November has many important feasts – November 1^st, the feast of All Saints; November 2^nd, the feast of the Holy Souls; November 24^th, the feast of Christ the King; and many other special days. November is also the month of Black Catholic History and Native American Heritage Month. Saint Katharine would not have needed a special month to remember the significance of Black Catholic History or Native American Heritage.

The founding of so many little schools in the South where Black Catholic children did not have access to Catholic teachers and the founding of Xavier University of Louisiana show Saint Katharine’s and the Sisters’ appreciation of the need for education for Black Catholics.

Saint Katharine respected Native American Heritage. She noted hearing a Navajo boy chanting in his first language as he did his chores. Classes were taught in English because of the variety of cultures and first languages present in a classroom (e.g., Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo). The students were encouraged to retain their own languages.

Thanksgiving Day is a family gathering day. For Saint Katharine, every day was Thanksgiving Day. The word “Eucharist” is from the Greek, meaning “thanksgiving.” She did not write a special “Thanksgiving Day” letter as she wrote letters at Christmas. She wrote, “The ordinary soul does not do enough thanksgiving …. We owe thanks to anyone who does good to us. That is justice and gratitude.” Every time we receive the Eucharist, we should remember to say “Thank You” to the God who made all things possible.

When we receive the Eucharist, we are united spiritually with the Church Triumphant (the souls in heaven) and the Church Suffering (the souls in Purgatory). We – the Church Militant - can talk with our beloved dead in a special way at this time.

We have important elections in November. Saint Katharine would ask us to pray for our government officials. Veterans Day, November 11^th, would be a day to pray for our armed forces and our veterans, as Saint Katharine did.

November 28^th was Saint Katharine’s birthday (1858-1955). The Catholic Church does not normally celebrate birthdays, only Jesus’ birthday, Christmas, Blessed Mother’s birthday, September 8^th, and St. John the Baptist’s, June 24. But we can still remember Saint Katharine’s birthday on our own!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., A.S.B.S.

October 25, 2024

Season of Creation

From September 1^st to October 4^th (the feast of St. Francis of Assisi), the Franciscans celebrate the “Season of Creation.”  Pope Francis has reminded us that the “earth is entrusted to our care, yet continues to belong to God.” (Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.”)  As Saint Katharine and her sister Louise were both Third Order Franciscans, they would be united with the Franciscans in praying the for care of creation.

Saint Katharine’s father, Francis A. Drexel, had a great love of nature and carefully planned and planted the trees, flowers, and vegetables grown at their summer home in Torresdale. Saint Katharine recalled that her father said that “the trees were his picture gallery, in which he saw the beauty, love, and forethought of the Divine Artist.”

Louise Drexel Morrell frequently sent flowers and fruits grown on her estate to the Motherhouse for Saint Katharine and the Sisters to enjoy.

When we look at a beautiful sunrise or sunset, or at a bright shining moon, do we think of the beauty of God’s creation? Do we thank God for this beauty?

Appropriate to the celebration of creation was the feast of the “Little Flower,” Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Her prayer was to love God and to make God loved. Saint Katharine would agree, praying that God was not loved enough!

October 1^st was also the anniversary of the canonization of Saint Katharine. This is a day on which we should be grateful for her visions of social justice and the work of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to further this important goal.

October 2^nd was the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels and Louise Drexel Morrell’s birthday. Let us thank God for our Guardian Angel on this day and always.

October 7^th was the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Saint Katharine has called the Rosary a “symbol of love.” There is so much of Our Lord’s life, death, and resurrection and of Our Lady’s life, suffering, and Assumption in the mysteries of the Rosary. Let us take a little extra time to thank God for the love told in these mysteries.

School Days – Good Old Golden Rule Days!

 

    In many parts of the United States, students and teachers returned to class in August. Any time is a time to start anew, to start with fresh notebooks and pencils/pens. Any time is also a good time to refresh our spiritual lives.

