When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
Transcription
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
SUMMER 2011 Volume 15, Number 1 Moving always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” ~ Lao Tzu SUMMER 2011 Volume 15, Number 1 Moving always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction Challenge is published by the St. Paul Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Challenge of Mission ..................................................................... 3 The Invisible Power of Love.................................................................. 4 Paradox and Providence....................................................................... 6 Letting Go and Letting God: The Life-Long Mission of Sister Marie Smith, CSJ ................................ 8 Why I Came and Why I Stay ............................................................... 10 Building the Dream at Carondelet Village.......................................... 12 “Is,” a poem by Ellen Murphy, CSJ with commentary by Ann Redmond, CSJ........................................... 14 Awards and Honors ............................................................................ 15 In Search of the Divine ....................................................................... 17 Prayers Please!.................................................................................... 18 Comments and correspondence, including letters to the editor, should be addressed to: Challenge 1884 Randolph Ave. St. Paul, MN 55105-1700 To request a change of address, please call: 651-690-7033 In Loving Memory............................................................................... 19 Province website: www.csjstpaul.org ‘Letting Go’ Is a Challenge Editors: Meg Gillespie, CSJ, Ann L. Thompson, and many wonderful proofreaders. Design: Kelli Morey Challenges behind us and challenges ahead! It’s a time of change, letting go, and embracing what’s to come. Masthead art created by: Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, will be celebrating many anniversaries in 2011 (more about these special events in the next issue of Challenge), but we don’t want to simply “look back.” We want to look ahead to all that the future may bring! Photographers: Meghan Davy, Andy King, Brian Mogren, Don Pitlick, Sister Catherine Mary Rosengren, CSJ, Jan Zitnick and others. To that end we have designed, with the gifted assistance of artist Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ, a new masthead for this issue of Challenge. And, after much discussion about the publication’s name, a small group of committed Sisters, Consociates, and staff agreed to add some context to the title Challenge: Taken from our founding documents, we have added Always moving toward profound love of God and neighbor without distinction. The initials CSJ stand for the Congregation of St. Joseph and are used in this publication to identify individuals, ministries, and issues associated with the congregation. The congregation has provinces in St. Louis, St. Paul, Albany (New York), and Los Angeles, with vice provinces in Hawaii and Peru. In this particular issue we are focusing on what it means to “let go of”—but without forgetting, not ever!—what we hold dear in order to “go forward” into a bright and secure future. 2 Opinions presented in this issue reflect those of the writers and do not necessarily represent an official position of the St. Paul Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Permission must be obtained to reprint articles appearing in Challenge. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 The Challenge of Mission As Sisters of St. Joseph our purpose, the reason for which we were founded, is to respond to the challenge of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you.” By Sister Virginia Webb, CSJ Moving always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction. Continuing Jesus’ mission in the world demands that we minister in ways that encourage ourselves and others to recognize and defend those who have been marginalized and disenfranchised. We are invited by our Constitution and other CSJ documents, our traditions, and our history to live and serve the neighbor in ways that facilitate the liberation of all people. We work to alleviate conditions that cause poverty, suffering, discrimination and oppression. The St. Paul Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph carries out this mission by establishing and promoting ministries allowing each person, without prejudice, to understand and experience that she or he is loved by God and deserving of respect. Through the course of our 160 years in what is now Minnesota, we have done many diverse works. You may be aware of some. Some may be a surprise to you. We are very aware that alone we could not carry out our ministries, and we have always invited people who are not vowed members of the community to collaborate with us in our mission. This publication, Challenge, with its descriptor: Moving always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction (a phrase taken directly from our founding documents) reflects on the ways we, as Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates, understand Jesus’ directive to love. It is not always easy. It is frequently a challenge. Yet, as Christians, it is perhaps the most important thing we are called to do. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 3 The Invisible Power of Love May 22, 2011, saw three tornado touchdowns in the metro area, with the north side of Minneapolis particularly hit hard. Even with homes and businesses in shambles, basements flooded, and debris and downed trees everywhere, the residents of this hard-hit area came together to overcome their hardship. The author of this story lives in North Minneapolis. Photos courtesy of Brian Mogren At 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, rotating wind moving at 130 miles per hour, caught folks in North Minneapolis by surprise. A freight train sound awakened nappers and alerted game watchers as they saw trees whizzing by windows and heard the impact statements the wind made on their homes, cars, and neighborhood. People had nothing to say of what the wind snatched from them or destroyed, nor did the uprooted trees, nor those who homed in the trees such as birds and squirrels. For some, it was over in a matter of minutes. For those “begotten of the Spirit,” it was just beginning. Andrew pointed to his home. by Sister Mary Hasbrouck, CSJ “Mine is the second on the block. I’ve only had it for a year. The roof is badly damaged, chimney gone. Fortunately, I got my son and wife to safety before the windows smashed with such force that hundreds of pieces of broken glass implanted in the wall across from them. My family just missed being the target! As soon as I saw they were safe, I ran as fast as I could to my parent’s home. They live three blocks over. Their house hadn’t been touched; they were safe. I am so blessed; everything that matters is safe. The rest can be fixed.” John, picking up debris from his yard, was filled with gratitude. “I can’t say enough for the city. They are taking down the uprooted and fallen trees.” Pointing to the one leaning on his house, he continued, “This would cost me $800 minimally. I don’t have that kind of money. The way 4 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone begotten of the Spirit. John 3:8 I look at this is seeing the glass half full, not half empty. This is going to bring jobs to the neighborhood, workers will eat in restaurants, some will stay in hotels, and our neighborhood will get a much needed renovation.” Young Titus had returned to the old neighborhood to see how the two houses he had lived in had withstood the storm. While the damage to them was minimal, he couldn’t get over the tree loss. “ Things can be replaced and repaired, but the trees, some over a hundred years old are gone. They sheltered me in my years on the Northside.” Along the way, neighbors were gathered around grills cooking meat before it would spoil without refrigeration. They gathered strength from each other as they shared stories of just where they were when the storm struck. A young man came to my home looking for any kind of work where he could pick up a few bucks. His goal was to earn $16 so that he could house his wife and son at a hotel for four nights, at $4 per night. This would give him time to work on his damaged house. When he saw me tear up, he put out his arms. “Give me a hug, we’re all in this together and we’ll get each other through.” He was right; in the aftermath of the storm we were one. Not only those living within the Northside, but the thousands who came in to help, to support, to feed, to hug, or to be with. Theirs were the open arms that eased the pain of loss and made it possible to let go. A child learning to walk and an old person losing the ability to walk frequently let go only when something is within reach to grab hold of, a chair, a railing, or outstretched arms. Something akin happened on the heels of this tornado. The “awe experience” of the storm gave way to the force of the Spirit, the creative energy of love. Those who could let go of belongings were those who could surrender to the embrace of the Spirit. A personal sense of Presence within connected with that seen in others, with family members and neighbors, even those who previously were strangers. Walking through the neighborhood, talking with folks on the days that followed gave evidence to that “numinous” Presence. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 5 Paradox and Providence By Ann L. Thompson with Consociate Jackie Bohrer and Douglas Koch Jackie: Douglas was a custom commercial cabinetmaker who eventually started his own business as a general contractor. After he made the Paschal candle stand for our community, I commissioned him to create one for my parents’ 35th wedding anniversary. Douglas and I saw each other on Sundays for 10 years, and then I moved back to St. Paul to be closer to family after my mother’s death. Douglas: When our pastor died of cancer, Jackie came out for the funeral. I had been diagnosed with ALS about six months earlier, and Jackie was surprised that I could not hug her because I could not lift my arms. But we talked and I told her that I was planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to India and Europe. I had been given 3-5 years to live, so I decided to go to the place that had the oldest world religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. I ended my business, gave away and sold many of my building tools and left for India. One of my ALS friends in Oregon told me, ‘You have to claim what you believe when you are faced with death,’ so I set out to figure out what I really believed about God. Jackie: Having dated for many years and deeply discouraged that I might never meet a person to share my life with, Douglas sent me an email from India that read ‘I wish you were here or I there.’ I’m thinking, ‘What is he talking about?’ As we exchanged more and more emails, I realized that he had wondered for many years about a deeper friendship with me and, now that ALS had entered his life, he had been given the freedom to ask the big questions around hopes and desires. The first email from Douglas was in the spring and when I asked him about his plans for Holy Week in Europe, he answered ‘Every day is holy’ and something about his passionate heart really spoke to me. I thought to myself, here in the face of death, he was finding hope and humor and great courage. When I imagined him typing emails to me at internet cafes using one finger, I wondered if the whole thing was a miracle. Douglas: From India I went to Europe and wanted to spend time learning more about the history of Catholicism. In Assisi there is a fort at the very top of a hill. I decided to hike up the hill. At the top, with my one bag over my shoulder, I experienced a small miracle just for me. While I laid on the grass to relax in the middle of the day, I saw that the moon was out. The clouds, though blowing pretty fast, never covered the moon. It was as if the moon was pushing the clouds away just for me. During those moments I had an important insight. ‘There is one God, although we call God by many different names.’ I might as well stick with the faith that I was given at birth, so I chose in that moment to claim Catholicism, for it was my home! 6 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 Jackie: One-hundred-and-twenty emails and six weeks later, Douglas came from Madrid to St. Paul and spent a week with me. It was rather providential that it was the week that I became a CSJ Consociate and his first email came the morning after an incredible St. Joseph Feast Day celebration. There was so much providence. During this time Douglas was deeply concerned that entering into a permanent relationship with him would bring too much grief and loss for me. I realized that no one can really decide how love will come to them. I knew that life was precious, and Douglas had reminded me often that each day was holy. I wanted to trust God’s providence and exercise faith. However, I found myself often stuck in anticipatory grief, wondering if I could survive loving Douglas and then letting go of him. Yet, I was compelled to love anyway and trust that God would take care of us. We were married the following spring and it was a day of great joy and celebration. Douglas: There are a lot of things that we cannot do together because of my disease progression. With ALS slowly all the body’s motor neurons die to the point where I will not be able to move anything but my eyes. We can’t bike, swim, ski or hike together. Today, we can’t take walks either, for I am in a wheelchair and most of my body does not move. The most painful loss for me is letting go of my dream of a successful remodeling company. And, after 25 years of woodworking, I was pretty good at it. I have had a lot of time to think about dying. Through all of this, I consider myself lucky because I have more time than most people with ALS to die without any regrets. I was given three–to–five years to live and the worst part of this is that I will miss my adult children, my family and Jackie. Yet I believe that someday all of us will be together. Our faith teaches us this truth. I want to be prepared so that I can die without stress, regret or worry. Jackie: Douglas and I work on our marriage like everyone else but everything is really compacted together. I have had to let go of planning big trips and celebrations and just accept the beauty of each day. It feels like we are taking 30 years of marriage and stuffing it into seven or eight. It can be really intense and painful at times, but there is more joy in sharing my life with Douglas than I ever thought possible. A year after our wedding, my sister Barbara died, and her children and husband moved across the country, leaving us with a big hole in our lives. Barbara’s death stopped me in my tracks and made me really wonder how I will survive Douglas’ death. Sometimes I