In Mark’s Gospel today Jesus cautions us to remain watchful and alert for God’s coming into our lives, and invites us to become attentive so that we might recognize his Presence among us, and follow in his footsteps.   There is an urgency to Jesus’ message, asking us to wait with a ready vigilance, almost girding ourselves for the arrival of the One who is to come.  But I believe that we are also called to be prepared for God to arrive in new and unexpected ways— breaking through the darkness of our circumstances – approaching like the dawn with a gentle but irrepressible light that draws us to see (really see) the abundance of God’s goodness all around and within our lives. 

For so long our world has seemed shrouded in darkness — first gripped by the global pandemic and now grappling with unending wars and intractable hostilities.  Daily the news is full of reports of the deep divisions that separate us from our common humanity, within our nation and around the globe; kindness toward our fellow human beings appears to be at its lowest ebb.  People are on edge, so ready (even eager) to fight.  Moreover, we confront personal ordeals that sap our energies and stoke our anxieties: underemployment, rising prices, insufficient food, homelessness, serious illness, death of loved ones.

Yet, into these difficulties Advent comes with uncompromising promises:  God in the flesh, God among us, God loving us without reservation or condition, God rending the heavens to stand with us in the unimaginable darkness, God calling forth from our terrible suffering the beautiful reign of God’s own mercy, peace, justice and love.  Advent challenges us to open ourselves to SEE and BE TRANSFORMED by the fierce wonder of a God whose Love has the power to heal and unite and embolden us.  It asks only that we be attentive to see with new eyes how God is coming right into the dailiness of our lives, and perhaps follow with new energy and commitment as well as deeper compassion and selflessness.

Who has not yearned for a God who “would rend the heavens and come down, [wringing] awesome deeds we could not hope for?” (Isaiah 63: 17).  I find myself longing for God to wade in the fray and put right what seems so wrong today in our world.  Yet the watchful, attentive alertness we are urged to embrace is not just so that we can sense God’s Presence with us, but so that we learn from God the ways of unconditional love and become, ourselves, the instruments of grace for a world sorely in need.  Who, you might ask, are we to tame illness or achieve global peace, to reconcile differences and eradiate hunger?  Well, we are the ones God has made, whose love has been imbedded deep in our beings, in whose image and likeness we are created.  And God is calling us to make real his Love.  Every time we see and respond wholeheartedly to another person’s need, we build God’s reign of Love and Peace.  It does not matter how big is our gesture, but how much heart and hope we bring to such response. 

In the work I do, as Director of Parish Outreach for St. John Nepomucene Parish on Long Island, I see so many families still struggling, needing comfort and, even more, hope.  Sometimes their needs can be overwhelming, their brokenness too much to contemplate, let alone carry.  The work at times seems overwhelming; there is so much to be done.  I get exhausted just thinking about writing my “to do” list.  Then, I am reminded of Edward Everett Hale’s counsel: 

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

So, I work to see the needs around me as God’s invitation to respond with love and commitment.  I ponder how I can put to good use the gifts, talents and time I have been given.  I invite others to consider their part and respond with generosity.  And, I look with hopeful eyes for the signs of God’s working among and through us to heal and help our world, standing as an unwavering light in the midst of the darkness of need and struggle and doubt. 

Often I am reminded that God took on our humanity to be one with us in our need.   So each needy person who comes, seeking our assistance, is an opportunity to draw closer to the Incarnate God – to recognize God’s presence in the flesh of their need and pain, and respond with love, kindness, patience, compassion.  Yes, even when those who come are demanding and discourteous, even when their arrival is inconvenient and challenging, even when they interrupt my day’s plans (perhaps even more so then): they invite me to see God as God is – right among us, beckoning me to open my heart and welcome in the Beloved One before me.

So, too, with the people who interrupt your lives with their messy demands and challenges.  Each one is an invitation to see in them the God who waits for our loving response, to their hunger, their thirst, their loneliness, their discomfort, their brokenness, and their deep-down need to be treated with dignity and respect – even when they stake out positions to which we are opposed or make statements that we find hurtful or hateful.  Even when they profess not share a belief in the God we love. You and I may not be able to broker a lasting peace in the Middle East, but we can begin to build God’s reign of loving peace right where we are, with the people we encounter – in our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our nation.  It is not easy work, but it is essential.

With each effort we make to see each person as God’s Beloved, with every moment of our time and effort and presence in which we respond with love, we make real the existence of God among us, and we bring about God’s dream for us to live in harmony with great care for one another.  Thus, I invite you this Advent to recognize the awesome power you have to make God’s Presence real: You can bring God near, you can wear God’s face and you can act as God’s caring hands and loving heart.  You can be a source of the essential work of building hope, making peace, bringing joy and sharing love, making tangible the Kingdom among us, accomplished right here and now in our world — through each person of good will.    

