Engaging our Diversity: Interculturality and Consecrated Life Pt. II  

By: Pat Klemm OSF

   From November 8-11, Sisters Colleen Brady, Margaret Mary Foley, Goianira Silva and Pat Klemm attended Part II of the program on Interculturality held at Chicago Theological Union and sponsored by the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life. We joined with women and men from 20 congregations for input, process, and networking on diversity and intercultural living. The participants were from many countries and the richness of the cultures they represented enhanced the lives of all who attended.

   There were major presentations on Interculturality in relation to Reconciliation, Conversation, Personality and Leadership in Consecrated life, as well as a panel on the Gifts and Challenges of Intercultural Living in Religious Life and Ministry. There were breakout sessions on the document New Wineskins for New Wine, Decolonization Pilgrimages, Formation, and Community Living, and an evening of storytelling - Race Bridges with storyteller Susan O'Halloran. The presenters and panelists were from the countries: Canada, Ecuador, Korea, Macau, Nigeria, Poland, the Philippines, Tanzania, Vietnam, and the United States.

   Participants were treated to food from Hawaii, Korea, Mexico, and Vietnam, as well as to meals like ribs and sweet potatoes. The lively prayers and liturgy in different languages were enhanced by a multicultural choir made up of students from CTU. A recurring theme was the song, Go Make a Difference, sending all to carry what was learned into their respective places of life and ministry.

   This program has been established to 'train the trainers' so there will continue to be input and processes throughout the Congregation on how we are called to live in a world where diversity of culture is the norm. Our Franciscan charism honoring the dignity of all persons is integral to our vision of intercultural living as we move into the future.

 

A Day with St. Clare of Assisi 

By: Michelle Dolyk OSF

 

   On November 17, 31 sisters, associates, and friends of St. Clare participated in "A Day with St. Clare of Assisi." The retreat was hosted at the Franciscan Center in Tampa and was sponsored by the Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality Committee.

   The retreat leader, Fr. Tom Hartle OFM, invited all present to open themselves up to the process of transformation by following Clare's instruction which is simple: to gaze upon the mirror of the cross each day and be transformed. He addressed the condition of the world today and the world at Francis' and Clare's time. He shared how Clare, the contemplative, had so much to show and tell us for our lives. He challenged us as Franciscans to be an "alternative to ruin" and that the Holy Spirit of God is at work in this.

   Fr. Tom made Clare come alive through his presentations. He shared how Clare was a woman of courage and strong will, and how determination defies the old description of her. Clare had great faith in God's providence.

 

Clare looked at Christ in His Humanity:

Jesus always touched people.

Jesus always listened to people.

Jesus gave people a sense of belonging and welcome.

 

   We were challenged to do the same. Rebuilding the Church involves rebuilding our own faith and gospel values daily, and "rebuilding" each member of the body of Christ by reaching out to others with Christ-like empathy.

   Clare, through contemplation, poverty, and loving service, offered her life to her Beloved Lord.

 

REFLECTION ON THESE WORDS OF CLARE:

   "We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others"

 

**This article includes statements from the participants' evaluation comments.

St. Elizabeth Mission Society Christmas Mass Cards 

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

 

   Send your special prayer blessings to friends or loved ones this Christmas with Christmas Mass enrollment cards from St. Elizabeth Mission Society. As members of the Mission Society, their intentions will be remembered at Christmas Eve 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.

   As a sponsored ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, the St. Elizabeth Mission Society shares in its spiritual aims, 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 who work to educate, heal, clothe, and feed those who are desperately poor in Jamaica, Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States.

   Christmas cards, as well as various other enrollment cards, can be ordered online at https://www.franciscanhope.org/shop/ or you can call the Mission Society office at (716) 373-1130 or e-mail the staff at steliz.pubications@fsallegany.org for more information about ordering the enrollment cards.

   Our Chapter Planning process begins with the Chapter Planning Committee meeting in Tampa on January 18-19, 2019. You are invited to begin considering a theme and ideas for the Chapter logo. What words, scripture texts, or Franciscan writings capture your imagination for a Chapter theme? What images come to mind for a Chapter logo?

   If you would like to submit suggestions for the Chapter theme and/or logo, please email them to Margaret Magee OSF at mmagee@fsallegany.org or mail to Margaret's attention at P.O. Box W, St. Bonaventure, NY 14778. All submissions will be brought to the CPC in January.