resist keeping my heart open, and I have learned that there is so much grief that comes with clinging. So we both try and work on gratitude and we often talk for hours about all our blessings. ALS has been a paradox in our lives. Without it I don’t think that we would be together. God’s providence has been abundant. Douglas Koch, suffering with ALS, read this poem, “Fully Alive” at his wedding to Jackie Bohrer. It is reprinted with permission from Dawna Markova; www.dawnamarkova.com. I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or of catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 7 Letting Go and Letting God: The Life-Long Mission of Sister Marie Smith, CSJ By James B. Mulrooney, freelance writer “Letting go and giving up. I’ve always thought there’s a fine line between these two,” says Sister Marie Smith, CSJ, as she reflects on her 65 years as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. By no means has Sister Marie ever given up. Born in 1926, Sister Marie grew up in Owatonna, Minnesota. Her mother died when she was only eight months old. True to the promise he had made to his Catholic wife, her father raised their six children in the Catholic faith. With her father’s approval in early 1945, Sister Marie enrolled at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. While she doesn’t recall anyone ever broaching the subject to her, the thought of becoming a Sister gradually came to her as she observed the Sisters’ happy, faith-filled lives. After professing her final vows as a Sister of St. Joseph in 1948, Sister Marie taught at Catholic elementary schools in the Twin Cities, Southern Minnesota, and Jamestown, North Dakota. By Sister Marie Smith, CSJ If your convictions are strong, the Lord will strengthen you and give you extra backbone. – Sister Marie Smith, CSJ In 1959 Sister Marie was invited to join the work of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Japan, a mission for which she had volunteered four years earlier. Her two brothers had fought in the Pacific during the war and one had accompanied the fire bombers over Tokyo. But neither of her brothers ever expressed his opinion about what she should do. On the other hand, her three sisters “thought I was crazy to go to Japan,” she recalls. “But I had a strong conviction I was supposed to go, and that my vow as a Sister of St. Joseph meant I should be open to doing whatever I was called to do,” Sister Marie observes. “While I didn’t see myself as a great adventurer,” she says, “[this mission] turned out to be the great adventure of my life.” For the first year and a half she was in Japan, Sister Marie studied the Japanese language every morning and every afternoon. Learning Japanese “was a challenge and a lot of hard work,” she says. In 1959 the Sisters of St. Joseph opened St. Joseph’s School for Girls in the city of Tsu, several months before Sister Marie arrived. Throughout 8 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 Tsu there were bomb craters and other signs of the devastation of war. Most of the people were very poor, and the economy was just beginning to recover. For nearly 35 years, Sister Marie taught English as a second language to Japanese students at St. Joseph’s. “I always knew that we, as teachers, were planting the seeds of faith, which might not bear fruit until long afterward,” Sister Marie explains. “When I would later hear back from former students that they and their families had been baptized, it was like a shot in the arm.” different. I was an Englishspeaking American Sister who wore a black habit and had blond hair and blue eyes.” But Sister Marie explains that she came to understand that “our differences are our gifts to each other.” She adds, “I eventually realized that I couldn’t change the things that make me unique, and that was okay.” Looking back on her more than half-century teaching career, Sister Marie is enthusiastic and positive. “I always enjoyed teaching and had pretty good rapport with my students,” she says. “We Sisters established respectful, kind of mother-daughter relationships with our students in Japan, and they would confide in us.” During her years of service in Japan, Sister Marie says, “I never felt shunned, especially after we changed our religious habit.” But to help her fit in, “I’d just be friendly.” She points to her Catholic upbringing and the education she’d received from the Sisters at the College of St. Catherine. “I was always proud to be a Catholic and to do church work as a Sister of St. Joseph,” she notes. “If your convictions are strong, the Lord will strengthen you and give you extra backbone.” Living and working in a different culture was challenging, Sister Marie admits. “In my early years in Japan, I felt I was different and that bothered me,” she remembers. “Of course, I was In 1994 health issues forced Sister Marie to contemplate leaving Japan. “I wanted to return to the St. Paul Province when I could still be of service,” she explains. “I think my decision to volunteer for the mission in Japan was a