Sharing Faith

Recently, I had the experience of giving a retreat. It was an opportunity to assemble a series of presentations on various aspects of faith and spirituality. I had never done any quite like this before and it was really a chance to pray with and for the group, as I prepared the materials, and then as I prepared each presentation for the group. I was a privilege to see them respond to the movements of the Spirit in and through the days we spent together. I wondered at first what I might possibly have to share and how it might be able to move the group which was quite diverse. But it was an opportunity to share my deepest beliefs about who God is and who God is for us.
Sharing faith is always an opportunity to touch my own deepest roots and discover anew the God in whom we live and move and have our being. I think that living in religious community and sharing community creates ever new opportunities to share faith and to challenge one another when we are not at our best. I can loose that fire and spirit of a vibrant spirituality. But it only takes the opportunity to share it with others, and to receive their spark and my own is re-kindled. But it is also rekindled when I have the opportunity to share with others.
It seems to me that the fire and light between us is as potent or even more potent that the fire and light within. Perhaps this is the meaning of Jesus words: wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.
--Amy

Community of Communities

I am a Sister of St. Joseph, and as such, my gravitational center is within my own community, my sisters in community. This is where I am at home. I identify with the community as together we support each another, we pray together, we rely on each other. This has always been true of religious communities. However, there is a difference today. In the past, my community was my total community and I was fairly isolated from others. Today, our communities are more permeable, we still live, work, pray and play together. At the same time, we also live, work, pray and play with other sisters and we engage with our ministries and with other communities. We sing in the parish choir, we live in an ecovillage, we engage with our ethnic group, we celebrate with our families, we network within our profession and we have countless other affinity groups. All of these relationships enrich our belonging to our primary life community. Multiple circles of relationship help us to navigate the uncertainty and fragility that integral to our lives today in our world and in our religious communities.

I am a part of my Sisters of St. Joseph community, my Sisters 2.0 community, my ecovillage community, my Black Lives Matter community, my tax-assistance community, and my family. And in ministry, as I move from place to place, I am welcomed into many different communities of sisters around the globe, as part of a global sisterhood united for community, spirituality, and justice.

We are beginning to use the term dual-citizenship to describe our membership in our own congregations and in various inter-congregational networks. We are better sisters in our home communities when we are able to engage in these wider circles of relationship. There are in fact many circles that claim our energies and that in turn support our vocation. This community of communities and this web of relationships provides mutual support and energy in the challenges that we face in our individual lives and in our communities.

UMaine women’s basketball director of operations leaving program to pursue religious vocation

ORONO, Maine — Basketball has always been an important part of Tracy Guerrette’s life.
The St. Agatha native has demonstrated her passion for the game as a player, coach and support staff member.
Yet for Guerrette, basketball takes a backseat to the most important aspect of her life — her Catholic faith.
“I’m 32, so when the Lord keeps tugging at your heart, nothing else will suffice but to give him my whole life,” Guerrette said. “He’s poured out his love into my heart so much so that I can’t help but, in turn, give him everything.” Read more....

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This is the seed of a vocation - that sense that God has poured so much love into our hearts that we can't help but give everything in love - to God, to community, in service. This is the moment when me and I and mine step out of the center and love focuses me on someone else, whether on God or on service or on another person in my life. Stepping out of the center expands my heart and my horizons and allows me to be the most loving person that God made me to be. It is always inspiring to hear this same story told, even when the names and places and details are different. It is like the same song in an infinite number of variations. Blessings on you Tracy and on everyone who takes the time to listen and respond to the call of God in their lives.

And here is a video of Sr. Sarah Heger's final vow ceremony.

In a sense the vocation story comes full circle with the profession of final vows. In another sense, final vows is the beginning of an amazing journey that is religious life. Sarah takes her place as a full member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and as a religious. She joins us on the journey of radical gospel fidelity, along with men and women from around the globe and across every century of the Christian story, right back to the time when Jesus began walking this journey with his disciples. Every profession renews the vitality of this way of life.

Peace,
Amy

A Contemplative Space: Pondering God’s mystery across faiths

The Trinity is indeed the Christian account of God. But that is not to close down the possibilities for other persons of faith sharing in God’s inner life. Indeed very much the opposite, for if God is the God who enters deep into creation and is forever shaping that creation for God’s own providential purposes, then there can be nothing and no one beyond the scope of God’s love. Read more...

