4th Annual One Body Many Parts Retreat

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! Is all I can say.  I was so excited to attend the 4th Annual One Body Many Parts Retreat this past Saturday.  This year it was Holy Trinity's turn to host this annual event that is attend, planned and participated in by three small rural parishes that are looking for ways to encourage diversity and companionship among their multicultural inter-generational members.   This year's event was subtitled Evangelization in the Year of Faith.  The speaker for the English speaking attendees was the director of Evangelization for the Diocese of Raleigh, a Philly IHM Sister named Sister Rose Marie Adams.  

Sister Rose Adams (Philly IHM) and Sister Kieran Williams (Scranton IHM)

The middle school students had Scranton IHM Associate, Dianne Young as their teacher.  She used the opportunity to teach about Saints from other cultures.

                                                       

The Youth group included two of our newest IHM Youth Associates, Jennifer and Edgar. 

We will have to get Jennifer to tell us the story about this pink wig at our next meeting in March.

   

 

IHM Associates Debra Hardison and Rose Linsangan were on the planning committee for the event.  The pictures you are seeing are thanks to Rose, as are the heart art projects that were used in the Mass.   Everyone was asked to sign one of the hearts which was then sent home with each parish to commemorate the day.

The green sweatshirts we are all wearing have the logo designed by Debra and Rose to show it was the 4th anniversary and it was going to be a celebration, which it was!!!!!!

  

Meeting Cancelled Due to Weather

Hello Everyone,

   Thank you so much for your prayers for our parish community.  We have really felt your love, prayers and support.

   Marianne asked for prayers for their family.  They have a death of a 51? yr.old relative and have left to be with family at this time. 

    Due to weather conditions today, we are cancelling this afternoons IHM Associate Gathering.  Joy, could you please let the maintenance know we will not be there this afternoon?  Thank you so much.

   Even though we are not physically getting together this month, let us continue to pray for one another and our families.

Let us be united through the spirit of our prayers as we  continue reflecting on the next chapter in our journals.  The beautiful daily reflections that we receive from Sr.’s Jean Louise, Donna and Chris are also wonderful for this Lenten Season.   

  Look forward to seeing your all on St. Patrick’s day, Sunday, March 17, 2013, 2:00 p.m., at St. Paul’s in New Bern.

  I’m sure we’ll have fun celebrating St. Patrick’s day together!

    Love and prayers always,

       Sr. Kieran

Meeting Sunday

Here we come! Meeting this Sunday at New Bern. Hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day! Will be leaving Sister Kieran's by 12:30.  See ya!

Vinita Hampton Wright on a Season of Holy Energy

Why Older Does Not Always Equal Holier

This is from the Days of Deepening Friendship Blog and I share it with you because of the last paragraph from this blog, which I believe is part of what being an Associate helps us to do.  After you read it let me know what you think.

Why Older Does Not Always Equal Holier

As much as I admire older women, I do not believe that getting older automatically makes a person wise or holy or even pleasant. We never escape the need to work at our personal growth and our spiritual vitality. Here’s more from Paula Huston’s A Season of Mystery:

Does holiness become more possible for us as we age? I believe that in some ways it does. Many of the strong passions and desires that keep us so self-focused as young people begin to lessen as we get older. Concerns that once obsessed us, such as finding our true vocation or our destined soul mate, have long since been laid to rest. We no longer feel the need to prove ourselves at every turn. And we are less likely to engage in grandiose, self-important fantasies. In many ways, we know much better who we really are, a state more conducive to humility.
But this quieter, more acquiescent temperament does not guarantee that we’ll become holy. As Cistercian monk Michael Casey points out:

It has been noted that most of the manifestations of humility described by St. Benedict and other writers of the monastic tradition are not virtues but simply the result of slowing down that comes with old age. The young are typically active and adventurous, boisterously self-assertive, and they make a lot of noise. The old prefer their settled routines, a quiet corner, and the abandonment of all initiative and ambition. (A Guide to Living in the Truth: St. Benedict’s Teaching on Humility, Ligouri, MO: Ligouri Publications, 2001, 8.)

In such a state, we can easily become complacent, lazy, and amiably hedonistic, our need for comfort and security outweighing the potential for, and inclination toward, holiness.
Thus, if we are to become blessings for the world in our old age, we must still rise to meet new challenges, some of them extremely painful. We must be willing to give up old securities for new unknowns and old loves for new solitude. We must be willing to take a journey to the depths of ourselves at the very time we feel that we most deserve a rest. And we must be willing to make the same downward journey that Jesus made when he descended from the Father to the world.

Gratitude - Moving Art

My cousin (Rob) sent me this lovely link to a video about gratitude.  When you have a few moments, please take the time to allow you eyes to feast on the images this shows you and listen to the words of the speaker. Peace to all!


 https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?feature=player_embedded&v=nj2ofrX7jAk

Circle Meeting Today

January usually brings such cold weather; however, today was warm and sunny for the Associates meeting in New Bern. So warm we stopped at the park in New Bern before the meeting to see the water and the ducks. Edgar and Jennifer took a stroll along the water way and enjoyed the sites and smells of the water.

 While the St Paul’s Church was still decorated for the last day of Christmas (Joy was working diligently to take down the decorations and pack them away for next year) and thoughts of the snow in Scranton were discussed,

 the warm weather drew us outside to enjoy the sunshine as we shared the message of the day.

 

The new book from the IHM Sisters’ Lessons from Life was discussed and favorite stories from the book were shared.  After we broke into individual groups, I shared how Sister Amanda Del Alle’s story Milagros from the book had touched me.  I have thought to ask God for a lot of things in my life but never a rose.  Her request for a red rose as a sign of God’s presence really made me stop and contemplate how she must live her love every day to be able to ask in such simplicity for a red rose.  Which in my thoughts lead me to see it not just as a sign of God’s presence but a sign of his love as well.  This lead to a discussion of other things we have asked of God or other times we knew he had made his presence known to us.  Then when we came back together with the other groups, Jennifer from the Youth Group begins by telling Maggie how much she likes her poem “Give Me a Rose”.

“Give me a rose, while I yet live

  Don’t wait until my death before you give.

   If you have not a rose, a daffodil will do.

   I’ll cherish it . . . because it came from you.”

There is more to this poem but you will have to ask Maggie; for her rendition of the poem, she gives the words more power then I can share here.

For the closing prayer, we were joined by Sister Monica and her friend who shared her story with us.  It seems they have been discussing Sister Monigue’s return to Marywood when she is ready to retire; while her friend, Irene, does not have a place to look forward to, but is looking into her options.  After spending time discussing this, they had lunch together and upon opening their fortune cookies, Irene's fortune was “You are going to have a comfortable old age.”  Not will have or going to have but are going to.  This lead to a discussion of how we are taught to Walk by Faith for God has everything planned out for us.  This walking in faith brings peace and comfort to the soul like nothing else in the world can do.

Another book recommended for reading was When God Winks at You, a gathering of short stories describing how God uses coincidences to send us encouragement.  Kind of how Maggie and I were discussing Sister Amanda's story about the Red Rose and then Jennifer asked Maggie about her Poem "Give Me a Rose."  Coincidence?  I think not! I think we were winked at right then!

The meeting for next month was set for February 17 at 2 pm at St Paul's in New Bern.  

Please feel free to share what you found interesting, moving or something that just touched you in a special way.  For the ones that were not able to attend know you were missed, prayed for, and we look forward to seeing you in February. 

Peace to all.