Let us then, this Advent and always, build the reign of God’s Love among us; let us open our eyes and hearts to see God’s Presence in those who long to feel comfort, hope, and joy in their lives, and respond generously to those around us (and such people are always all around us) who wait to know that their brokenness can be made whole, and their needs fulfilled.   As we wait for God’s ultimate coming, let us become daily reflections of God’s already-here Incarnate Presence.  Happy Advent, indeed!
 

Easter Sunday 2023

Dear Friends,

Happy Easter! Lent has come to an end and the six weeks we thought might be long on Ash Wednesday suddenly brought us to Holy Week and now Easter Sunday. I hope that our holy days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday were days of quiet reflection and great gratitude to our God for sending his Son to redeem and save us.

We know the readings for Easter Sunday as we read them year after year, but they bring a special feeling as we listen and imagine how Mary Magdala, Peter, and John must have felt that first Easter morning. They didn’t understand yet what it all meant, but they were so relieved that Jesus, who they followed with great expectations, was alive.

The readings we begin after Easter about the risen Lord appearing before the apostles are life-giving to us. My favorite Gospel reading is from the 24th chapter of St. Luke which is read on the Wednesday after Easter. It relates the story of two of Jesus’ disciples walking to Emmaus, despondent because of Jesus’ death. Along comes a man who asks why they are upset. They can’t believe he hasn’t heard about the passion and death of Jesus. They don’t recognize him, but he began with Moses and the Prophets and explained about the promises God carried out all these years and what Jesus told him about his death and resurrection while he was with him.

On Holy Thursday we commemorated the Last Supper where Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, which I believe is God’s greatest gift to us. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said:

‘Were not our hearts burning withing us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?’ So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them were saying, ‘The Lord has truly been raised and appeared to Simon.’ Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

May you come to know Jesus more and more in the “breaking of the bread.” We are fortunate to have this great opportunity to receive Jesus and be strengthened by him every time we attend mass.

He is truly risen. That is the great message of Easter!

Sr. Joanne Callahan, OSU
US Province Leader

Dear Friend,

Merry Christmas!

It is hard to believe that Advent is over and we are at the celebration of our God’s coming to earth at Christmas. We do this every year, and we can easily take it for granted and very easily miss the significance of God becoming man.

I have been reflecting on the phrase “God is with us” the last few weeks. I know that we say it each year, but for some reason I have come back to think about what that means for me, for us, and for our world. Do we believe that GOD IS WITH US every moment of our lives and live accordingly?

Mary and Joseph did! We sometimes take them for granted, but yet when we read about Mary welcoming Gabriel and living with the consequences of expecting a baby and raising Jesus to adulthood, we recognize her faith and peace. And Joseph, after being told in a dream: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” he awoke and did what the angel of the Lord had commanded.

How did Mary and Joseph come to know and believe that God was with them in their son? They did it by being open to God in their lives. We need to take the time to talk to Jesus, but also to listen to God in the quiet to know His will for us. It’s a life’s process.

Advent reminds us that each year we go back to the beginning and remembering that by God’s coming we are assured that we will be with Him forever in heaven.

May your Christmas be filled with hope and joy and your new year be happy and healthy!

A Promise Made and Kept

The readings in today's liturgy draw our attention, like a laser, to the fulfillment of God's promise to send a Messiah, a savior, for his people. 

Beginning with the first reading taken from the Hebrew scriptures, we hear from the prophet Isaiah who said: “the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel.” (Is 7:14) 

Then, another passage from the Hebrew scriptures, points to the one who is to come. The psalmist asks in psalm 24, “who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in his holy place?” And he answers “one whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior.” (Ps 24:3-6) 

Turning then to the Christian scriptures, Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, about God's promise...told through his prophets in the holy scriptures, about his son descended from David according to the flesh but established as son of God... according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead.” (Rm 1:1-7) 

Finally, in Matthew’s gospel we are directed, by the words of the Angel to Joseph. In his dream, the Angel of the Lord says, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary, your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that the child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:19-20) 

These readings challenge us to have faith: beginning with the prophecy foretelling of the virgin birth, to Paul who reminds us of God's promise through the ages leading to the resurrection of Jesus as proof of his divinity. In the gospel we hear that Joseph’s fear is dispelled by the Angel and that the child in Mary's womb is truly the son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. A line is drawn straight from Isaiah to Matthew - a promise given; a promise kept. Hope in the promise leads us to Joy in its fulfillment: the time of waiting is over. The Good news - Oh Emmanuel - God is with us! 

Can we genuinely appreciate the enormous challenge this message presents us? The good news that God is with us is a call for you and me to be the face of God in this world; to extend our joy to others. In other words, the Christ who lives in me must recognize the Christ who lives and abides in others. Can you imagine the effect this action could produce? Who knows? But just imagine what it would be like to live in a world where peace and joy blanket the whole earth! 