    Each new day is ‘THE present.’ THE present is also A present, a gift. Each day we can start fresh, even if we are still doing the same things. We can receive the graces to do this at any time. We can try to do ordinary things “extraordinarily well.”  Saint Katharine reminds us that when we receive Holy Communion, we have “graces poured down upon us without number.” If we are open to these graces, if we are willing to go along with what God asks us to do, we will succeed. We may not get all A’s or 100’s, but we will be following God’s will and that can make us a saint. 

    On September 10, 1946, Sister Teresa of the Loreto Sisters was on a train, enroute to an annual retreat when she had an “experience with God.” Years later she was Mother Teresa of Calcutta, foundress of the Missionaries of Charity.

    We can have an “experience” with God at Mass, in our prayer spot at home, or while enjoying a sunrise or sunset or the laugh of a child.  Any time we think of God or pause to listen to Him, the Holy Spirit can fill us with the divine, connecting us with the Holy Trinity. Saint Katharine encourages us to open our “hearts to the God that calls you now.” We don’t have to start a new religious community after this encounter with God.  We might be encouraged to smile at someone, making them smile in return. In doing this, we may have brightened their day.

    Whether you are starting something new, or just “keeping on keeping on,” may the Holy Spirit inspire you and fill you with courage to continue on the path God has designed for you.

The Joys of Heaven

        The summer is winding down. Did you get a chance to relax or refresh yourself? Relaxation is one way of refueling so that we can prepare to do the next step.

Even the apostles needed some help in preparing for their ministry as evangelizers. At the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw the glory of the Risen Jesus. Every time we receive Holy Communion, we share in the glory of the Risen Jesus.

In August, we also honor the Assumption of Our Lady. Jesus honored His Mother on earth; He continues to do this by bringing her home to Him to enjoy the joys of heaven. Saint Katharine urges us to think often “of the joys of heaven and that these are to be yours. Make it yours by corresponding with every grace.”

Saint Katharine said many times that we are called to be saints. Easier said than done, you say? Saint Katharine said that to become a saint, all we have to do is to do what God asks of us. God sometimes seems to ask a lot of us. If we step back and let God work through us and our friends, we will see that we can handle these challenges.

May you continue to enjoy the last days of summer and feel refreshed to start the new school term.

Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., C.A. retired

July 25, 2024

Vacation Time!

I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.

          July 4^th is celebrated as the birthday of our country. Mother Katharine prayed that the hearts of our government officials would bring religion, justice, and peace to our country. We can do the same.

July 14 is the feast day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), the Lily of the Mohawks. Shortly after her death in 1680, Kateri’s face, pockmarked by smallpox scars, became clear and luminous. In 1904, Mother Katharine visited Caughnawaga, Quebec, near Montreal, where Kateri had lived, visiting Kateri’s shrine. In 1937, Mother Katharine wrote that the canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha would show that there is no distinction with God as to persons and that no race had a monopoly on sanctity. Mother Katharine hoped that at that time, all would be truly seen as the children of God. Pope Benedict XVI canonized Saint Kateri on October 21, 2012, the first Native American saint in the United States and Canada.

        July 16 is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Many Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament pronounced their vows on that feast day. Prayers and best wishes to those Sisters who are celebrating jubilees this summer!

        July 26 is the feast day of Saints Ann and Joachim, the parents of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Their efforts to raise Mary in a faith-filled environment led to her “Fiat,” Mary’s acceptance of her role as the mother of Jesus.

        Family life was important to Jesus; He spent thirty years as a member of the Holy Family, hidden from public view. Mother Katharine called Jesus’ home “His first apostolate.” By living the life of an ordinary family member, Jesus sanctified “the ordinary way of family life.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the family the “original cell of social life” (#2207). As children we first learn how to interact with others within our family. Education in the faith begins when family members help one another to grow in faith by the witness of a Christian life (#2226). We begin to learn how to be Christian within our family.

Many of us are planning or have planned vacations for the summer. Even Saint Katharine planned a vacation – young Kate wrote Bishop O’Connor that she planned to enjoy herself as much as “whales or porpoises tumbling about in the water.”

