Soundings Update & CSSJ Federation Gathering the Daughters 2014

http://www.csjboston.org/news-and-events/soundings-update/soundings/
Check out our latest issue of Soundings Update.

Read about a Good Friday interfaith procession of the cross and the CSSJ Federation Gathering the Daughters 2014. 
While you're there, check our website for liturgies and other events at which all are welcome.

Sisters of St. Joseph in Egypt

We have Sisters of St. Joseph of the Lyon Congregation in Egypt. This letter from Lyon was forwarded to us by Patty Johnson, CSJ, Executive Director of our CSSJ US Federation. It tells of the school where our sisters minister in Minya that was targeted and pillaged by the Muslim Brotherhood. May we keep them and all the people of Egypt in prayer.



Sisters of St. Joseph School in Minya

Dear Sisters,

We are constantly hearing news about the situation in Egypt but you must be expecting more precise information from our Sisters.

The Sisters are all in good health, but with their people, are living a difficult situation. As they were all in Cairo for their retreat, Wednesday afternoon (their last day), they learned that the Muslim Brotherhood targeted the school and the caretaker’s house: they pillaged, set fire to the oldest part of the house, burnt cars and school buses.  It seems that the Sisters’ house was not too heavily damaged.

In many areas of the city and in other cities where the Copts (Christians, Catholics and orthodox) are few in number, there were similar assaults: churches and schools destroyed by fire, as well as businesses owned by Christians.

Yesterday morning, the Sisters left the retreat house but stayed in two communities in Cairo because these days, there are no means of travel to Minya.  Some are at Heliopolis and others are at the retirement house in Dar el Adra.

 

Not being at home during those events, the Sisters are aware of having narrowly escaped more serious outcomes.  The caretaker and his family had left the premises an hour earlier.

The Sisters are in contact with the Principal of the school who lives in Minya and with a lawyer who sent them photos of the damage done and have begun to assess the losses sustained.  This is a huge worry for the Sisters since they do not know when they will be able to return to Minya.

 

The Sisters can receive mail sent to Cairo. We remain in contact with them and assure them of our prayer that peace may return to their country.

Your Sister,

Sr. Catherine Barange

Sisters of St. Joseph: Moving Forward In Hope

Our Latest issue of Soundings Update is available at:
http://www.csjboston.org/su-Apr-10-2013.pdf

Be sure to read about
 Moving Forward in Hope as Sisters of St. Joseph

• full text of this article is also available on our US CSSJ Federation Website at: 
  
  http://www.sistersofsaintjosephfederation.org/node/188

and ...

Our 6th Annual Good Friday Peace Vigil

Sisters of St. Joseph Being & Acting as One in the Digital Age

Soundings Update for October 17 is now available online. In addition to an article about our October 2, Boston Founders' Day celebration, there is an article about the meeting of CSSJ Federation Communicators who met on the same day just before the NCNWR annual conference . The focus of the CSSJ Communicators Gathering was Being and Acting as One in the Digital Age.

In addition to reading this article, you're also encouraged to check out the frequent updates on the website of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

As part of the prayer to begin the CSSJ Communicators' gathering, we reflected on excerpts from a keynote presentation given by Nancy Sylverster, IHM, during the 2005 NCNWR annual conference. In Nancy's words :

Change is also a constant and so we need to be aware of our changing environments and remind ourselves of the final lesson of the Universe that we are flexible and adaptable. But to do that also needs a sense of ownership of the whole.

We live and work in an increasing complex environment of church and world. We need as many perspectives as possible to think through who we are and how we want to express ourselves.

As Brian Swimme so elegantly writes in The Universe Story, “…To be is to be related, for relationship is the essence of existence….Nothing is itself without everything else…The universe evolves into beings that are different from each other, and that organize themselves…the universe advances into community—into a differentiated web of relationship among sentient centers of creativity.” We need to learn the lessons from the Universe for we are the Universe unfolding.