Joy of the Eucharist

Do we realize that we get to see Jesus every day?

I’m Emmanuel Arenas and this is my one-min reflection.

We all long to encounter God, especially during difficult times. The temptation is often to become impatient and to seek our joy in something else.

In today’s second reading, Saint James urges us to persevere in “hardship and patience” and to follow the example of the prophets. Why? Because they knew that true and lasting joy can only come from encountering God. 

Jesus reveals God to us in the incarnation and the Eucharist. In his recent apostolic letter, Desiderio Desideravi, Pope Francis says that “In the Eucharist and in all the sacraments we are guaranteed the possibility of encountering the Lord Jesus…” In the liturgy, God “allows us—here, on earth—to see [Him]…”

So, on this Third Sunday of Advent, let’s contemplate at Mass the joy that the prophets would have felt if they could see what we see in the Eucharist.

Fr. Emmanuel Arenas, SJ
The Jesuit Post

Do not be afraid … for you have found favor with God.” - Luke 1:30

The Annunciation is a startling moment in our salvation history, so often captured in art; paintings, music and poetry all retell the story of Gabriel’s heralding message to Mary, who receives it, knowing doubt and belief, comfort and fear, sorrow and joy.  This story offers space for experiencing both the burden of desolation and the uplifting fullness of hope; thus, it speaks to us with an immediacy that addresses our present, fraught circumstances and provides us with comfort and strength to help us find our way forward.

We hear Gabriel comfort Mary:

“Do not be afraid … you have found favor with God,” or, more familiarly, “the Lord is with you.”    Then, Gabriel closes with “Nothing is impossible with God.”

I imagine that Mary constantly recalled the experience of her encounter with Gabriel over the ensuing months and unfolding years, striving to allay her anxieties and remain confident, unburdened by worry (or those seven sorrows that pierced her heart).  How she must have chanted the reassuring words – “Do not be afraid” – as a daily mantra, when circumstances threatened to pull her into the darkness of doubt and fear.  How many times did she replay the fragmented memory?  How many times did she ponder the meaning of the angel’s words – “nothing is impossible with God?”  How many times was she tempted to fall into despair rather than spring into rejoicing over God’s miraculous promise(s)?

And yet (in the story of our salvation history, there is always an “and yet”), Mary remained steadfast in her “yes,” aware of the sorrows she faced but nonetheless standing firm in her experience of the One Who Fulfills Promises Always.  She thereby infuses this story with a radical newness and a fundamental openness to beginnings, even, to the practice of constantly beginning again, because each day becomes an opportunity to reassert her affirmation.  The Annunciation, then, is an account ripe with both rejoicing and questioning; it offers the grace of holding tenderly the uncertainties of life and carrying all of it – the paradox, the promise, the painful perplexities and the possibilities – in the fullness of our humanity, honoring both our limited weakness and our beautiful strength.

In these last three years, as we have grappled with the demands of the pandemic, our experience of life has been filled with challenges, uncertainties, painful and perplexing – at times deeply so – but also replete with possibilities that lead us into hope.  In our work at Parish Outreach, we have seen the great need and hunger of those whose lives are precarious, and we have known the wonderfully generous outpouring of support from people with compassionate hearts.  We have seen some volunteers step away, for reasons of health and safety, and have welcomed others who came forward out of a desire to share in the work of tending to the last, the lost and the least among us, who are, as Pope Francis reminds us, so dear to God’s heart.

Mary’s story prompts us to remember that our human experience, as it develops, is ever met with the perfect Love of our God – in the midst of our fear, our struggling, our poverty, our weakness, our insecurity, our anxiety, and our isolation; God comes to meet us where and as we are.  Additionally, it underscores that we are given, each day, an opportunity to enter into the risk of faith and respond wholeheartedly with “yes” to such a great Love. 

This Gospel, ultimately, concerns God – the Almighty, the King of Heaven, the Creator of the Universe – becoming wholly open and intimately vulnerable to us, one-with-us in our humanity, and inviting us to journey as companions.  This God, who became emptied of self to become like us in our need and powerlessness, asks us to walk with the One who is carried in Mary’s womb, who sleeps in a manger, who flees for refuge in a foreign land, who gets lost in a Temple, who celebrates a wedding feast, who holds children, who touches lepers, who welcomes strangers, who feeds the hungry, who forgives sinners, who offers his very self as food, and finally who surrenders himself to an extraordinarily painful death, remaining wholly human even to the very last moment of submission.  This is the God who has already spoken “yes” to us, and only beckons us to hear the message, so that we may know the full sweep of that Word, and allow such Word to be proclaimed into and through our lives, in order to transform us and our world.  There is no greater welcome, no wider openness, no fuller freedom, no warmer embrace, and no invitation more joyous than this.