Saint Katharine was familiar with the ocean. As a child, she was initially afraid of the waves. She held onto her father, asking him to take her back to the shore! She clung tightly to her father because she was afraid that she would drown. Later, Saint Katharine knew she had been safe in her father’s arms, just as she and we are safe in the arms of our heavenly father.

Saint Katharine sailed to Rome several times and had plenty of opportunities to see “whales or porpoises tumbling about in the water.”

Even though Saint Katharine, as a young woman, anticipated “nothing to do” during the summer, she kept up her daily prayers and attended Mass as often as she could. She knew that God works 24/7, never taking a “vacation” from caring for us, and we should not forget Him or the Blessed Mother during our vacations.

May your summer be a time of “recreation,” providing opportunities to re-create yourself both physically and spiritually. May your summer be safe and fun! This summer, may our families continue to cultivate the seed of a deep faith and confidence in God. May we truly see all people as children of God.

 

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

June 27, 2024

The Month of Corpus Christi

 June 2024 Blog The Month of Corpus Christi

I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.

First, let me start by congratulating all the grads, Dads, and their families!

It may seem odd to call a graduation a “commencement” as you have just completed years of schooling. As St. Katharine noted in writing to a boy graduating from St. Michael’s: “Your graduation from Saint Michael’s College really means for you a “commencement” – the commencement of a new life.” As she hoped for all the graduates of the SBS schools, St. Katharine prayed “that the good work you have done and the many lessons you have learned … will enable you to begin life with zeal and purpose and take your place” as a leader. “Catholic leaders, strong, courageous, honest, intrepid, zealous, unswerving in fidelity to God and to duty, is what we look for.” 

Congratulations and best wishes in all that you endeavor. May you be blessed with success, safety, and happiness.

Dads, you have a role model in St. Joseph. Although very quiet, the effect he had had on Jesus was widely known as Jesus was called “the carpenter’s son.”

“Corpus Christi” is, as you probably all know, Latin for the feast of “The Body and Blood of Christ.” It became one of the principal feasts of the Church. For the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, this is a very important feast, as the Blessed Sacrament is the Eucharist, the Body of Christ.

As a young woman, Kate wrote in her diary: “Do not let a day pass in … June without saying a fervent prayer to the Sacred Heart. Let nothing worry you.” For St. Katharine, the Sacred Heart was “the center, the power of the Eucharist.” Devotion to the Sacred Heart had come easily and early to Kate. Kate had had an aunt – Emma’s sister – in the Religious of the Sacred Heart. Kate and her sisters did their sacramental preparations with the Religious of the Sacred Heart.

In her travels, St. Katharine tried to schedule daily Mass along her journey. She checked train schedules and would squeeze a daily Mass in between connections. She felt the omission of a daily reception of the Eucharist would

be a great loss to her. St. Katharine had daily Mass and Communion written into the earliest rules of the congregation, something usually reserved to cloistered communities in her day. Bishop O’Connor assured her that she could write that into the congregation’s constitution. She had originally considered a cloistered community for this reason.

St. Katharine’s favorite color was red – the color of fire, the color of love. Images of the Sacred Heart usually include a red heart with red flames emanating from it. As St. Katharine said, “If you are cold, come to the Sacred Heart for the flame of love.” She meant cold in the sense of feeling indifferent, not energized to proclaim the Word of God through your actions, a feeling of being lost or alone. Go to the Sacred Heart, go to and receive the Eucharist, to feel the fire of God’s love and strength, to feel the fire of love restored in you.

Summers are usually quite warm, and a fire may not be the first thing you think of during a heat wave. But may the fire of the love of the Sacred Heart keep you filled with the grace of love to hold and to share.

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

May 25, 2024

 

 

St. Katharine Drexel and the Blessed Mother

    

    The daughter born to Francis Anthony and Hannah Langstroth Drexel on November 26, 1858, was baptized “Catherine Mary Drexel.” This was the year of the appearances of Our Blessed Mother in Lourdes. Kate, as the child was affectionately called, and her family visited the Shrine at Lourdes in 1875. As a young woman, Kate and her two sisters returned to Lourdes in 1884 and 1886.