 

Patty Johnson, CSJ, during the
CSSJ Communicators' gathering
 

Although it was not specifically planned, the way in which these words echoed the excellent presentation by Patty Johnson, CSJ, Executive Director of the CSSJ U.S. Federation, confirmed how much in converging and unfolding TOGETHER in our universe. Read the full article on the Federation website to see what I mean.

CSSJ Communicators, Barb & Ann
during the gathering
 

3rd Anniversary of this Blog...and more

I can hardly believe that it was three years ago this week that I began this blog -- January 7, 2009, to be exact. In the beginning I wondered if I'd be able to keep it going and soon discovered that the is no lack of news and/or information to share about the world of the Sisters of St. Joseph. This week alone seems to hold so many events:

• Vocation Awareness Week -- see USCCB website and previous post on this blog
• National Human Trafficking Awareness Day -- 5th Anniversary
• National Migration Week -- see USCCB website

This afternoon we will gather with sisters, associates, friends, and neighbors from around the Boston area for a prayer vigil in observance of the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. There's an article in the "Your Town" section of the Boston Globe titled Brighton vigil Sunday to pray for end to human trafficking  about this event. Hopefully there will be more articles to follow-up on the event.

The Superbowl is happening in a few weeks and Sisters of St. Joseph in the Indianapolis area are working to address the issue of human trafficking that all too often happens during big events like that. You can read about this in a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch [scroll down to the last letter on the list].

It may sound as if this post is all over the map and not just about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. I think this just emphasizes how connected we as congregations across the U.S. -- and across the world for that matter. CSSJs are always trying to keep in mind how we can be and act more as one. Our advocacy and action on behalf of the issue of human trafficking is just one example.in the "Your Town" section of the Boston Globe

Congratulations NIX on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

As New Year's Eve approaches, so does the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day [January 11, 2012]. Many readers of this blog will recall the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, NIX Converence and Meeting Management Company, The Millennium Hotel, ECPAT, and Covering House in St. Louis. Over two years ago none of us could have dreamed of the impact of our actions.

S. Joyce, Kim from NIX, S. Kathy, and Dominic
at the Millennium Hotel in July 2011

Many hotels have signed the EPCAT Code of Conduct but few have done it so publically. The Federation Event 2011 website has all the news coverage that surrounded this event.

The ripple effect of this action has been a true expression of connecting neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God. On January 11, 2012, NIX will be the first meeting planning company in the U.S. to sign a Meeting Planner’s Code of Conduct. The impact of this is huge. Read the press release on the NIX website: http://www.nixassoc.com/more-about-nix/

Recently I received an email from Kim, the Senior Account Manager and coorinator of Nix, inviting us to this event. In the note she describes the impact of the Sisters of St. Joseph on her life and work.

The Federation has made such an immense impact on our company and our city! We thank you and as promised, once the event was over your mission has carried on. Personally, you have created a fire in me that cannot be extinguished, and I love and thank you all for that. One of the most memorable parts of the my year after the Federation event is that everywhere there was a CSJ, they would take my hand and tell me that I too was a CSJ at heart…and I believe that to be true. Because I knew you, I have been changed for good…

You may also want to check out the Healing Action Network that was founded in 2011 in response to the growing need of person-centered awareness, advocacy, and action on behalf of sexually exploited individuals. NIX, ECPAT, and Covering House are part of this network.

Soundings Update Nov 23 2011

The latest issue of Soundings Update is available at http://www.csjboston.org/SOUNDINGS.htm

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anti-Trafficking, Tassa Tags, and Black Friday

There are lots of reasons why not to shop on Black Friday. The whole hype about this day has gotten so out of perspective. The only reason that Massachusetts stores aren't opening before midnight on Thanksgiving is that it's against Massachusetts laws. Now they are talking about all the security measures that will be needed so that people are not injured or even killed by one another.
Check out this article in today's Boston Globe:
Keeping shoppers in line on Black Friday
Is this about Christmas gift-giving? Is it about approaching the Christmas Season...or even Advent?