The absolute welcome of God’s Love never ends, so that wherever we find ourselves, we are always received, known, accepted and embraced.  So, whatever the circumstances of our days, and whatever insecurity such circumstances may foster within us, we are called to remember (in the marrow of our be-ing) what Gabriel proclaimed to Mary: “The Lord is with you, be not afraid.”

May we believe that the promises of our God will be fulfilled.

Sister Lisa Bergeron, OSU has been an Ursuline Sister of Tildonk for more than forty years.  Currently, she is Director of Parish Social Ministry at St. John Nepomucene Church, Bohemia, NY, where she oversees more than 200 volunteers to serve those in need.
 

Abounding in Hope and Joy

The Scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Advent invite us to deepen our confidence in God, convinced that He will gift us with joy, peace, and hope through His coming. St. Paul captures the theme of Advent in his prayer  in the letter to the Romans: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and  peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Rom. 15:13

St. Paul’s prayer is a call to believe and to be alert to the stirrings of our heart coming from the Holy Spirit during the days leading up to Christmas. All the hopes and the promises handed down from Isaiah are fulfilled in Jesus. This brings joy!

During Advent we are encouraged to allow God, our loving Father,  to overcome our fears with His hope, believing He has a plan even when things look chaotic to us. Hope encompasses more than wishful thinking. Hope is about faith and believing in what we can’t see. We therefore trust God who knows us, and who will give us whatever we need to stand strong.

Sometimes it seems as if our hope and God’s promises are mingled with fear. One Christmas hymn in particular seems to capture that idea: “Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” (“O Little Town of Bethlehem”) The “hopes and fears of all the years” converged in the birth of Jesus Christ on that dark, quiet night in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. The hymn was written in 1868 by Phillips Brooks, a rector of Philadelphia, after a trip to the Holy Land and seeing Bethlehem at night from the hills of Palestine.

Rooted in Christ: Called to live in Hope and Joy was the theme of our recent Ursuline Province Chapter meetings. As we expressed how we will live in the coming years, I found it remarkable to see how we, along with our associate members, are willing to embrace changes with creativity and trust. This demonstrates a firm faith flowing from our contemplative listening and hope for the future. Remembering what God has done for us in the past, we are able to rely on His promises, knowing that he will continue to do it again during these challenging times.

Being rooted in Christ means that our faith in God and in what he is capable of doing, sustains us through good times and bad.

Dear Friends,

Happy Easter! “Jesus is Risen, he has truly Risen.” Today we celebrate the greatest feast of the year.

I love the readings about the Resurrection and those that we read and reflect on over the octave (eight days) of Easter. My favorite reading is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). The disciples were very discouraged as they walked. They believed, but they did not understand all Jesus had promised.

As Jesus approached them, he asked them: “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They were shocked that he did not know about the events of Jesus’ life and death. They shared that they hoped Jesus was the one who would redeem Israel. Jesus told them: “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

They ended up inviting Jesus to stay with them. At dinner Jesus took bread and wine, blessed it, and give it to them. They said to one another: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” They immediately returned the seven miles to Jerusalem to report to the rest of the disciples that they had seen the Lord and how they came to know him “in the breaking of the bread.”

This passage means so much to me because I value the Eucharist and believe it is the greatest gift Jesus left us. In hearing the word of God proclaimed at every mass and being able to receive Jesus, we come to know more about him and we are strengthened to live the life he calls us to live.

Jesus wants to help us every day and the Eucharist helps us to live out our lives in accordance with God’s will for us. Eucharist means thanksgiving, so sharing in the mass we come to thank the Lord for all the gifts he has given us. I invite you to read and reflect on the readings of the Easter season so that you will realize the love God has for each of us and the help he offers us today and promises for the life here after.

Happy Easter!

Sr. Joanne Callahan, OSU

It is once again Palm Sunday, the beginning of this most holy of weeks, when we commemorate Jesus’s passion and attempt to follow him in taking up the Cross. Yes, we remember that Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, heralded with acclaim as the messiah, but we also recognize that he knew what awaited him. He understood that he faced unbelievable suffering, and would endure an excruciating death. And yet, he nevertheless humbled himself, offering himself as food for all, allowing himself to be broken and taken, even by those whom he knew would betray him, and deny him, and torture him and abandon him. At the end, there were no adoring crowds, no group of faithful disciples, no gathering of friends, not even the hint of God’s comforting presence. There was simply his long-suffering mother and the torturous experience of abandonment: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

In his willingness to endure such a death, Jesus saved all who are abandoned by others – the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the unemployed, the disabled, those suffering from infectious diseases or mental illnesses, political prisoners, those elderly and alone, the grieving, those on death row. Moreover, he invites us to see and stand with all those who hang upon such crosses and respond compassionately to their sufferings -- of illness, indifference, rejection, hunger, isolation, joblessness, racism, oppression, homelessness, or violence or pain of any kind.

