picked up… for me…however, I was most in awe of one man’s dedication to making the lives of others richer… one education… one small boy… at a time.

May we all seek ways to enrich the lives of others… one small gesture at a time.

Know all of us at St. Rita School remain grateful for the many kindnesses we have received from each of you.  May the sacred heart of Christ bless you with abundance today and every day!

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

News & Notes: February 7, 2012

February 7, 2012

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

As I was considering this week’s topic, I found myself reflecting on a photograph I took a time ago.  It was a picture of an old barn door with a lock on one side and a handle to open and close the door on the other.  I wondered about the message this simple snap shot might hold.  For me, (at least on this particular day) it spoke of hearts… certainly mine…and perhaps yours.  We tend to lock our hearts up now and then… we choose who we will respond to and who will be left out.  We close ourselves in at times in fear of being “found out” (whatever that means)… and there are moments when I wish even God would not enter into my heart of hearts.  In spending time with this photo I noticed that the handle was worn… apparently the result of being open often.  Isn’t this true of our hearts?  We open them wide and then when hurt…we retreat into ourselves and lock our heart-doors… in an attempt to never be hurt or disappointed again…but then… something near miraculous happens.  Something coaxes us out of the fortresses we’ve built.  It might be a kind word… a gesture that encourages…an expression of gratitude… a smile…something genuine.  We then become courageous enough to unlock the fetters and risk again.

This photo also held another image… two shafts of wood separated the lock and the handle.  The wood formed a simple cross.  The horizontal beam joined both lock and handle.  Perhaps there is some wisdom here.  We can’t often open the door of our hearts without the grace that Christ so longs to give us.  The true victory of the cross is not that all is alleluia… but rather that pain and hardship are not the end… the story is not over… the “going through” or “opening up” results in resurrection… in alleluia (and how glorious that is)!  This is not a one time life occurrence, however.  Time and time again we put on the heart-lock and then…with God’s grace… we are brave enough to swing open the door to risk again.

As we anticipate Valentine’s Day, perhaps we can go beyond the glittery cards and the tufted candy boxes and truly reflect on what lies deepest in our hearts.   St. Valentine helped to encourage those soon to be martyred.  He gave hope to those who faced the most tragic of ends…an end that he would soon see himself.  He was imprisoned by his captors, but refused to imprison his own heart.

What causes us to close our hearts?  What must we break free of to live heart-free?  How can we ask God to free us from all that closes us in?

A blessed day of hearts…

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

News & Notes: January 31, 2012

January 31, 2012

 

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

Did you ever have the experience of having heard or seen something over and over again… and yet you didn’t really hear or see it?  I have driven by certain spots every day…and suddenly…I notice a sign… a landmark…something that has been there (at least as long as I have driven past it) and yet today… I notice it for the first time.  Why now?  Why on this particular day?  I have also had the occasion to watch a film only to get in the middle of it… and realize…that I had seen the film before (and ironically I don’t remember the ending!)  Is this simply a side effect of growing older?  Perhaps aging has something to do with this phenomenon, but I think it’s more than that.  For me, I know it’s as simple as not consciously living in the present moment.

If I am not living in the present moment, then where am I living?  I only have the grace to live here…now.  I don’t have the grace to re-enter yesterday’s experiences and relive them… I don’t have the grace to make decisions about tomorrow because God is not in tomorrow yet and neither am I.  The Scriptures were wise in telling us not to worry about tomorrow because today has worries of its own.  I heard it said that worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.

Last week I was listening to a CD that I have listened to often.  Suddenly I really heard what was being said.  At the end of a particular part of the CD I pushed repeat so I could listen to it again… and each morning this week I have played it on the way to school.  The CD held a simple prayer… a prayer that might begin each day… for all of us.  Perhaps you might have the occasion to pray this prayer too…right here…right now…with the grace of this moment…

“Mend my heart, O God, from the wounds of many yesterdays.  Heal my body so that I might serve you in grace and holiness.  Lift up my soul where I have been worn down by discouragement and anxiety.  Give me hope to have a fresh beginning today.  Fill me with a greater awareness of your presence so that I may stand and walk with a little more confidence, courage, love and serenity.  Help me to be a person of compassion and understanding so that something of my life may soothe the wounds of those whose paths I cross today.  I thank you God for this day in which to know you through your love incarnate, Jesus Christ.”

If you prayed this prayer and have let the words ruminate within you… what is left to do is the most difficult of challenges… to live what you have prayed.  We do, however, have the grace to do this… not yesterday…not tomorrow… but today in this particular moment…now.

May we live each day of our lives, and may we truly see and hear what is before us in this moment…

 

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

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