Congregational E-News ~ Jan. 15, 2019
I often thank God for the stability of my “growing up” years — years when life had a pattern of security. It was a life where I felt safe and where I thought I was rich. In reality I was — rich with a home life steeped in stability. And that is what the God of Stability brings to each of our lives if we are open to receive it. Our God’s love never wavers. God’s whispering to our hearts continues — even when we don’t listen and respond. God’s arms are always open to shelter us when life brings fear and confusion. 
Canticle of Oneness (Excerpt)

Sometimes I wonder
what it would have been like
to live in another time
a simpler, bygone time…
when even humans lived
in harmony with nature and with each other..
Such a union of purpose and wills
was always your plan for Creation.
In the midst of my nostalgia for what might have been,
I hear you say:
“Past, present, future are all one, born out of love.”

Your cadence, O Creator,
is like a never-ending birthing…
eternal incarnation…
continual renewal.
In the eyes of infant creatures I see the Alpha and Omega.

The sunflowers and the morning birds
turn their faces toward brother sun.
There they find the shelter you provide for their
renewal and protection.
Songbirds and Sunflowers sing the same song;
it is a sacred harmonious melody.


Excerpt from “Canticle of Oneness” composed by members of the Franciscan Companions in Mission, Milwaukie, Oregon

Sr. James Frances McGlashen Turns 100
On January 18, 2019, Sr. James Frances McGlashen will join an elite group of individuals as a centenarian. She also will be celebrating her 75 th anniversary as a Sister of St. Francis—which is no small feat in itself. Sr. James Frances grew up in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia and was a member of St. Ann’s Parish. She was one of nine children in her family—six girls and three boys. She is the youngest of the girls and the three boys were born later. She is the last remaining member of her siblings alive today. Her last brother died in October at the age of 95. 

Sr. James Frances was first introduced to the Sisters of St. Francis during her high school years at Hallahan High School. She had many Franciscan sisters as teachers. She admired them and felt called to enter the Franciscans, despite the fact that three of her aunts happened to be Sisters of St. Joseph. 

Her ministry life was fairly common for a sister of those times. She ministered primarily in education, teaching for more than 55 years. She began teaching grade school but eventually found her way to teaching high school at St. Hubert’s, St Pius X in Pottstown, and, for many years, at her Alma mater, Hallahan High School. “I had a busy life,” Sr. James Francis said. “I enjoyed all my work in every school. The children were just wonderful.” At Hallahan she taught business—typing, shorthand, etc.—and it was the perfect match for her. “I really enjoyed teaching the girls and I was able to get many of them good jobs because of connections I had,” said Sr. James. “I still keep in touch with many of them today.”

One such example is that of a student who graduated from Hallahan in 1953. She married and moved to Wisconsin but she calls regularly, and up until a few years ago, welcomed Sr. James for a visit each summer. 

Until last October, Sr. James Frances was still busy working in the medical records department at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne. The staff threw her a big party for her 99 th birthday and plan to be in attendance for her 100 th celebration.

When asked how it feels to be 100, Sr. James replied, “I can’t believe I’m going to be 100. When I was born, I was christened right away because they thought I might not live long—and here I am.” She credits her longevity to her mind and for the good life God has given her. “I’m lucky I still have my mind. I thank God every day for my good health and good head. That’s something for 100. I thank God for my life.”

When asked how she liked living at Assisi House, Sr. James eagerly boasted, “I love it here. They can’t be nicer to you. I have a lot of friends.” To this, Sr. Dolores Donovan—a close friend of Sr. James and one with whom she lived for 11 years in Langhorne—commented, “She is a friend to many. She is a top-notch person. She could take care of the world.” 

Just as Sr. James Frances is grateful for the life God has given to her, we, too, are grateful that she is a part of ours. She has a spirit that beams light for all to see and a quiet kindness that all can feel. We wish her a very blessed, Happy 100 th Birthday!
Justice for Immigrants National Conference

More than 170 participants from 31 states attended the 2018 Justice for Immigrants National Conference in Washington, DC, in December 2018. Included in the participants were our Sisters Marie Lucey, Maria Orlandini, and Mary Kennedy. Justice for Immigrants is a campaign by the Catholic Church with the primary objective to educate the public on the Church’s teaching on migration and immigration, to create political will for positive immigration reform, to enact legislative and administrative reforms based on the principals articulated by the bishops, and to organize Catholic networks to assist qualified immigrants in obtaining the benefits of the reform. The conference allowed participants to learn about immigration laws and the ways in which agencies around the country are working to help immigrants and refugees.
PA Delegation Visiting Sen. Pat Toomey
including Sr. Mary Kennedy (center)

St. John's Bible Visits the Motherhouse
On Wednesday, December 12, we had a special display of the St. John’s Bible at Our Lady of Angels Convent. This display came courtesy of St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington. Carol Primavera Paris was here to do presentations and to answer questions about the Bible. The Saint John’s Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey since the invention of the printing press. Led by Donald Jackson in collaboration with theologians at St. John’s Abbey and the University of Minnesota, six calligraphers and six artists hand-wrote all 1,150 pages and created 300 major illustrations on approximately 300 sheets of calfskin vellum. The Bible took 15 years to complete.

The Saint John’s Bible  has been made accessible through reproduction books and prints. However, nothing compares to seeing the pages in person — the gold and platinum leaf on the vellum, the brightness of the inks, the calligraphers’ marks in the margins as they test the ink and flexibility of the quill.

The Saint John’s Bible  began its national and international exhibition tour in April 2005 with the opening of Illuminating the Word at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This exhibit features pages from the volumes Gospels and Acts, Pentateuch, and Psalms. Smaller exhibits of pages from prophets and Wisdom Books have been shown at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library on the campus of Saint John’s University. In recent years, exhibits of  The Saint John's Bible  have traveled to London and museums throughout the United States. 

Source: Information on the Bible taken from http://www.saintjohnsbible .o rg/ . 

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