We are told by St. Paul, “Your attitude must be Christ’s.” Thus, we must empty ourselves, take the form of slaves and respond with compassionate love to those who suffer abandonment by the world. Such is the way Jesus showed us as the path to fullness of life, that is life in abundance.

As we journey through this Holy Week, I invite each of us to imitate Christ and be emptied of everything but the compassionate Love of our God, so that it may take deep, strengthening root in our hearts; let God’s Love blossom within us so that it may bear fruit in our daily lives – in our increased capacities for peaceableness, understanding, patience, kindness, presence, forgiveness, acceptance and mercy. Let it free us to become the very compassion of God.

May it truly be a holy week for us and for our world.

Sister Lisa Bergeron, o.s.u., has been an Ursuline Sister of Tildonk for more than forty years. Currently, she is Director of Parish Social Ministry at St. John Nepomucene Church, in Bohemia, NY.

Today’s readings are full of promise. Something new is afoot. A way is made in the desert, there are rivers in the wasteland; Tears are turned to rejoicing; Seeds are sown. The woman in the Gospel, who was taken in the act of adultery, no longer has accusers. She is forgiven and free to go. God does great things for us. All strain forward looking to what lies ahead—the goal.

When you look around our world with Covid-19 still threatening, with war raging in Ukraine and hundreds of innocent people being indiscriminately killed, with over three million people being forced to leave their homeland, it may not feel like something new is afoot, at least not something good. In times like these, it is only our faith and deep connection to Jesus that can keep us on the journey toward our goal, the prize of God’s upward calling. In the forgiveness of Jesus I believe the adulterous woman found her seed and went forward to sow it.

What is the seed that you are carrying, that has been given to you alone by God, that you have to offer to our world in order to allow “something new” to happen?

This poem by Mary Oliver, entitled “When I Cried for Help” may assist us in finding it:

Where are you, Angel of Mercy?
Outside in the dusk, among the flowers?
Leaning against the window or the door?
Or waiting, half asleep, in the spare room?
I’m here, said the Angel of Mercy,
I’m everywhere—in the garden, in the house,
And everywhere else on earth—so much asking, so much to do.
Hurry! I need you.

Sr. Catherine Talia, OSU

The third Sunday of Lent brings us half-way on our journey to Passion Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. The readings present us with the comfort of being called by God and the challenge of our tendency to become complacent.

The burning bush Moses experienced as God's call to lead  the Israelites  out of Egypt did not hint at a forty-year struggle in the wilderness. We can all think of how God has called us to a covenant of love. Along with the call, God offers  us mercy, faithfulness,  forgiveness and the grace to respond to the call. Ash Wednesday brought us a new sense of beginning­ filling us with good intentions and confidence that we would bring those intentions to fruition. St. Paul warns the community at Corinth not to be overconfident. They needed to remember how God dealt with the Israelites on their forty-year trek towards the Promised Land. By this time in Lent, the struggle to push on to the goal follows this pattern we all experience as human beings. The journey is long and arduous; happily, God is always with us! In the Gospel of Luke there is an urgent alert to the early Christian community of their complacency as they experienced "delay" in Jesus' return, which they had expected was imminent. Time has a way of dulling our fervor.

The story of the fig tree reminds us of God's patience and forbearance despite our human failures and weakness. However, if conversion does not take place, time will run out for us at some point; this is a reality that becomes all too familiar as we age. Let us practice living in the present moment. Let us allow the situations in our lives to move us to repentance and conversion. May we approach the second half of Lent with greater fervor as we look forward to renewed life which in the promise of Easter.
 

Linda Siani

Ursuline Associate

A somewhat unsettling but interesting thought to ponder.  Do I live my life in such a way that I will deserve the accolades that some will proclaim when I am dust?  Do my relationships with “the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the black, the white, the red” reflect the Gospel values I proclaim?  Do I even have relationships that reach beyond my comfort zone?  When my dust settles will the world be a better place, or will it still be the same as when I was a thought in God’s eye?

What would it be like to contemplate the Word of God from the perspective of the dust we shall become?

In the Old Testament, Joel and the people of Israel are being called by God to repentance.  The God who is merciful, kind, patient and always ready to forgive tells all of us in this reading that we must “Rend our hearts, not our garments.” He tells Joel, “Tearing your clothes is not enough. ” Looking through the lens of the dust we shall become and peering at this present moment, what are we doing that is not enough?  Are there parts of our lives we need to rend, tear apart, knowing some day we will stand alone before our God? 

