We Would Love
to Keep in Touch!
Spirituality of Acceptance
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| Sister Jan Craven, Sister of Providence |
“You just get up and go and keep living… It’s the best thing to do!” “There’s only one way: take each day as it comes!”
One might think I just finished walking through the corporate headquarters of Nike, but no, I was sauntering through Lourdes Hall, our assisted living area at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence.
After visiting four sisters and asking them how they cope with their own aging and health issues, how they cope with all the losses in their lives, the words out of my mouth are, “‘What are you, O God, going to give me today?’ and I start my day and before you know it, I have my answer,” said Sister Mildred “Millie” Giesler. On all words above pretty well summed up their spirit: just do it, but do it with the grace of God!
What is the connection between one’s own spirituality and one’s ability to accept the inevitability of poor health and diminishment? When talking about this article exploring how people’s spirituality assists them in accepting diminishment, illness and loss in their lives, Sister Jeanne Knoerle referenced our foundress, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: “In Mother Theodore’s life, the spirituality of love and the spirituality of acceptance seemed closely intertwined.” Each sister I visited said the same thing, using different words: only love transforms!
Customs of Faith
There are some customs which have been “absorbed” over time which are very much alive and well in various cultures. A few days ago a son told me that whenever his mother (of Irish background) dropped a knife, fork or spoon, she would immediately do her ritual and say, “Wipe it off, kiss it, (lift it) up to God and spit in the devil’s face.” Both he and I laughed heartily about it but it struck a cord in me. No Easy Answers
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| Cross of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambéry |
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| Rear view of motherhouse. Space is abundant but ill-suited to the needs of senior members and expensive to maintain. |
First, Walk A Mile in His Shoes
Pope Benedict on Reconciliation in Africa
From the time of the very first sin, from the earliest days of Adam and Eve’s sin as well as the event of Cain slaying Abel, humanity has been in search of true reconciliation, true recovery from sin. Notably St. Paul’s struggle with the Christian community of Corinth brought forth a basic theology of reconciliation that has spurred Christian spiritual writers down through the centuries to reflect on God’s gift of reconciliation and how we can participate in that very challenging quest for forgiveness, unity and final peace.Workers for the Harvest
One day Jesus said to his disciples: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38) and we will never be the same. This was Jesus’ description of the important missionary work of his disciples. Aging in Place, Living Happy Lives
I am an aging priest in an aging Catholic Religious Order, living in Attleboro, MA, at the La Salette National Shrine. I share the gifts, problems and concerns of any other family, large or small. I love and am concerned about those with whom I live – their health and happiness (as well as my own). When someone expresses a new need, I with my other housemates, try to respond and be helpful. We genuinely care for each other.Becoming the “We Generation”
For those who love labels, they have names for various generations, including the G.I. Generation (1900-1924), the Silent Generation (1925-1945), the Baby Boomer Generation (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1979) and finally Generation Y (1980-2000). The members of Generation X are readily characterized by their self-absorption and Generation Y by their “material greed.” How would we be described?The KISS Principle
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| Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. |
Within the realm of faith, there are similar basic statements that can illuminate the purpose of our life with great but profound simplicity. Mother Teresa of Calcutta encourages us to be aware that when many people do good things, marvelous deeds can be accomplished. She said: “What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”
Words to Live By
The La Salette Missionaries have a formation house in Washington, DC, in the northeast area of the city, a poorer part of the city. Whenever I go down for a meeting or a visit, I try to get out to see some of the sights, sometimes a museum, at other times something new.
Just after the opening of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, I went to do “the tourist thing” but I was pleasantly surprised how uplifting and touching my experience was. On a beautifully pleasant summer day I went with a few other La Salettes and we walked through the new memorial nestled on the shores of the Tidal Basin, the sight of the yearly Cherry Blossom Festival. I remember my mother telling me about the Depression years and World War II but I was far too young to remember. Now it was my turn to learn about my country and “the days that try men’s souls.”