Journey - Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate ...

page 16
Journey
Fall 2012
Proceed - continued from page 6
where. For many years during
retreats, in steady reflection
with my spiritual director, in my
reading and prayer, I searched and
listened for the answer. I earned a
certificate in English as a Second
Language, which allows me to
teach anywhere in the world. But
no direction as to what next—until
the Way opened.
So, as Sandra Schneiders
pointed out, our decisions grow
out of our past choices and
experiences. We need to listen to
them. From all my life choices
came the courage to take this step,
confident it is “of God” and that
I am sent by the congregation.
“Who sends me?” Fran asked.
Obviously, it is the Trinity leading
me in love. But in addition, as
I began to tell my colleagues
and friends one by one, the
reaction was dismay at first, then
universally they said, “I can see
you doing this.” I feel that their
confirmation of my decision also
sends me forth. The Church sends
me forth in the spirit of God´s
pilgrim people and its preferential
option for the poor.
“Leadings start from where
we are, from Something which
touches our lives and hearts in
some way . . . . leadings rarely
include instruction sheets or
directions. The specifics only
develop as the Way opens. The
witness to the Light Within gives
us the courage to be faithful . . .
the results of our actions are not
ours to control.” Whitmire, p.130
Finally, I read the other day
that Saint John of the Cross
advised the bogged down, “If you
want to get on a new road, you
have to get off the one you are on
now.” Montaldo, p.30
Ed. By Jonathon Montaldo
and Robert G. Toth, Bridges to
Contemplative Living: Traveling
your Road to Joy, book 5, Notre
Dame, IN, Ave Maria Press, 2011
Whitmire, Catherine, Plain Living:
a Quaker Path to Simplicity, Sorin
Books, 2001.
Sister Ancilla serves as a pastoral
minister in Sicuani, Peru.
God Works in Strange Ways
continued from page 9
After that magical moment,
Katherine couldn’t get enough of
the bubbles. And while playing
with those magical bubbles, I
was able to teach Katherine many
English words. Throughout the
two weeks I was in Morogoro,
I taught high school students
English grammar, gave tender
love and care to orphans there,
and helped the people of the
community build better lives.
I was able to give so much and
learn so much from the people
in return. But it was Katherine
who taught me the most about
friendship, connectedness, and the
joy of life. As I sat on that porch
stoop with Katherine until every
drop of bubble mix was gone,
and as we watched the bubbles
drift up into the sky, I knew my
life would never be the same. I
knew I was changed, because
of her, because of this little bit
of magic, and because of all of
these experiences, in Scranton,
in Africa, and right here on the
Marywood campus. I would never
be the same.
Marywood has given me
more opportunities than I
could have ever imagined. The
community here, the classes and
the professors, the service and
leadership opportunities have
not only changed my view of
the world but they changed my
place in the world. I would not
be the person I am today if I had
not come to this university. And
being one of seven kids, I would
not have been able to come to this
university if it were not for the
generous scholarships that you
benefactors make possible for me
and for all of the students here in
this room.
God works in strange ways.
He works through people. He
worked through Katherine to
change me and to open my eyes.
He has worked through Marywood
alumni and benefactors to bring
out generosity and kindness as
they make these opportunities
possible for students. And God
works through us students too, as
we further our education and use
our gifts and our talents to start
changing the world.
Let us take just a minute, to
thank God for this opportunity, for
wherever he has brought us, and
for whatever he has allowed us to
do. Let us remember that it is a
gift to have attended Marywood or
to be attending Marywood, to be
giving or to be receiving. Let us
never take that for granted, and let
us appreciate every day, whether it
is spent in Africa, in Scranton, or
in small-town New Hartford.
Thank you.
Colleen is in her sophomore
year in the Marywood University
nursing program.
Sister Maria Celeste
continued from page 12
But God’s Spirit had the last
laugh. The mighty winds of
the Spirit that blew through the
Church in the Second Vatican
Council also blew the locks off of
old archive cabinets. My works
were rediscovered and translated
into many languages and once
again my sisters and others cherish
my works and are nourished by
my words. Do I remind you of
anyone you know? A woman
who was too creative for her own
good, too loud, too insistent, too
energetic? Your own Mother
Theresa Maxis was such a woman!
Please join me in a prayer that I
wrote. I hope this story of my life
inspires you to join with courage
in the dance of the Spirit!
O dancing, lover God,
how wonderful that you should
call my name,
invite me into the dance of your
Spirit,
in which we lean and sway as one
body,
with one intention,
never apart,
never beyond our sensuous
communication.
How incredible a development!
How incredible a love
played out in a dance of fire.
The voice of Celeste is channeled
by Redemptorist Father Terrence
Moran. Father Moran is a
spiritual director and has given
retreats and other programs
on theology and spirituality
throughout the United States and
in twenty-five other countries.
Mother Marianne Cope
continued from page 15
that would eventually help to cure
the disease.
Early in my life, Father Damien
was to me an example of courage
and total commitment to God
as a priest who gave up all for
his ministry to those afflicted by
leprosy and who were banished
to the Island of Molokai. Today,
the example of Mother Marianne
Cope inspires me with courage
and a desire to surrender as she
did in total commitment as a
woman religious bringing God’s
unconditional love to the poor and
abandoned.
On October 11, 2009, Father
Damien was canonized by
Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.
On October 21, 2012, Mother
Marianne Cope was canonized
also by Pope Benedict XVI in
Rome.
Mother Marianne followed in
the footsteps of Jesus and Francis
whose lives show that compassion
to the poor ones in our midst can
bring untold joy and blessing into
our own lives. In 1903 she wrote:
“I wish you all the blessing you
may stand in need of to become
a perfect child of Saint Francis,
that you may say with him in all
sincerity, My God and my All.”
The Sisters of St. Francis continue
to minister to the people of
Molokai, remembering with tender
regard and gratitude the legacy of
Saint Marianne Cope.
Sister Eleanor Mary serves as
assistant administrator at Our
Lady of Peace Residence in
Scranton, Pa.