Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality Committee Meeting 

By: Judith Terrameo OSF

   The Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality Committee met February 21-24, 2018, at St. Clare's Convent, Tampa. All members were present which added to our sharing, especially in experiencing all that is happening throughout the congregation's four countries. We are grateful to Lucy Cardet and Michele Dolyk for their regular contact with Maria and Elvira in Bolivia. This gifts us with the inclusion of our Bolivian perspective in our discussions and plans for Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality.

   Each morning our meeting began with contemplative prayer and sharing, helping to set the tone for the day and guiding our conversations.

   The following are some highlights from our meeting:

-      A third printing of the "Beloved of God" booklets is available. This booklet has recently been translated to Spanish and Portuguese and printing in these languages is being planned, broadening the audience who may benefit from these reflections. To order booklets in English contact Denise Bunk-Hatch at denise.bunk-hatch@fsallegany.org.

-      We confirmed the appointment of a new committee member, Dr. Claudia Herrera. Claudia is Campus Minister at St. Thomas University in Miami. Her expertise in working with young adults will be a great asset. Claudia will be joining us at our next meeting.

-      Coming in September! A retreat resource on the Spirituality of Clare of Assisi by Sr. Briege O'Hare OSC will be available. Briege gave this retreat in 2005 to the Sisters of St. Francis of Stella Niagara, NY. The retreat has seven presentations and will be available in both audio format and in writing. The committee has developed reflection questions for each session. These materials will be sent out to all sisters and associates once a month for seven months. They will also be posted to the Spirituality section of our website. The written presentations have been translated to Portuguese and Spanish. Watch for more information.

-      A sub-committee is developing resources on The Consistent Ethic of Life through our Franciscan-Clarian lens. Sisters Pat Shirley and Jeanne Williams will assist in this project. Again, more information will be coming as the project develops.

-      We thank the sisters and associates who expressed an interest in participating in the Franciscan Busy Person's Retreat. Zoom conference calls will be scheduled within the next two weeks with the retreat leaders to discuss the program and details. We are excited about this new ministry opportunity and the potential for journeying with others in experiencing our Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality.

-      Over the past several months we have shared reflections on the Peace Prayer. The final reflection by Michele Dolyk appears in this issue. Our next series of reflections will focus on artistic expressions of Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality. As we share our favorite pictures and our reflections, we invite you to send a Franciscan-Clarian picture and your reflection on what the picture calls forth from your heart. Send them to Judith at srjterrameo@gmail.com.

 

  Our next meeting will be July 26-28, 2018 in Tampa, FL. If you have any questions or suggestions for Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality please contact Judith at srjterrameo@gmail.com .

St. Elizabeth Mission Society Easter Cards 

By: Connie Cooper, Communications Specialist, St. Elizabeth Mission Society

   Send your special prayer blessings to friends or loved ones this Easter with Mass enrollment cards from St. Elizabeth Mission Society. As members of the Mission Society, their intentions will be remembered during Easter Mass and in other Masses celebrated throughout the year in the Motherhouse chapel. They will also share in the prayers and good works of our Sisters in Brazil, Bolivia, Jamaica, and the United States.

   All Sisters received an order form in the mail in mid-February, and you can click HERE to access and review the available cards.

   As a Sponsored Ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, the St. Elizabeth Mission Society shares in its spiritual benefits, one of which is to advance the awareness of God's love. Donations given for the cards are used to support the ministries of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in educating, healing, clothing, and feeding those who are desperately poor in Jamaica, Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States.

   Enrollment cards for Easter and other special occasions may be ordered online at www.FranciscanHope.org . Call the St. Elizabeth Mission Society office at (716) 373-1130 or e-mail the staff at steliz.pubications@fsallegany.org for more information or to place an order for enrollment cards.

 

International Women's Day March 8 

From the United Nations website

   The theme for International Women's Day on March 8 is  "Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women's lives".

   This year, International Women's Day comes on the heels of unprecedented global movement for women's rights, equality, and justice. Sexual harassment, violence, and discrimination against women has captured headlines and public discourse, propelled by a rising determination for change. 

   People around the world are mobilizing for a future that is more equal. This has taken the form of global marches and campaigns, including #MeToo in the United States and its counterparts in other countries, protesting against sexual harassment and violence, such as #YoTambien in Mexico, Spain, South America and beyond, #QuellaVoltaChe in Italy, #BalanceTonPorc in France and #Ana_kaman in the Arab States; "Ni Una Menos" ('not one less'), a campaign against femicide that originated in Argentina; and many others, on issues ranging from equal pay to women's political representation.

   International Women's Day 2018 is an opportunity to transform this momentum into action, to empower women in all settings, rural and urban, and celebrate the activists who are working relentlessly to claim women's rights and realize their full potential.

   On March 8, join activists around the world and UN Women to seize the moment, celebrate, take action and transform women's lives everywhere. The time is now.

   We are constantly faced with making choices. Our choices can bring light or darkness into the world. It's a transformative action. It's a daily choice of "letting go", a dying of our ego and its desires to focus on God and God's will. Our daily life of suffering and death from moment to moment in which we actually give everything we have to God is our movement to light. Our actions in this world, and our ability to rise above the limits of our own self-interest, live on far beyond us and play their part in shaping a world of spirituality and peace. All our actions on earth have eternal life. It is up to us to determine whether our actions have a life that increases the light in the world or adds darkness.

   Our lives are our witness and our witness in this world is our legacy. It is what lives on in the world after we are gone. Let us pray daily for the grace to let go and adopt a sense of surrender to God's will to move beyond "me" to "thee". This was Francis' choice: to let go of self and to focus on God and God's will so that we may be born to Eternal Life.