Deep in the heart of the religious vocation is a spirituality that roots and grounds it. This the ever deepening source of life, community, vows and ministry. This article explores the deep contemplative space that can reach out to the God space in other religions and culture, and across the differences in community and church. It weaves together deep moments of the Catholic tradition, showing their openness to others.

Here is a sister in action - testimony of her students....

Catholic Sisters: Love in Action

This week I would like to share two touching tributes to the golden age of religious life in the US. The first is a video created by USF students highlighting their conversations with Women Religious.

What a witness to the life and work of generations of women who have lived the gospel, who have served the poor, have walked with the people of God, who have tried to go out and meet the needs of the weak and lonely.

The second is a powerful piece called: We Were Called Sister....

As we move forward imagining the emerging future of this life, we gratefully receive the blessing of these women who have gone before us. It is their witness of courage and faith that encourages us to go forward.

And finally, we have this post from a sister-blogger friend:

God Calling on Line One.... Great reflection on the call to religious life today.

Peace,
Amy

New House Forming

For some time now, I have sensed the urgency to commit to the future of religious life as it is emerging today. I have been longing for a community where we share our radical commitment to living the Gospel personally, communally and in ministry. I have been involved in many conversation circles that explore the new energy stirring among us, circles where we expressed a desire to continue the contemplative process and conversation, moving into action.
In this spirit, I am joining with others in starting an intentional community of younger women religious where we can explore this emerging future in a practical manner. Two of us are currently looking for housing, in St. Louis, probably a rental house with 4-5 bedrooms where we can begin community together. Others are interested in the project, and as the group grows, we hope to find nearby houses. Following a village model will provide some flexibility as we grow into our new reality.
This community will be the chance to move forward concretely with plans for vibrant community, simple gospel living, and commitment to spirituality and to sustainability. If this sounds like what you are looking for, let me know.
One of the keys to the project is providing a community where younger women religious can support one another in prayer, community and mission. As each of our communities ages, it becomes more and more difficult to find 
Over the past several months, in addition to networking with sisters from various congregations, I've been networking with intentional communities in the area. We have various foci: sustainability, community, spirituality, peace and justice. We also know that by sharing our journeys and networking with one another, we can all bring our dreams closer to a reality.
Links:
Giving Voice - St. Louis
St. Louis Ecovillage Network

Seeding the Future - II

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet from the youngest two generations of the congregations are meeting in Peru. Follow the conversation on the blog. Here's a sample:

Sister Mary Luz shares this around some of her reflections of our time:  Somos mujeres embarazadas de Dios, de nuestra cultura y todo lo que brota de esa experiencia es nuestra Identidad como mujeres, como religiosas, como iglesia.  Que somos diferentes y desde esa diferencia puesta en comun es una riqueza que brota para vivir en comunion respetandonos unas a otras.  Una de los desafios que encuentro es conocernos mas escribirnos mantener comunicacion con cada una para crecer en vinculos.

My translation:  We are women pregnant with God, with our cultures, and everything that flows from our experience is our identity as women, as religious, as church.  We are different, and from this difference is a commonality that is welling up to live in communion and respect with each other.  One of the challenges that I find is to write and maintain communication with each other and grow the bonds between us..... Read more

Deb Timmis:
 

A Glimpse into the Future?

 

These days here in Peru as the “newer” members of the community have been days of living our future. I am wondering if these days are not what we have been spurred on by the Core Group to pray and contemplate. If these days are a sign of what we will or can become when we are united together it fill me with joy and hope. Our differences have been many but respected. We have listened and been challenged by one another. We have grown in our capacity to say on the conversation when we have been tempted to walk away. Ever present in our minds, hearts and in reality has been our dear neighbor, especially those most in need. For me, visiting and speaking with the people of Canto Chico has been a highlight of this trip. We asked ourselves what can we do to create a more balanced, just world.

 

In all of this: our conversation, journeying, prayer and sharing, I wonder if we are not birthing the future. I ask myself,” How will I, how will each member create the life conditions among us that will be transformative for the future?”