letting go of my country, my family, and my friends, but I think it was also God’s calling.” “Returning to America was another letting go and in some ways a harder one,” she observes. “I can remember driving down the road that led from the school and seeing the kids and Sisters and others I’d grown to know and love and wondering to myself if I’d ever see them again.” As it turned out, Sister Marie was to visit her beloved Japan three times in the years that were ahead. From 1994 until 2002, Sister Marie taught English to immigrants living in a poor neighborhood of Minneapolis, many of whom were abused women with little or no education. Today Sister Marie is living in retirement at Bethany Convent in St. Paul where she occasionally serves as receptionist, welcoming guests at the front desk. She still is letting go and letting God—and loving it. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 9 Why I Came and Why I Stay By Sister Diane Hunker, CSJ Sister Diane Hunker, CSJ, is a pastoral associate at Holy Spirit Parish in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She ministers to those who are homebound, sick and dying, and to their families. In relation to the theme of “Letting Go,” I am reflecting on the question of, “Why I came and why I stay?” Good questions deserve reflection. During this springtime, it gives me a chance to go into my inner well… my interior spring and see where my reflection takes me. As I think back on my very early years, when people asked me why I would want to be a Sister, my response was always, “I fell in love with my first grade teacher and wanted to be just like her.” I laugh when I answer that way, but it is the truth. I entered the convent in Superior, Wisconsin three weeks after my fifteenth birthday—very young and very immature—and ready to do whatever I was asked or told. The first little ripple on the waters came when Vatican II “opened the windows” in the mid and late 60s and my Sister-companions started leaving. That gave me some anxieties, and I began questioning myself. After many months of fear and much prayer, I knew what I wanted to do. I was able to say to myself, “I did not come for them, and I am not leaving for them.” Peace was restored, even though the situation was still difficult. I had been a teacher for 13 years, and although I loved the children, I had always wanted to be a nurse. I finally had that opportunity, changed careers and practiced nursing, until I had back surgery in 1977. While challenging, I experienced so many blessings at this time that I would never be sorry for my choices in life. 10 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 Good questions deserve reflection. In 1986, along with my Superior community, I made the choice to join with the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Paul. Opportunities then arose for me to get my degree in theology at the College of St. Catherine, after which I went to Duluth for two years for clinical pastoral education. It was a life-changing event for me. I worked as chaplain and director of spiritual care in long-term-care, loving every minute of it. As much as I loved it, I felt something in my ministry was lacking. I wanted to do more for the residents to provide spiritual opportunities for them. My desire to work in a parish was calling me strongly. One morning I opened The Catholic Spirit, St. Paul’s Catholic paper, and found an ad for a pastoral associate at Holy Spirit Parish in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Within two weeks I had an interview, was told I had the position, and on December 15, 2001, I moved to my new home, starting work on December 17. My ministry is among the homebound, sick and dying. It can be very difficult and painful at times, especially as the terminal cancer parishioners reach the end of their journey. Yet it is a blessing and gift for me to be on that journey with them and with their families. It is this gift of being with people on this journey that I will always be grateful for, and I thank God daily for the gifts this journey offers and for the many blessings I’ve experienced through my vowed life as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 11 In December 2010, Bethany Convent Sisters hosted a luncheon for the Carondelet Village construction workers. These fellows are rushing in from the cold to enjoy the warmth and good food of the Bethany Convent dining room. The construction workers and the Sisters had a wonderful time! Building the Dream at Carondelet Village by Jan Zitnick, CSJ Communications Department, and Margaret Belanger, CSJ, Coordinator, Carondelet Village “The first thing I am going to do is build a home for our older Sisters.” These words were spoken in 1952 by Sister Bertha, as she assumed the responsibility of Provincial Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province. And build it she did, the beloved Bethany Convent, a healthcare and retirement facility that has served older Sisters well for 57 years. However, the Bethany building, located at the corner