         Is it any wonder that St. Katharine had a great devotion of Our Lady?

         In 1891, when Kate pronounced her first vows as Mother Mary Katharine of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, it was on the transferred feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 12 (Feb. 11 was Ash Wednesday that year.)

As St. Katharine noted: "If God the Father deemed Mary holy enough to Mother His only Son, who is there who may not confide ourselves to her – we are her children."  We can go to the Blessed Mother with our concerns, our hopes, our pains – she had them all and can help to share her strong faith with us, to help us cope with daily life.

St. Katharine suggested that: "We shall ask of her that she will form Christ within us—her own faith and her own life."  Forming Christ within us would give us the strength and the peace to carry on through the struggles of daily life and to achieve a sense of peace and joy. St. Katharine prayed: "Teach me, O holy Mother of God, something of this real joy—the joy that is arrived at through faith, through suffering, through a perfect union of heart with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and through conformity to God's holy Will: this is the joy of the risen life.”

         A word of advice from St. Katharine: “Do not forget to propagate as much as possible devotion to the Rosary and meditation on the mysteries.”  The Rosary is a “symbol of love.”

Do you want to read a biography of the Blessed Mother? St. Katharine recommends Mary’s autobiography – the “Magnificat” which she prayed when meeting Elizabeth.

With St. Katharine, let us pray for all of our deceased armed forces personnel on Memorial Day.

         Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers! And to all who have served in that role! May the Blessed Mother continue to support and inspire you.

 

Stephanie Morris

April 19, 2024

Saint Katharine and the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary

         I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.

There are some special dates to recall in March. Saint Katharine’s feast day is March 3. The Feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1889, was important in Kate’s giving of herself to service to the Lord and to founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. March 17, the Feast of St. Patrick, is important as the patronal feast of Archbishop Patrick Joseph Ryan of Philadelphia, who became Kate’s spiritual director and worked with her in organizing the SBS.

         Last month we looked at the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, with some of St. Katharine’s observations. This month, we will look at the Glorious Mysteries, which begin with the Easter sign of Christ’s Resurrection.

GLORIOUS MYSTERIES

1.   RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD

St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain.” But Christ did rise, and our faith is not in vain. St. Katharine knew that “the Resurrection of Our Savior is the very first fact on which our faith rests.”

     2. ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN

         “This is the Feast of the Ascension and the day on which our Lord Himself blessed His apostles as He disappeared from their sight in the clouds.  I have begged Him very specially to bless each one of you and to give you that particular place and throne in Heaven that He intends and has prepared for you amidst eternal joys.  We will all get that throne provided we are faithful to our call and to our Lord’s inspiration of grace to each one.”

         Men in white robes told the apostles not to stand around doing nothing. The apostles “went forth …while the Lord worked with them.

         Just as the apostles were called to go forth, so too are and were the SBS, and the ASBS called to “go forth” and do whatever Our Lord asks of us. As St. Katharine said, “provided we are faithful to our call,” we can hope for eternal salvation, What is our call? To use the gifts God gave us for the glory of His name. Whether as teachers, parents, religious, or called to a quiet ministry at home, we are each called to do something.

         May we always remember that our lives will not end on earth; we are called to ascend with our Lord to our eternal home.

3.   DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Acts of the Apostles tell us that “suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. … And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

"The Holy Ghost is ever within me—the presence of God."

The Holy Spirit came to us in a special way in Confirmation. There may not have been a sound like the rush of a mighty wind, but the Holy Spirit came just as strongly as it did on the first Pentecost.

         The Holy Spirit is ever with us, to provide the grace we need to be the person God wishes us to be.

     4. ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY INTO HEAVEN

         “During this Octave of the Assumption often think of the joys of heaven and that these are to be yours.”

         “Make it yours by corresponding with every grace.”

Clearly, Jesus did not want to leave His Mother alone on earth; He brought her home to Him in heaven. This privilege can be ours, if we are faithful to our prayers and to the graces given us.

