Congregational E-News ~ Nov. 15, 2020 |
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Do you ever pause in your busy daily schedule to whisper a quick thank-you to God? What about that important paper you couldn’t find—which unexpectedly you find it hiding under a book? That dinner that you nervously prepared for guests and which turned out to be delicious? The excellent book that you just finished reading? Did you take a few seconds to thank God for each of these every day and seemingly insignificant events? |
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Thanksgiving Prayer
For Every Day of the Year
Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts
The many minutes of everyday
Teach us to use them wisely, Lord
In all our words and work and play
Help us to speak kind words, O Lord
To work for only what is right
And let us have great fun, dear Lord,
But keep you always in our sight.
Don’t let us falter on our way,
Make straight our paths and keep them so,
Let everyday Thanksgiving be,
Because you love and care, we know.
Helen Paulus
Franciscan Companion in Mission
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So Much to Be Thankful For!
As the strange and troubled year of 2020 winds to a close, we examine what we have to be thankful for and we realize that we have much to be grateful for. A new administration is getting set to take office in January and a Covid-19 vaccine is hopefully right around the corner. Hope seems to be the word of the day. Hope in a new tomorrow that is filled with peace, love, and joy. In an article published by the Catholic News Agency on November 7, 2020, Archbishop Gomez said, “As Catholics and Americans, our priorities and mission are clear. We are here to follow Jesus Christ, to bear witness to His love in our lives, and to build His Kingdom on earth.” At this time, he said, “Catholics have a special duty to be peacemakers, to promote fraternity and mutual trust, and to pray for a renewed spirit of true patriotism in our country.” What better way to renew this spirit than to give thanks for all God has given us!
We are grateful for eyes that can see and ponder, for taste buds that know the sensuous pleasures of eating and drinking, for hands that hold and touch and feel, for ears that can delight in music and the voice of a friend, for a nose that can smell the aroma of newly mown grass or delicious food, and can also breathe the air that gives us life.
We are grateful for the treasure of loved ones whose hearts of openness and acceptance have encouraged us to be who we are. We are grateful for their faithfulness, for standing by us when our weaknesses stood out glaringly, for being there when we were most in need and for delighting with us in our good days and our joyful seasons.
We are grateful for the eyes of faith, for believing in the presence of God, giving us hope in our darkest days, encouraging us to listen to our spirit’s hunger, and reminding us to trust in the blessings of God’s presence in our most empty days.
We are grateful for the ongoing process of becoming who we are, for the seasons within, for the great adventure of life that challenges and comforts us at one and the same time.
We are grateful for the messengers of God—people, events, written or spoken words—that came to us at just the right time and helped us to grow.
We are grateful for God calling us to work with our gifts, grateful that we can be of service and use our talents in a responsible and just way.
We are grateful that we have the basic necessities of life, that we have the means and the ability to hear the cries of the poor and to respond with our abundance.
We are grateful for the miracle of life, for the green of our earth, for the amazing grace of our history; we are grateful that we still have time to decide the fate of the world by our choices and our actions, grateful that we have it within our power to bring a divided world to peace.
Prayers of Gratitude excerpted from pages 151-152 of May I Have This Dance? by Joyce Rupp, © 1992.
For some prayers to share around your table on Thanksgiving or anytime, visit our prayer resource.
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Giving Tuesday is Coming!
DECEMBER 1, 2020
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This year you can help unite the community on #GivingTuesday. Help the Sisters of St. Francis support the organizations making change in the community by donating today. Join in the movement to give back to those who are poor, suffering, and sick. Let’s stand together to make a difference. Go to: https://osfphila.org/donate-now/
The Sisters of St. Francis Foundation thanks you.
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The Race to a Covid Vaccine |
As the U.S. and the entire world endure this global pandemic, the promise of an affordable, accessible, and effective vaccine is our greatest source of hope. We envision our lives returning to a pre-Covid world—or at least a world not dominated by the daily threat of this highly contagious disease—by late winter or possibly early spring 2021. We are hopeful that a vaccine will be ready in the not too distant future into 2021 and access will be available for all.
But how will that happen? In this country, vaccines are being developed by private pharmaceutical companies with a large portion of their funding being provided by the public. A similar strategy is employed in several countries throughout the world. In fact, more than 150 coronavirus vaccines are in the process of development globally.
Competition is fierce. Every company wants to be the first to deliver a vaccine that could be used throughout the world. Pressure from shareholders and from government funders may result in a finished product being developed sooner, but could also end in less effective vaccines. Even the name of the U.S. effort to deliver a vaccine—Operation Warp Speed—suggests that timeliness is a higher priority than efficacy.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief of the National Institute of Health and Infectious Disease, has tried to set realistic expectations when discussing the importance of a vaccine. "We don't know yet what the efficacy might be. We don't know if it will be 50% or 60%," Fauci said during a Brown University event in August. "I'd like it to be 75% or more." However, he acknowledged that may not be realistic.
The Food and Drug Administration has said that once a vaccine is shown to be safe and at least 50% effective, it could be approved for use in the U.S. A 50% effective vaccine may not sound like an impressive rate of infection prevention but there are other potential benefits to individuals and the community from getting vaccinated. "It's possible that the [COVID-19] vaccine will reduce the severity of disease" in the other 50% who do get sick, says physician Bill Miller of The Ohio State University College of Public Health. "It may mean that people are less likely to be hospitalized, require ICU care, or die."
Generally, vaccines work by instructing a person’s immune system to defend itself against the disease in a way that’s stronger than it would through natural infection. In some cases, vaccines include a portion of the virus (in a killed or weakened state) so our cells can temporarily make the coronavirus proteins needed to stimulate our immune systems.
Currently the companies that have vaccine candidates in clinical trials at phase 3 or beyond are: Novavax of Maryland, Johnson and Johnson of New Jersey, Moderna Therapeutics (in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health) of Massachusetts, Pfizer of New York, and the University of Oxford (in collaboration with the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca) of the United Kingdom.
No matter what vaccine becomes available first—or even if multiple vaccines are produced and utilized—they will not be a magic elixir that immediately vanishes the virus. We can hope and pray that as vaccines are deployed, the virus will infect fewer people and become less lethal. In the months ahead, precautions, such as wearing masks, will still be necessary and sacrifices must still be made.
Tom McCaney - Corporate Social Responsibility
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Winter Good News - Hot off the Presses!
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The purpose of the Good News is to further the Gospel mission of the sisters by sharing the good news of the congregation with our friends, family, companions, and sisters. Through this publication we share the charism of the congregation and invite others to become involved in our mission.
Starting in 2021, Good News will be published twice per year (spring/summer and fall/winter) by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. We welcome your feedback.
Challenging Times Call for Imaginative Responses
Despite the challenges of Covid-19, people at the Franciscan Spiritual Center West, Anna’s Place, and Neumann University—as well as many other ministries in which our sisters are engaged—found the means to best serve their communities while keeping hope and faith alive. READ
For the Love of Horses
When she first entered the convent at nineteen, Sister Elizabeth Howe thought it meant giving up horses for good. However, while it would be years before she rode again, God had other plans. Sister Beth works hard to balance the three major areas of her life: sister, doctor, and horse lover—all of which she is proud to be. READ
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Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia | 610-558-7726 | communications@osfphila.org | www.osfphila.org |
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