of Fairview and Randolph Avenues in St. Paul, had become structurally outdated and could not be renovated; in 2005 the Sisters began praying, dreaming, discussing, and researching. They wanted a changing model for senior care. And so Carondelet Village became their dream. Soon Carondelet Village will nudge Bethany aside and take the old building’s place. The $60.4 million project is being built in partnership with Presbyterian Homes & Services and is on track to be completed in 2012. The complex will include 259 new senior housing units consisting of 149 independent-living apartments, 46 assisted-living units, 19 memory care units, and a 45-bed skilled-nursing care center. This fall the first Sisters will be moving into their new home at Carondelet Village. Other Sisters and members of the general public will join them as apartments become available when Phase II of the construction is completed in early fall 2012. 12 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 Carondelet Circle One of the forward-thinking decisions when planning Carondelet Village was to include an integrated services center, named Carondelet Circle, that offers wellness and holistic services. Opportunities exist for medical services, spiritual and educational development, physical and recreational therapy, enrichment programs, and a variety of dining options. These services are open to Sisters and residents of the Highland-area neighboring community. Many of the Sisters who have decided to live at Carondelet Center have selected their units and are eagerly awaiting the move into their new home. Soon there will be spaces available for lay women and men of all faiths. For more information, visit www.carondeletvillage.org or call Karen Vento, Housing Advisor, 651-631-6334. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 13 “Is,” by Sister Ellen Murphy, CSJ From THE WORLD WITHIN Poems by Sister Ellen Murphy, CSJ Published by North Star Press St. Cloud, 2008; pp.98-99 Reprinted with permission I know in my bones that “is” alone is never lost in the zones of time. Being God’s verb, “is” welds ephemeral with eternal, expressing the nature of love, the movement of angels. Whether sad or at peace I know in my heart that “is,” accepted, pays reverence to reality, is ever confirming all of creation in its own presence. Its recognition is like cheers at processions of wonders and heroes; is like bowed heads and tears when a coffin is carried. “Is” continuously stills for me the rush of impressions; corrects and redeems imagination’s errors, the senses’ imprecisions; brings the clear truth home to the puzzled heart; pervades the spirit with peace in its sadness and pathos. At one moment “is” may reveal that a hurricane’s force is hurling your home into the sea. Or it may be that a cell in your body threatens your life’s blood. Or that one dearer than life to you is in sorrow. A catastrophe asks you to let it all be because this smallest verb, “is” is God’s verb of freedom; is present and singular and speaks in the third person where there is no “I,” no ego; where each object, person, occurrence, thing—think of it!— takes this form of the verb “to be” with its infinite kernel; its authority. “Is” moves our sentences into frames of light and is implicit in everything; is like a hummingbird feeding, staying itself in time, winging in place. Reality is there, and reveals that the prism is breaking the sunlight. That the tune you sing is the melody of the hymn. That the ginkgo tree is hung with fan-like leaves and in autumn is gold. That beneath the willows the path you follow is thick with dead leaves. That beauty, in truth, is love’s reality and carries its changeless grace like an angel through all that is. And “is” accepts what is: the breaking and falling and clouding and dying; the burning forest, the wounded eagle and elk. “Is” keeps “should have” and “may be,” moods of relentless pathos flowing with time, dynamic, inseparable from earth’s beauty and love. 14 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 Awards & Honors Sister Mary Nicholas Vincelli, CSJ By Sister Ann Redmond, CSJ Sister Mary Nicholas Vincelli, CSJ “Is” Commentary by Sister Ann Redmond, CSJ Often needed spiritual advice for me is to live in the moment, live each day fully without concern for the future. Sister Ellen’s poem “Is” puts a positive spin on that solid advice. From her I hear letting go of worries opens me to the wonders of each day. Along with her many insights one of my favorite is “corrects and redeems imagination’s errors.” Amazing how her poetic explication of that two-letter “Is” word compels me to hear the spirit, moving in me to let go. It’s a willingness to let go by reflecting on an all-encompassing, ‘Is,” drawing me from the selfabsorption of the “I.” In October 2010, Sister Mary Nicholas Vincelli, CSJ, was named Woman of the Year for her contributions to the community of Mission, Texas. Although retired, Sister Mary Nicholas works with Operation Hope, a group that distributes clothes and toys to the needy in the area. She came to the Rio Grande Valley in 1970 and established a clinic for the underserved in Pharr, Texas. She also served as the director of nursing services for Hidalgo County Health and Human Services. Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ From left are Mike Osterholm, Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ, Kari Colucci, and Barbara Columbo. Mike Osterholm and his wife Barbara Columbo endowed a scholarship in Sister Mary Madonna’s honor. Kari Colucci is the recipient of that scholarship. In the fall of 2010, Mike Osterholm and his wife, Barbara Columbo, endowed the Sister Mary Madonna Ashton Health Leadership Scholarship at St. Catherine University. They made the donation to St. Catherine’s Alumnae Association in Sister Mary Madonna’s honor. St. Kate’s nursing major Kari Colucci ’11 was awarded the scholarship October 2010. Sister Mary Madonna, as Minnesota commissioner of health, appointed Osterholm state epidemiologist and chief of the acute disease epidemiology section in 1984. After a long career in the healthcare field and many honors, Sister Mary Madonna remains committed to providing Minnesotans with access to affordable healthcare. In January she began to serve the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis as Delegate for Religious. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 15 Awards & Honors Sister Marian Louwagie, CSJ Sister Marian Louwagie, CSJ Sister Marian Louwagie, CSJ, was honored at Woodwinds Hospital, Woodbury, Minnesota, for her 26 years as director of spiritual care services. She came to Woodwinds in 2000 to initiate the Spiritual Care Department. Over the years, in addition to direct patient care, Sister Marian provided education for churches, ministers and students of various faiths. She developed outreach programs and led HealthEast’s participation in the Global Health Volunteer Program, a program that recycles medical supplies for third world countries. 16 Joänne Tromiczak-Neid, justice coordinator for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, holds her JRLC award recognizing her social justice work. Sister Isabella Ferrell, CSJ, standing next to Joänne, nominated her for the award. Joänne Tromiczak-Neid Joänne Tromiczak-Neid, justice coordinator for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, was honored February 17 by the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) with the Lawrence D. Gibson Social Justice Award in recognition of her “social justice work done in the interfaith context [that] moves members of a community to effective public action.” JRLC is the largest and most inclusive interfaith public interest group in Minnesota. The award certificate and medal were presented to her at the State Capitol Rotunda. Joänne was nominated for the award by Sister Isabella Ferrell, CSJ, who said, “Over the years, I have seen her work so hard. She is so intent on what she’s doing, and so generous with her time.” Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 Consociate Carol Gariano Consociate Carol Gariano At the same JRLC recognition ceremony, Consociate Carol Gariano and several others representing Caring In Common, a group of JRLC members from the same state senate district, accepted the JRLC Interfaith Social Justice Community Award for their work of building alliances in Minnesota. In Search of the Divine Other available segments of In Search of the Divine: Program 5 features Father Jan Michael Joncas, musician and composer (including “On Eagle’s Wings), and his life-changing experience with Guillain-Barré syndrome, Sister Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ’s gauche (tempra) ‘art-of the heart’, and how the power of touch changed Sister Rosalind Gefre, CSJ. DVD Program 6 © 2011 For information, visit www.insearchofthedivine.org The sixth edition of our video magazine, In Search of the Divine, is just about ready for Challenge readers. It features pet therapy teams Dave Kettering and his Samoyed dog, Sasha and Becky Martini and her Lhasa Apso dog partner Zoey. Both teams explain the Divine nature of their work and the powerful impact their dog partners have in offering care, love and healing to the sick. Consociate Lisa Gidlow Moriarty talks about labyrinths as a prayer form. Consociate Ginger Hedstrom explains the Christian history of clowning and how the art form lead her out of the pain of abuse. And we examine Christian and Muslim daily prayer forms with Sister Jeron Osterfeld, OSB, and the Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Paul’s Monastery and Makram El-Amin of Masjid An’nur Mosque in Minneapolis. The DVD is 28 minutes long and can also be seen periodically on St. Paul’s cable channel 6 at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. To request your copies of In Search of the Divine contact Jane Hurley, CSJ, at 651-690-7044 or [email protected], or by visting www.csjstpaul.org. Program 4 features Gene Goodsky, a spiritual advisor on the Boise Forte Indian Reservation, Sister Charlotte Berres, CSJ, who shared her