Can we imagine the joys of Heaven? Pray that we will never lose sight of the graces that enable us to reach our heavenly home.

     5. CROWNING OF OUR LADY QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

"Contemplate Our Blessed Lady, with what unspeakable gladness she beholds all these things, - seated familiarly beside her Son, ministering to His needs with great joy."

Mary is our Queen and advocate; go to her with your needs and fears. In heaven, Mary received the recognition of her life of faith and loyalty to God’s call. We may never be crowned kings or queens, but we are crowned daily by the love, respect, and cooperation of family, friends, and co-workers.

 

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

February 20, 2024

Now is the Time

I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.

St. Paul told the Corinthians, “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (Second letter, 6:2)

Many of us remember the days of “What are you giving up for Lent?” The other side of this question is, “What are you doing for Lent?”  The Church tells us that Prayer, Almsgiving, and Fasting are important pillars of our Lenten practices. St. Katharine would suggest praying the Rosary daily would be a good addition to our prayer life.  For her, the Rosary was “a symbol of love.”

As we approach Holy Week, we might consider the Sorrowful Mysteries.

The Sorrowful Mysteries are these:

1.   The Agony in the Garden. St. Katharine said: “The betrayal of Judas [was] more painful to Our Lord than any other sorrow.”  “An Angel came to comfort Him.” What can we do to comfort Him? How can we show our loyalty to Jesus?

2.   The Scourging at the Pillar: “Jesus has purchased our hearts and affections at the exorbitant price of His Wounds and blood.”  Our forgetting His love or ignoring His will for us reopens these Wounds.

3.   Crowning with Thorns: “Every sin … has been one of these thorns. Try in my Holy Communion to pluck out these thorns one by one considering the love which gave me absolution.”  St. Katharine thanked Jesus “for finding time in the midst of all Thy Sufferings to think of me, and to put fresh heart and Joy into me.”

4.   Jesus Carries His Cross: “It was on His Sacred Shoulders that Jesus bore His Cross, but it was His Heart which accepted it.”  “He sends us a cross; are we working to carry it?” Jesus had help on the path to Calvary; we can be someone else’s help, or we can accept help from another.

5.   Jesus dies on the Cross: St. Katharine prayed: “Teach me, Oh my dear Mother, as I kneel with Thee at the foot of the Cross – teach me the lesson of sacrifice. Let me learn it here at the feet of Jesus crucified.” And again, St. Katharine prayed: “With Mary, I hear my Savior pronounce the sixth word: ‘It is consummated.’ …. All His sufferings are mine. He came into the world to suffer and die – and for me and the salvation of all mankind.”

St. Katharine urged the Sisters to meditate on the Passion. “Why talk of the Passion? The Passion is one of the principle means of sanctity…. It is a gold mine of sanctity.”  The Cross is the “ladder between earth and heaven.”

Saint Katharine’s feast day is March 3^rd, a Sunday this year. She would suggest that should remember Christ’s sacrifice first. Then, we can thank Him for the gift of St. Katharine.

May your prayerful Lent bring you a blessed Easter season!

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

February 15, 2024

 

New Beginnings

         I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.

The year started with readings from Luke’s Gospel (chapter 2, verses 22-38) about the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. Anna and Simeon recognized the Holy Family, that their Infant was the Messiah. How did they see that special aspect of this particular family, among the thousands of families who presented babies over many years? St. Katharine noted that “activity follows from the spirit of prayer.” Their prayer life enabled Simeon and Anna to see beyond surface qualities and to see the God in them. Perhaps our prayer life could help us to see beyond the superficial, to see the God in others.

         Saint Katharine’s activities followed from her spirit of prayer. As a young woman, Kate had considered entering religious life, favoring a cloistered community. A cloistered community allowed the reception of Communion daily. But Kate also wanted to work on behalf of the African and Native American peoples. How could she have daily Communion and an active apostolate among the African and American peoples? After much discussion with her spiritual director, Bishop James O’Connor, Kate prayed and adopted the path of founding her own religious community with daily Communion and an active apostolate. On February 12, 1891, after a period of religious formation with the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Kate pronounced her vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and “to be the Mother and Servant of the Indian and Negro Races.” On that day, Miss Catherine Mary Drexel became, in religion, Mother Mary Katharine, foundress and Mother General of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for the Indian and Colored People.