 2 Corinthians calls us to be ambassadors of Christ. This letter also reminds us that we are not alone.  God is always with us. God will give us the grace we need to accomplish our mission. I suppose a piece of this daunting task is to know what God is asking each of us.  Looking through the lens of the dust we shall become, what is the mission God wants me to accomplish as an ambassador of Christ? Am I on the right path or do I need to change course? How will I know? The letter to the Corinthians reminds us, “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart.” 

As we repent, listen to God’s voice, and discern how to live as ambassadors of Christ, Matthew reminds us in the Gospel to “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.”  Of course it is impossible to live a life of secrecy and at the same time be an ambassador of Christ.  So looking through the lens of the dust I shall become, how do I want to live the rest of the life that God will grant me?

“Remember thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return.”

Sr. Geraldine Conklin, OSU

I’ve always been very curious when the Gospels tell us that Jesus went off by himself to pray. I can’t imagine what the prayer of Jesus with God the Father was like. This time, however, Jesus invited Peter, James and John to join Him. He had tried to explain to them before what would be happening to Him in the coming days, but they really didn’t get it. Maybe now, by sharing His prayer, they would begin to grasp it.

The Gospel writers tell us nothing about Jesus’ words; they simply indicate that his prayer was an experience of loving union with His Father that involved His entire being. That experience so filled Him that His face glowed with a look of grace and His entire appearance became dazzling. But as Jesus entered into communion with His Father, the disciples nodded and dozed.

Although we are not privy to their words, Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah were there and spoke with Jesus about His coming departure by way of a crucifixion and God’s promised resurrection on the third day. Again the disciples did not understand.

But Peter wanting to preserve the moment of being with Jesus, offered to quickly put up tents – until they heard a heavenly voice tell them all they – and we – ever need to know. “This is my Son whom I have chosen. Listen to Him.”

When Jesus invited the disciples to be with Him in prayer He allowed them to see the most intimate and deepest dimension of His being. This time they began to grasp the message. When the voice had finished, they saw only Jesus – He, who was all they needed.

Although we can’t go up that same mountain nor enjoy encounters with God as Peter, James and John did, the Gospels were written to allow us to contemplate Jesus, and like the disciples, to learn how He is God for us in every sense of the word. We have the advantage of what the disciples tell us, but we still must discover for ourselves what it means to listen to Him in our time. That means we must come to know Jesus well, and like the disciples, we must allow ourselves to be overshadowed by God’s presence. Through that sort of listening, we will be drawn into adopting Jesus’ way, hopes and prayers. Then, maybe, occasionally, our faces too will glow.

Sr. Judith O'Connor, OSU

Jesus is led into the desert by the Spirit and is tempted.

Today's reading challenges us to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. Are you ready to follow?

The Gospel tells us of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist and of his being led into the desert by the Holy Spirit.

The desert was a vast, harsh, and dangerous environment where wild animals, extremes of heat and cold and lack of food and water existed. We may wonder why it was necessary for Jesus to be led by the Spirit into such a desolate place. What purpose did it serve? Sacred scripture provides the answer seen in the examples of both Moses and Elijah - both of whom spent 40 days in prayer and fasting on God's holy mountain. God put Moses and Elijah to the test to prepare them for their mission - to proclaim God's word. Likewise, Jesus withdrew to the desert to prepare himself for the mission for which he had been anointed and confirmed by the Father.

After spending 40 days and nights in prayer and fasting to prepare himself for his mission we can imagine that Jesus was in a weakened and vulnerable condition. It was at this point that Jesus was confronted by the temptations of Satan as Luke tells us. Jesus had to struggle to overcome the temptation to choose his own way instead of his Father's. This is the temptation we so often face. The wily demon temps Jesus with; food to alleviate his hunger, glory, power, and wealth, to curb his appetite for fame, and finally the test to prove that he was the son of God by challenging Jesus to test God's will to protect him. In each case Jesus resisted citing words from scripture to rebuke him. Each temptation that Jesus faced offered insight into the spirituality we hope to develop on our Lenten journey.

Luke ends his narrative with the fact that the devil left Jesus for a time. This implies that he will return, that he (we) will be tempted again. As we begin this Lenten journey this Gospel calls us to proceed with the confidence of Jesus - knowing that God alone can be trusted.

Sr. Laurentine Morgan, OSU

Ursulines from around the world celebrate the Feast of our Foundress, St. Angela Merici on January 27th.  St. Angela, along with twenty-eight companions, consecrated themselves by taking the vow of virginity on November 25, 1535 in Brescia, Italy.  She called her group the Company of St. Ursula, which is how we became known as Ursulines.

Many groups have descended from that first group.  St. Angela wrote Counsels, Legacies, and a Primitive Rule.  These documents have been the guiding principles that Ursulines have reflected on for almost five hundred years.