There are lots of Fair Trade shopping sites. Here's just one that came up in a quick google search:
Greater Good Network

There are lots of ways you can still shop on Black Friday, not put your life in danger of injury, and actually not contribute to the consumer hype. You can even fight Human Trafficking as you "shop."

order Tassa Tags at http://www.tassatag.org/

One way is to purchase Tassa Tags for your friends and family. Samples of these tags are at the top of this post. They are luggage tags.  The tags are for Travlers against Sex Slavery and Trafficking. The person who sells them has become affiliated with ECPAT . I wrote a lot about ECPAT back in July when the Sisters of St. Joseph U.S. Federation worked with the Millennium Hotel to address hotel trafficking.

Earlier this week, Massachusetts Lawmakers finally approved human trafficking bill. This is a big step in the right direction. Although about the passage of the bill was eclipsed by the casino bill, our Justice & Peace Director pointed out to me that casinos are a place where human trafficking happens.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/11/15/mass_lawmakers_weigh_final_human_trafficking_bill/?fb_ref=art&fb_source=profile_oneline

Massachusetts is one of three -- yes three -- states without anti-human trafficking laws. That fact alone is astounding!

Soundings Update Summer 2011, Bethany Health Care's 50th, and moving!

Well it's been a busy three weeks. I live in community with two other sisters and we moved two weeks ago. We're in a slightly smaller but very comfortable house and the process of pruning and sorting was really good. I learned that in order to get an estimate of the length of time and cost of the move we needed to inventory literally every stick of furniture in our home -- tedious and time consuming!

Moving day was quite a spectacle. Our friends...mostly sisters and associates...were everywhere doing the last minute packing of the former house, helping place furniture in the new house, arranging for meals, unpacking boxes, setting up the phone and computer, and endless other little but necessary jobs. The neighbors we've met so far seem really nice. I wish I had taken pictures but everyone was so busy there just wasn't time. I should also commend the moving company, Gentle Giant. The four young men who moved us were amazing. I don't think they ever took a break other than to stop for lunch. They were patient, courteous, careful, and considerate.

In the midst of it all I was actually able to publish the summer issue of Soundings Update. It's available at this link: http://www.csjboston.org/su-Summer-2011.pdf
This issue talks a about our Volunteers in Mission Program that happened in late June and the CSSJ Federation Event in which over 80 of sisters participated. There were several posts about that in the summer and there's a link to the Event website in the upper right section of this blog.

On September 22, Bethany Health Care Center, a CSJ Sponsored Ministry where many of our infirm sisters live, is celebrating 50 years of the "New" Bethany. There will be a big celebration at the Newton, Marriot. It's not too late to purchase tickets to this event or for the car raffle that is also happening as part of the 50th celebration. Just visit Bethany's website at: http://www.bethanyhealthcare.org/

As Director of Communication for our congregation, I am no longer on a traditional academic schedule. But even though summer doesn't officially end until September 21,  there seems to be something embedded in our culture that signals the end of summer when when the school buses start rolling around the corner and the crisp new pencils are poised for action.

And so here we are -- back to business as usual -- whatever that is!!! More and more life rarely seems to be "usual." Every day holds something new.

Sisters listen and act on confronting institutional domination

This week the leadership teams from religious congregations of women throughout the United States are meeting in Garden Grove, CA for the LCWR annual conference. It seems they too are addressing the issue of hotel trafficking. Yesterday there was an article in NCR titled: Sisters listen and act on confronting institutional domination. I have posted a link to the article on the Federation Event Website because it alludes to what the Sisters of St. Joseph did in St. Louis back in early July. It is very exciting to realize this initiative is spreading and being addressed by more and more people.

Sisters of St. Joseph Federation Event almost here

Well, for almost two years the planning committee for the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph has been meeting and praying and planning for an event that will start this Saturday. The committee is in the hotel now tending to all the final preparations. Here's a link to the Federation Event Daily Update page where daily updates will be posted. Take a minute to view pictures of today's behind the scenes preprations.