         This February may we continue to pray for the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and their ministries.

         In Bensalem, we have just completed our “Unity Week.” Different houses of worship hosted a brief presentation, e.g., on Rev. Martin Luther King, followed by light refreshments. Saint Katharine said, “Working for social justice can take many paths.” For the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, education was their primary ministry path.

         Lent will be upon us soon. In 1911, Saint Katharine wrote to the Sisters at St. Catharine’s, proposing that the Sisters undertake “to Fast interiorly.

                  To Fast from uncharitable thoughts and words,

                  To Fast from unkind, ungentle, want of meekness in words to each

                           other and the children…

                  To Fast from distractions at prayer or deliberate venial sin.

Then if there be failure in any of these to say a certain aspiration for each kind of failure in going around, or in the chapel without taking extra time, and offering these prayers for the souls in purgatory that they may aid and bless our old and new Missions. Won’t you all join this Fast and penance?”

         Perhaps we could try to think a moment, remembering that God hears our every word, before we speak. Not easy, but we can try.

         We don’t have to do huge things; not all of us can go on a long pilgrimage to Rome or to the Holy Land. Indeed, Saint Katharine tells us “It is downright folly to be waiting for an opportunity of doing something great; little duties, ordinary actions, well done, are already achievements.”

         Like the baby steps the Infant Jesus took after His birth, we could continue to try to take small steps in deepening our spirit of prayer, one day at a time.

 Stephanie Morris, ASBS

January 16, 2024

 

Walking with Saint Katharine

 

    Welcome to the new Liturgical Year (cycle B) and happy 2024!

I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.

          By now, I am sure you have completed all your Christmas shopping, cleaning, card writing, etc., etc. Have you prepared your gifts for the Christ Child whose birthday we celebrate? Have you cleaned your soul and spirit to feel the joy and peace that the Infant King of Peace brings?  For many of us with an empty chair at the Christmas dinner table, peace, joy, and gaiety are not our first thoughts each morning. St. Katharine suggests that if your heart is filled with pain and worry, move these out and let the Infant King of Peace come to console you.

          He comes to you each time you receive Holy Communion, to console, comfort and support you. Perhaps this Christmas season you can step back and take a little extra time to talk with Jesus, to listen to His words assuring you of His love and support. You don’t have to gift wrap your gift to Jesus and to His Mother; they are happy just to hear from you. Give them your pain and worry; they will give you their love and support.

          Perhaps in the New Year of 2024, we can begin to dwell more on the gifts from Jesus and less on our own worries. Like the Magi, we can welcome the Infant King with the gifts of our talents, our worries and our
prayers. And then, like the Magi, we can show the gift of peace that the Infant King of Peace gives to us.

          The Infant Jesus came as a tiny baby, born in a stable, to unite Himself to our humanity and to unite our humanity to His divinity. May we feel empowered by the strength of God in the coming days and share this strength with those whom we meet.

Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., ASBS

December 15, 2023

SBS Blog November 2023- Thanks be to God!

November is a special time for many of us. We remember our veterans and we pray for our beloved dead. Saint Katharine reminds us that when we receive Holy Communion, we are united in a special way to the Mystical Body of Christ. We, the Church Militant, are joined spiritually to the Church Suffering (those awaiting admittance into the Beatific Vision) and the Church Triumphant (those enjoying full union with God in heaven). We still miss our beloved dead but can share our prayers and hopes with them.