There are so many quotes that have helped Ursulines live out the ideals set forth by St. Angela.  The Last Legacy has influenced all Ursulines and continues to influence us today:

Lastly, take great care that the good directives given you, and especially those of the Rule, are observed in earnest. 
If, with the change of times and circumstances, it becomes necessary to make fresh rules, or to alter anything, then do it with prudence, after taking good advice. 
Let your first refuge always be to have recourse to Jesus Christ, to pray fervently... in this way, Jesus Christ will undoubtedly be in your midst, and like a true and good Master, He will enlighten and instruct you as to what you should do.

St. Angela began her company to work with women and children, and she met a critical need for education in Brescia at the time.  While the Ursulines have begun other ministries to meet the changing needs of the people of God, they have remained rooted in the education of others and continue to make God known and loved.

As we celebrate this special feast, we remember the Ursulines who have served in the past and those serving around the world today. 

May the vision of St. Angela continue in the women who follow the courage of St. Angela today.
 

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In commemoration of the birthday of Father John Lambertz, founder of the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, we look to his simple everyday actions as the vehicle through which we find a deeper understanding of the Gospels. Inspiration, courage, and wisdom are qualities found in the way our founders lived their lives. The insights seen in the decisions and actions that took place in his daily life attest to the humble man of God he was. His care and concern for his parishioners can be heard as he speaks to their hearts from the pulpit and tells them, “Never fear to be a trouble to me… come to me in your need, in illness, at any time - day or night ….”

The Prophet Micah proclaims, “this is the kind of worship that God asks of us: that we live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6: 6)

John Lambertz’s awareness of God, communicated to us directly in his own words in a letter written January 2, 1862, urges the sisters to “seek first the Kingdom of God and the salvation of souls and all the rest will be given you in super abundance. Strip yourself to cover another,” he tells them, “and you will always be rich enough.”

Faith, love, concern for others - this was a man who loved tenderly, who lived justly. These basic values are elements of his belief that God dwelled in him and that this indwelling Spirit was Love. This attitude manifested itself to others in action, for John Lambertz was indeed a just man who walked humbly with his God.
 

Sr. Laurentine Morgan, OSU

Gracious Lord, Child of Bethlehem, As you were born into a family who fled to Egypt as refugees, help us grow in solidarity with refugees everywhere, to know we are all refugees, until our hearts find refuge in you.

As you were born under an oppressive regime, let us grow in solidarity with those whose governments deny them their rights and try to undermine their dignity. Help us work for just governance everywhere.

As it was workers, the shepherds, who first came to know you, the carpenter’s son, let us remember the dignity of human labor— that you share a special love for those who work hard for their sustenance, and toil beside them.

Let us honor you, in work and in prayer, that livelihoods may be secure, and that workers not be exploited.

As you were adored by the Magi who came from far-off nations to honor you, let us bring to all nations the great good news that is your love.

As your coming was joyfully sung by angels, let us with joy celebrate the gift of life every time a child of God is conceived, and honor that gift with our care.

As you were denied any birthplace but a stable, help us to open our homes, our lives, our hearts to the coming of God and his presence in your people.

Be born this time into our hearts, dear Lord. Gracious Lord, Child of Bethlehem, through the cradle of our hearts, be born into our world.

"Gracious Lord, Child of Bethlehem"
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Sr. Catherine Talia, OSU

This is the gospel which tells about the ministry of John proclaiming the “baptism of repentance.”

I found an adaptation of a sermon on this passage given a thousand years ago which has relevance today:

Let us hear what the Voice of the Word calls to us so that one day we may progress from the Voice of the Word. “Prepare the way of the Lord,” he says, “make straight his paths.” (Isa. 40:3) They prepare the way who amend their lives; they make straight the paths who direct their footsteps along the narrow way. An amended life is certainly the straight road by which the Lord, who in this very conversion is already there before us, may come to us...

By what does one correct his way, if not by observing the Lord’s words, if not by following in the footsteps of him who made himself the Way by which we might come to him?

O that my ways may be directed to keeping your ways, O Lord, so that because of the words from your lips I may follow even difficult ways... “His ways are pleasant ways and all his paths make for peace,” says the inspired writer. (Prov. 3:17)

The ways of Wisdom are not only at peace, they bring peace.

- Blessed Guerric of Igny, adapted from “A Sermon for Advent” from Give Us This Day (November 2021, page 61)

What ways might the Lord be calling you to this Advent? In what ways do you need to amend to come closer to the Word Incarnate on Christmas Day?

Sr. Margaret Golub, OSU

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” – Luke 1:45

Today’s Gospel is filled with joy for me: the jubilant encounter between Elizabeth and Mary is colored by the fact that, although each had received surprising, even troubling, news, each woman had nevertheless opened herself to God’s transformational presence in her life. Neither, of course, was a prime candidate for motherhood: one well past her childbearing years, and the other quite too young and unmarried. Yet, they trusted in God’s word, and in their own, unfolding experience of God’s presence; they found solidarity in their common circumstances: expectant, hopeful, welcoming of each other and of the astonishing births to come.