Sisters of St. Joseph 175th Anniversary in the United States

March 25th marks the 175th Anniversary of Sisters of Saint Joseph arriving in Saint Louis, MO. From here their ministry spread quickly across the United States and Canada and many other places in the world.  

A few years ago I prepared a prayer for our Sponsored Ministries. I've adapted it a bit for this anniversary. You can download it here.
 

I've also asked a Sister Jeanne Marie, a friend of mine from the Carondelet-Albany Province, if I could share some prayer cards she prepared for a meeting we were at last November. They have pictures and quotes about each of the first sisters who came to the New World as well as Mother St. John Fontbonne and the Countess de la Rochejaquelin. She is the woman who donated the money to make it possible for the sisters to come to America. You'll learn a little about her in the prayer. Here is the link to the prayer cards.


May we all celebrate the 175th anniversary of these amazing women on whose shoulders we stand. In particular Happy Anniversary to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet. Click on their name to watch their video: Serving A World In Need. Learn about our founding in 17th century France and the modern day mission and ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

Visit our CSSJ U.S. Federation site to learn more about Sisters of Saint Joseph throughout the U.S. There are also links to The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph is a dynamic union of all the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the United States who claim a common origin in the foundation at LePuy, France in 1650. Today there are approximately 6,500 vowed members as well as 2,500 Associates in the United States. World-wide there are over 13,000 Sisters of Saint Joseph in over 50 countries.

Sisters of St. Joseph Federation Event & Bethany Health Care Center

I feel as if I've been a little lax about  this blog for the past week. It's hardly because of any lack of content to post.

 Last week I was in St. Louis at a planning meeting for the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Event 2011. You can learn more about by going to the main site for the U.S. Federation and clicking on the icon at the right. The event is shaping up to be very exciting. We stayed at the Millenium Hotel where the event will take place. The entire hotel staff and management was wonderful. We wondered how the hotel staff would respond to close to 900 sisters and associates decending on  their hotel for four days. We learned that one women allways takes vacation in early July but has actually changed her vacation time to be present with us. I certainly feel a sense of partnership and welcome with the hotel.

Needless to say, after being away for five days, I came home to a very busy end of the week. In my absence, the snow banks had turned to ice banks. Every chance we get, we chip away a little more ice from the walkway to our driveway. The roads are still quite narrow with all the snow banks and even where there are cleared sidewalks, adventurous children insist on sprinting precariously atop the steep banks rather then opt for the safety of the sidwalk. The slightest misstep and one of these children could be under someone's car. It's scary!

On a more positive note: Tonight I arrived home to the news that Bethany, our health care center, has been written up in U.S. News Report. It is among 18 nursing facilities out of 15,500 nationwide that is listed in an article called: Best Nursing Homes: the U.S.News Honor Roll. This is due to a lot of hard work and committment on the part of the staff and administration at Bethany Health Care Center.

Sisters of St Joseph - Soundings Update 10-27-10

This week's issue of Soundings Update is available on our website. 

In this issue you can read about:

• The recent meeting of the CSSJ Federation Justice and Peace Ministers from the United States and Canada
• Employee Appreciation Day at Bethany Health Care Center
• an award given to Casserly House, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph,  to celebrate all they do to prevent drug abuse. 

The Gift of Summer

Circle of Stones - Shipyard Beach, Duxbury

Summer has been busy, relaxing, fun, and challenging all at the same time. I decided to let this blog take a little break for most of August. I realized how long it had been when a couple of friends emailed me to ask when I was going to post again. In July I had spent a few days at Weston Priory for the feast of St. Benedict followed by a few days by the ocean. I started the month of August with a week of retreat in Duxbury. I’ve never made my annual retreat at Miramar before so although it took a bit of adjusting the retreat was wonderful. After retreat, I headed twenty minutes up the road to Marshfield where I spent a few vacation days with friends – an extended retreat of sorts. The week in July and these two weeks of retreat and vacation were pure gift.

