Sisters of St. Joseph: Seized by Love

A few years ago I was asked to prepare a prayer for our Chapter Year. Chapter is basically a series of meetings where we pray about where have been and how the Spirit is moving us into the future. All religious communities have meetings like this every few years. It's sort of like a mini-synod. The meetings are very important in terms of setting direction and selecting new leadership.

Why I'm writing about this now is because I want to share a slightly adapted version of the prayer we used for our last year of Chapter meetings. The picture is the logo from that Chapter year. It was created by one of our sisters who teaches graphic design at our college [Regis College]

I've heard from a couple of other groups of Sisters of St. Joseph who actaully adapted this prayer for use with their group and are still using it. I'm also planning to adapt it for use with our Board of Directors and Trustees of our Sponsored Ministries. When I shared a prayer for St. Joseph's Day a few months ago a number of people asked to use it.

September is always a time of new beginnings. So it seemed as good a time as any to share this prayer. If you decide to use or adapt this anywhere, please just let me know.

God of Inclusive Love,
Christ of Outpouring Love,
Spirit of Communal Love,
breathe in us and among us,
Sisters of St. Joseph,
during the year ahead.

May we participate in this year
with the zeal of Jesus,
a zeal marked by generous courage
and humble self-emptying love,
the fidelity of Mary
who was filled to overflowing
with every kind of grace,
and the cordial charity of Joseph
whose service was grounded
in relationship with God
and neighbor without distinction.

Rooted in the rich heritage
of the women who are our past,
seized by the same Love
that impelled them to be in relationship
with the reality of their changing world
and changing times,
inspired by their vision, integrity, and fidelity,
we enter into this year
with courage and hope.

Our God, the people of our world,
our Earth, and all creation,
call us to embrace
ever widening circles of communion.
Impel us to action,
action that stirs up Love,
is connective and inclusive,
and deepens our commitment
to be and become Your people.

Adapted from Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston, Chapter Prayer 2005-06

Prayer by Joanne Gallagher, csj, Logo by Ann Marie Grady, csj