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Congregational E-News ~ Oct. 1, 2022

We “just be” when we know it is now, when we absorb the now, seeking and seeing its gifts, its magnificence, its lessons sweet and harsh. “Just be” moments carry all that was and all that is before we step into the future, the future we are co-designing with God.

Be. Be, just be. You say.

What does it mean to just be?

I just be perfectly when I am

sound asleep upon my pillow.

And when I sit in quiet revery

in wooded glade and feel

God’s breath gently caress my cheek,

am I being then?

Or, when I walk without a care

to exercise my legs and take in

all the wonder of this earth

as swiftly on I trod.

Am I just be-ing then?

When looking into laughing eyes

of babe just seven months

and making silly noises to keep

attention rapt.

Am I just be-ing then?

Praising you in song mid angel

voices sounding.

Do I just be?

Or is it when I’m contemplating

your love for all the world and me.

Is that the only time I be

or is it all of these and more.

Sr. Patricia Kane, OSF

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Celebrating St. Francis of Assisi

Who in our world requires hospitality of us?

What situations in our world challenge us to sharpen our focus and dust off the lens of hospitality so that we might follow more faithfully in the footprints of Jesus?

What signs of God’s gracious hospitality have you glimpsed lately?

Desiring to imitate Christ completely, Francis was led to an incredibly deep awareness of and relationship with God. Through his many conversion moments, he was able to relinquish the need to be dominant or possessive, and it was this “at-homeness” with himself that intimately connected him with all of creation. As a result, Francis became known for his amazing hospitality. With his eyes fixed on the mystery of Christ in the Gospels, Francis intuited the significance of Jesus' hospitable gesture of foot washing and responded literally and figuratively as he welcomed all creatures into his awareness and love.

Through the woods in the distance, the figure of Masseo is seen approaching. Francis takes a vessel of water and goes up to receive him. He tells him not to speak yet, and then kneels down and washes his feet. He then tells Masseo to wait, goes into the kitchen and prepares a meal for him and brings it with reverence. (The Little Flowers of Saint Francis)

We can glean from Francis’ life what true hospitality really is and what it requires of us. For, in making room for God, in being a hospitable place for God to dwell, and in becoming someone with whom everyone and everything experienced being welcomed and at home, Francis himself becomes a “permanent outsider” (James Cowan, Francis: A Saint’s Way) and ultimately experiences the suffering of the stigmata, having completely opened himself to identifying with and receiving the Christ within his being.

In an article entitled "Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition," Christine D. Pohl asserts: "Hospitality is implicitly subversive in the way it shatters social boundaries, especially those boundaries enforced by table fellowship. When we eat with the lowly and welcome strangers and 'sinners' to our table, we topple social expectations and bear witness to the kind of love God has for all his creatures. It is not coincidental that Jesus perhaps most scandalized his critics in his practice of table fellowship."

As we celebrate this Feast of St. Francis, the hospitable brother to all, we ask you and ourselves to take some time to ponder our call to radical hospitality.

With gratitude for God’s gift of each of you, we pray that this Feast of St. Francis will be a true celebration of God’s goodness and generosity!

(Source: 2008 letter from leadership to the congregation)

Season of Creation Ending Oct. 4

The Season of Creation began September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. As this year’s Season of Creation nears its end, we provide a recap of how we’ve prepared and celebrated this meaningful occasion.

What is the Season of Creation? It’s the annual Christian celebration of prayer and action for our common home. We listen and respond to the cry of creation as one Christian community.

What’s happened so far in 2022?

The Season of Creation symbol was launched in February as leaders reflected on the need for all Christians to truly “Listen to the Voice of Creation,” the theme of the 2022 Season of Creation. God’s creation moans ever louder and suffers more every day amidst the ongoing climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.

The Sisters of St. Francis and their staff met for prayer and created our own "burning bush," which displayed our affirmations of how we can help listen to the voice of creation. This bush has been displayed in the motherhouse halls.
We shared weekly posts on our social media pages bringing awareness to our followers about this important season.
We have developed and shared with our sisters, companions, and staff weekly Sunday prayers and reflections around the season.
We have continued to take action and promote education through our Care for Creation Committee.

In addition, this year’s Season of Creation Celebration Guide was presented, with practical suggestions for preparing for this ecumenical time, inviting Christian communities around the world to unite in action and prayer for creation. *Download this year’s Celebration Guide.

Pope Francis is calling us to ecological conversion. He focuses our attention on the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor: on migrants and refugees, on indigenous peoples, on species becoming extinct, on polluted waters, on all of creation that is calling out for help. Are there parts of God’s creation that we have ignored? Do we listen to the voice of creation? How might we answer the call of everyone and everything already suffering from climate change, ecological destruction, forced migration, and poverty? What is our conversion point? What are our next steps toward integral ecology? As this Season of Creation comes to a close, spend a few quiet moments to let the Word of God and Pope Francis seep into the recesses of your being. What is yours to do?

Blessing of the New Glen Riddle Hall

On Thursday, September 8, in Bachmann Auditorium—or as we know it, Bachmann Hall—Neumann University held a blessing of Glen Riddle Hall. The event was attended by many sisters as well as Neumann faculty and students. Sisters and Neumann staff members Kathy Dougherty and Linda DeCero said a few words about the collaboration between the Sisters of St. Francis and Neumann University and welcomed the students to their new living quarters. After the blessing ceremony, Neumann University President Chris Domes gave a brief tour of the dorm.

Thirty-seven students moved into Our Lady of Angels Convent this fall and have become the first contingent of Neumann undergraduates to call the historic building their campus home. This space has been officially named and now blessed as Glen Riddle Hall.

Located in the former Franciscan Spiritual Center, Glen Riddle Hall’s name was chosen because of the connection to the first sisters who settled at the motherhouse. In the early 1900s, these sisters were known as the “Glen Riddle Franciscans” by their neighbors. The location where the Glen Riddle Franciscans laid the cornerstone for their motherhouse, Our Lady of Angels Convent, is historically known as LaVerna Heights, Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania. The name Glen Riddle Hall reflects both the history of the sisters and the significance of the physical site of the building.

The event was attended by many of our sisters as well as faculty and students from Neumann University.

Dr. Domes, president of Neumann University, gave tours of the dorms.

Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia | 610-558-7726 | communications@osfphila.org | www.osfphila.org

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