After one very busy day back in the office, I headed to Albany, NY for another meeting with the committee that is planning the 2011 Sisters of St. Joseph U.S. Federation Event. It’s wonderful to watch this event take shape. One of the committee members compared the planning to the creation of a sculpture – and it’s true. Each member of the committee is an artist of sorts – be it graphic design, music, environment, prayer/liturgy, finances, communications, facilitation, or all the details of overall coordination. Each planning meeting is framed with prayer and although the days are long, the prayerful atmosphere of our work seems to energize us and keep is going.

The last couple of days have been typical late-August New England days. They are stark reminders that summer is winding down – good weather for transitioning back to the office. So in one way it seems that there’s nothing spectacular to write about. But in reality the gift of summer is it’s own spectacular story.

Rowboats at Shipyard Beach, Duxbury

Bridge to Duxbury Beach near sunset

Beach path - Duxbury Beach

Maxim Monday: With Gentleness and Eargerness

Be a person of such greatness that what is not God wiII be nothing, and embrace gently and eagerly great apostolic undertakings when the Holy Spirit urges you to this; but, according to this same maxim, whatever you do or suffer, let your heart find it a trifle, as indeed it is, in comparison with the grandeur of God and the worth of his sovereign perfection. Maxims of the Little Institute, 91

I’m not sure what led me to this particular maxim this past week. During the past few days, I seem to be meeting this maxim lived out all around me.

Saturday I had a meeting with the CSSJ Atlantic Federation Core committee. This group prepares weekend workshops and week-long retreats for sisters in the seven Congregations of Sisters of St. Joseph. All are fully engaged in their day-to-day ministries, but none seemed to mind traveling up to four hours for this meeting.

Sunday afternoon I accompanied a friend who regularly prepares and serves a meal at Pine Street Inn Women’s Unit. Several times a year, she coordinates a food group with members of her local parish. She has been doing this for over 25 years. The whole venture usually goes like clockwork but today, for some reason we arrived late and the staff was already serving an alternative meal.

What’s this got to do with Maxim 91? For two days my friend, her family, and a host of neighbors have been preparing different parts of the meal. I’d say she coordinates this “gently and eagerly” and there’s no doubt it’s a “great apostolic undertaking." They told us we were late. I shudder to think how I would respond after all the work that goes into preparing these meals. Even though she let the staff know that she'd been coming at this time for 26 years, she did it with a gracious manner -- with what the French call douceur.

As Marcia Allen, CSJ, writes in Love’s Design,
“This Maxim reminds us of the zeal with which we enter into our vocation and its aim. …We give all, no matter the difficulty. The French encourages us to embrace projects “sweetly and ardently”; that is, our love is one of douceur, undertaken with the fire of love – ours and God’s, most of it hidden in mystery.”

Maxim Monday: Keep an ever free heart

Maxim Monday – Maxims 53 and 54

“Keep an ever free heart…”

…declare with a generous heart, never to yield in anything that would be against God’s will.

Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate to reflect on these two excerpts from Maxims 53 and 54. In calling us to “keep an ever free heart” it seems as if Fr. Médaille is inviting us to keep our hearts open to God’s desire for us. When things don’t seem to be going your way, let God sort it out.

In the very next Maxim Médaille uses the term “with a generous heart.”  He then goes on to encourage us "never to yield to anything that would go against God's will." Today we might say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” We all know that sometimes this is easier said than done. But we need to keep reminding ourselves that this is what we're called to do and be; and encouraging one another in living this Maxim.

During this past week, Sisters of St. Joseph from congregations across the country who do vocation outreach and those who minister with newer members have been meeting together. By newer members I mean women in the various stages of becoming a sister: pre-candidates, candidates, novices, and initially professed. The heart pictured here was one of the symbols used during our gathering.

In my personal prayer each morning I had been reflecting on these maxims. So when we were together, I couldn’t help but notice how these sisters live the message of these maxims. It’s been a real gift to be among these women and witness their zeal for work which they are about.