home with developmentally disabled persons, Mike Hendrickson and his mom, who tell their story of recovery, and Sister Marian Louwagie, CSJ, describing her journey with cancer. Program 3 features icon writer Sister Kate Holmberg, CSJ, a Sister of Providence who worked to get Mother Theodore Guerin sainted and the man whose miracle became part of Saint Guerin’s journey to sainthood, and explanations of praying with beads by a Hindu monk and a Sister of the Visitation. Program 2 focuses on prison, including interviews with letterwriter 95 year-old Sister Mary Mark Mahoney, CSJ, Frank Wood who served in the department of corrections for the State of Minnesota, and Kelly, a young woman who is serving a life sentence for murder. The program also features Alpacas residing at the White Violet Center in Indiana. Program 1 features potter Sister Jean Nelson, CSJ, WWII Bataan Death March survivor Ken Porwell, a Buddhist monk describing music scoring Tibetan style, and peace activist Sister Rita Steinhagen, CSJ. Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 17 CSJ “Prayers Please!” Phone App Coming Soon! You probably have heard of “phone app,” a term for a cell phone application. These applications are add-ons to “smart phones” (more technologically sophisticated cell phones), that perform specialized functions in addition to making a phone call. Smart phone users can download apps from a variety of sources. If you have a smart phone and have the appropriate app, you can use your phone to surf the net, blog, twitter, play games, locate a friend, study for SATs, and perform many other functions. While there are apps for almost every category you can think of, there are very few phone apps for prayer requests. During the past two years, the CSJ Congregational communications directors (Jenny Beatrice, in the St. Louis Province; Susan Hames, CSJ, who is the Congregational Leadership Team liaison; Sister Mary Agnes Nance, CSJ, and Sister Carol Louise Smith, CSJ, in the Los Angeles Province; Sister Mary Rose Noonan, CSJ, in the Albany, New York Province; and Ann Thompson, in the St. Paul Province), have worked on creating a phone app to provide a vehicle through which individuals may request prayers through their cell phones. They were recently awarded a grant through the John, Marie, Joseph Whalen Foundation, Inc., to cover the cost of designing, implementing and advertising a prayer request phone app. The searchable name of the phone application will be “Prayers Please!.” The icon will be the heart and hand in the logo for the 175th Anniversary, designed by Marion C. Honors, CSJ, of the Albany province. 18 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province This app will provide individuals anywhere in the world the opportunity to input a prayer request and receive a response. “Prayers Please!” will be designed to accept prayer requests as text messages from a variety of sources, including the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android platforms. The prayer requests will be forwarded to the Congregational provinces in Albany, Los Angeles, St. Louis and St. Paul. Each province will determine the means by which the requests for prayers are honored. For example, in the Albany Province, the requests may be entered in the daily intention book at the Provincial House; such intentions are remembered each day at Liturgy. In St. Paul, the Sisters at Bethany Convent will hold the requests in prayer. The communication directors hope that the prayerrequest app will accomplish the following goals: UÊÊ *ÀÛ`iÊ>Êi>ÃÞÊ>VViÃÃLiÊÛi ViÊvÀÊ«À>ÞiÀÊ requests, using digital media. UÊÊ ÌÕiÊÌ iÊV>ÊvÊÌ iÊ-ÃÌiÀÃÊvÊ-Ì°ÊÃi« ÊÌÊ respond to the needs of the times, part of the essence of our mission. UÊÊ ÝÌi`ÊÌ iÊ«ÀiÃiViÊvÊÌ iÊ-ÃÌiÀÃÊvÊ-Ì°ÊÃi« Ê to a new audience. The communication directors express gratitude to the Whalen Foundation for the generous grant to fund this wonderful project. The new app should be available by the end of the summer. Watch for news updates for “Prayers Please!.” SUMMER 2011 In Loving Memory Sister Georgine Nugent, CSJ May 13, 1931 – December 17, 2010 Sister Mary Margaret Deeney, CSJ November 11, 1926 – December 19, 2010 Sister Anne Joachim Moore, CSJ November 9, 1916 – December 20, 2010 Sister Mary Lois Sweeney, CSJ February 21, 1931 – February 19, 2011 Sister Marie Diehl, CSJ July 3, 1912 – February 21, 2011 Sister Constance Marie Defoe, CSJ April 28, 1911 – February 23, 2011 Sister Marie Noelle Veilleux, CSJ December 25, 1915 – March 8, 2011 Sister Patrice Neuberger, CSJ December 11, 1925 – April 14, 2011 Sister Mary Isidore Louwagie, CSJ June 25, 1911, - May 20, 2011 Sister Elizabeth Tobin, CSJ August 9, 1917 – May 21, 2011 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province SUMMER 2011 19 The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province 1884 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105-1700 Moving always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction #"#'"%!)" )'"! 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