When Elizabeth honors Mary for her steadfast belief in God’s fulfillment of God’s promises, she is praising Mary’s fundamental trust that empowered her to believe in God’s providential care. It would have been understandable if either woman had allowed anxiety or fear to overcome her trust – fear of her future, fear about her capacity to weather what lay ahead, fear over the comments and criticisms sure to be uttered about such unusual pregnancies, fear about how their normal lives would be disrupted, broken open and utterly changed. Nonetheless, these women remained grounded in their belief in a God whose abiding love supported and sustained them, their faith unshaken, but instead strengthened for the dark days ahead. They present a remarkable testament to the power of trust in the face of challenging circumstances.

We, too, are called to such steadfast trust. Our hopes may be dimmed by the dark shadow of suffering and death that hangs over our world right now, as we continue to confront this seemingly endless pandemic. We are weary of wearing masks, of being advised to take precautions, of refraining from everyday pleasures, of keeping separate from loved ones and strangers alike. We are anxious that all that we have known is completely changed forever. And COVID’s evolving viral mutations may well undermine our trust in a loving, abiding, providential God.

Yet, even now, we are invited to believe – like Mary, like Elizabeth – that what has been promised by our God will be fulfilled: the lame shall dance; the deaf shall hear singing; the hungry shall be fed; the small, the weak and the broken shall find reason to rejoice; the downtrodden shall be raised up; God’s reign of merciful love shall flourish among us; and we shall overcome the differences that divide us and destroy our peace.

No matter the darkness that shrouds our souls, God shall remain true. My experience these last twenty-two months – when we have been asked to feed from our

Pantry more than twice the number of people we usually serve and have never even come close to running out of food or volunteers to pack and deliver it – only strengthens my deep faith that God is intimately present, holding us close, sheltering in God’s loving embrace all those who are suffering in body, broken in spirit or despairing of heart; that our God is mourning with those who are grieving, and tenderly holding as precious every single person on this planet. And, God is inviting each of us to do the same for one another.

As this final week of Advent unfolds, let us, like Mary and Elizabeth, ground ourselves in trust, open ourselves to hope and renew our commitment to be a blessing for our world: to become God’s promise fulfilled in the lives of those in need around us. And, as Christmas draws near, may we each know with an unshakeable strength that we are loved•cherished•treasured beyond measure and far more abundantly than we can hold. Perhaps then, God’s peace will truly prevail – in our hearts, in our neighborhoods, in our places of work and study and worship, in the halls of power, and in every dark corner of our world.

Sister Lisa Bergeron, OSU, has been an Ursuline Sister of Tildonk for more than 40 years. Currently, she is the Director of Parish Social Ministry at St. John Nepomucene Church, in Bohemia, NY, where she has the privilege to work with nearly 300 dedicated and compassionate volunteers.

Advent brings us to a new beginning - the beginning of a new liturgical year. It is a time of promise, preparation, and justice. As we reflect upon the scripture readings for the first Sunday of the Advent let us recall that the word of God given in the Holy Scriptures is more than a mere message to past generations - it is God's loving gift to us for all time. It is a compass to help keep us on the right path.

Beware! Be watchful! Be vigilant!

These alarming words in the Sunday Gospel sound a dire message unlike most of the readings found throughout the Advent Season. In fact, the reading of this Gospel passage coincides with many of the stressful events and circumstances we are currently experiencing: turbulent weather and climate, volatile hurricanes, drought, forest fires, floods, tornadoes, political and cultural conflicts - enough to strike fear in one's heart.

Beware! Be watchful! Be vigilant!

Words that challenge me and lead me to ask for what are we to be watching? In Jeremiah’s reading, those in exile were desperate for help and found HOPE in Jeremiah’s promise that God would raise up prophets and leaders to guide them to justice.

The psalmist pleads “Your ways O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God, my savior, and for you I wait all the day.”

The Thessalonians in the second reading, are encouraged to be holy and pleasing to God. Then in the Gospel Jesus speaks to the disciples about the need to be vigilant and prayerful as they await the coming of the Son of Man in glory.

Wisdom and strength are the results of our faith which gives witness to God's unfailing love for us in all circumstances. Like the early Christians these events encountered today could lead to the loss of hope; but through prayer we find strength in the continuing presence of Jesus who is with us always. This enables us to endure all things thus giving witness to God's presence in our world.

What we are really waiting for this Advent is a deeper understanding of the birth of Jesus Christ. We are preparing for the deeper awareness that a savior, Christ the Lord, is present in the world through you and me. Let us vigilantly watch that we may always reflect the “Good News” that God is a living presence in the world today.

Sr. Laurentine Morgan, OSU