CSSJ Maxim Monday: Structure of the Maxims

Many have commented to me directly about my “New Year’s Rolution” to reflect on the Maxims of the Little Institute of the Sisters of St. Joseph. You are still encouraged to post comments right on this blog. Some expected reflections on individual Maxims right away. In the weeks ahead, I'll reflect more on individual maxims or parts of maxims, but I thought it might be helpful to see a bit of an overview first. I guess the high school Theology teacher is still alive and well within me.

So…The structure of the maxims can be seen in this chart:

The aim of our life is set forth in the first maxim –
“Keep always in mind the aim of your vocation which is sublime; and never do anything which contradicts the commitment to a life full of modesty, gentleness, and holiness.” Some would say this maxim it says it all! Any good teacher repeats, repeats, repeats in many different ways. . . until the student "gets it." This seems to be what Father Médaille was doing with our first sisters. This little graphic was created with the help of Sr. Mary Theresa.

Structure of the Maxims of the Little Institute:

1-11 present the spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph
12-43 describe our relationship with God
44-61 describe our relationship with others
62-90 describe our relationship with self
91-100 provide a summary of the spirituality

Note that though we structure these maxims as emphasizing God, others, self, one is never seen as separate from the other.

Remember, our mission is the love and service of God AND the love and service of neighbor.

Don’t forget, I welcome comments that can be posted on the blog. In order for your comment to be posted, you need to respond below.

To Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation

At the beginning of each new year the pope issues a message for January 1, World Peace Day. The statement comes out a few weeks before the new year. This year's message came out yesterday. The title is powerful: "If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation." He goes on to speak of the concerns shared by those environmentalists who are worried about the effects of climate change.

I keep trying to pick out one part that sort of says it all. However, the whole thing is really worth reading and praying with as we approach the second decade of this millenium.

You can follow the link in the title above but I'll just quote this one part: from paragraph 7:

Sad to say, it is all too evident that large numbers of people in different countries and areas of our planet are experiencing increased hardship because of the negligence or refusal of many others to exercise responsible stewardship over the environment. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council reminded us that “God has destined the earth and everything it contains for all peoples and nations”. The goods of creation belong to humanity as a whole. Yet the current pace of environmental exploitation is seriously endangering the supply of certain natural resources not only for the present generation, but above all for generations yet to come. It is not hard to see that environmental degradation is often due to the lack of far-sighted official policies or to the pursuit of myopic economic interests, which then, tragically, become a serious threat to creation. To combat this phenomenon, economic activity needs to consider the fact that “every economic decision has a moral consequence” and thus show increased respect for the environment.

Two things jump out at me as I read the whole document. First: It's amazing that this comes right in the middle of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. Second: It reminds me of much of what Sisters of St. Joseph speak of when we refer to "the Dear Neighbor without distinction." As our CSSJ Federation website states: "Sisters of St. Joseph and associates today view all of creation as the Dear Neighbor. This has led many congregations to include a deeper appreciation of the universe story and the care of Planet Earth in their vision statements and actions for justice."

About a year ago the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph issued a statement about climate change. Here are a couple of excerpts:

As U. S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph and Associates, “We live and work that all may be One.” We are concerned for all of God’s Creation and our Sisters and Brothers everywhere. Pope John Paul II wrote, “Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the Earth as we have in the past. …a new ecological awareness is beginning to emerge.” (The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, December 1989)

We recognize that what we do to Earth, we do to ourselves! Therefore, as the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Associates, we commit ourselves to support all LIFE on Earth.

There is much more to this statement. Check out the full text on the "Earth Watch" page of our website for more.

Soundings Update: November 25, 2009

Read our Thanksgiving issue of Soundings Update at: http://www.csjboston.org/su-Nov-25-2009.pdf

In this issue read about:

• Annual gathering of the CSSJ Federation Leadership Assembly
• Celebrating the Feast of Mother St. John Fontbonne -- You can view pictures of Fontbonne Academy's celebration of this feast on their "Recent Events" page