This month is also Black Catholic History and Native American Heritage Month. Mother Katharine would have celebrated the achievements of Black and Native American Catholics every day. Her fourth vow, and that of many of the earliest Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, was to be the “Mother and servant of the Negro and Indian People.”  Kate Drexel and her sisters Elizabeth and Louise helped to fund the Mother Church of Black Catholics in Philadelphia, St. Peter Claver Church. As a novice, Sister Kate received a letter from Father Augustine Tolton in 1890 and Mother Katharine received another in 1891. In the second letter, Father (now Blessed) Tolton thanked her for her gift and told her that it had taken the Catholic Church in America 100 years to raise up someone like her. Fr. Tolton was pastor of St. Monica’s Church in Chicago. In 1912, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament would teach at St. Monica’s.

Kate Drexel helped to fund St. Catherine’s Indian School in 1887. SBS would teach there as of 1894.

Mother Katharine encouraged graduates of Xavier University of Louisiana and of St. Catherine’s to be leaders among their own people. Normal school graduates from Xavier taught in many of the rural schools in the South that Mother Katharine and the Sisters had opened, providing Black role models for the students. One such student to have benefited from this pattern was Dr. Francis Norman, former president of Xavier University, America’s only Black Catholic university. In the Southwest, Navajo people teach at St. Michael Indian School. They teach Navajo culture, language and crafts.

Native languages were permitted in SBS schools, unlike in the government schools where students were often punished for speaking in their first language. Mother Katharine noted hearing a Navajo boy chanting in his first language while going about his work. Mother Katharine also funded translations of Bible stories and catechisms into Native languages. Yes, the students were taught in English; the variety of cultures present in a classroom (e.g., Hopi, Apache Navajo) made it necessary.

Education was for Mother Katharine and for the SBS the primary mission of education has a ripple effect. Teaching a classroom of students meant a classroom of young people who could go out into the world and be leaders. In this manner, the SBS education ministry was expanded through the ministry of their students.

Thanksgiving is a special day. Mother Katharine observed that “The ordinary soul does not do enough thanksgiving. For all eternity I shall sing the mercies which we ought to begin on earth. … We owe thanks to anyone who does good to us. That is justice and gratitude.”

Mother Katharine’s birthday was November 26, 1858. The Catholic Church only celebrates three birthdays: the Blessed Mother’s on September 8, St. John the Baptist’s on June 24, and, of course, Christmas, December 25. Most feast days honor the person’s entrance into eternal glory. But we can still remember Mother Katharine on her 166^th birthday!

Advent is fast approaching and with it a sense of urgency and expectation. Christ the Newborn King is coming, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. Christ the King comes in a spirit of poverty to invite us to join Him, not necessarily as a Warrior King but as a Prince of Peace. May you find Christ’s peace in your homes this season.

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

November 20, 2023

Symbol of Love: October 2023

October: Symbol of Love 

October has been a month filled with many feasts and memorials. It began with the feast of the Little Flower which is also the anniversary of the canonization of St. Katharine Drexel. Perhaps the corner stone of the many feasts was that of Our Lady of the Rosary.

St. Katharine called the Rosary a “symbol of love.” In each of the mysteries of the Rosary, we see the Messianic mission of Jesus and the role His Mother played in His Mission. From Her Annunciation (and becoming the Mother of Jesus), to His death and Resurrection, and to her presence at the Descent of the Holy Spirit and her own Assumption and Coronation as Queen of Heaven.

The Nativity of Jesus should echo the joy families feel at the birth of their child. Perhaps we could remember to pray for those families who are struggling to raise a family or support a family member with special needs.

The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and Mary with the “the rush of a mighty wind.” The Holy Spirit came to us at our Confirmation in a much quieter manner. As St. Katharine reminds us, the Holy Spirit is ever with us – “the presence of God.”

Sometimes we feel as though we are walking the Way of the Cross with Jesus. Perhaps He has given us a splinter of His Cross to bear, that we might act like Veronica or Simon of Cyrene helping Him to carry His Cross.

Our Lady of Fatima asked the children to pray the Rosary, to pray for peace. We need those prayers now as strongly as the world needed them in the early part of the last century.

November will soon be upon us with the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. St. Katharine is a canonized saint but she reminds us that we are all called to be saints. How do we do this? By following daily the path God has laid out for us, whether it be in doing little acts of charity or by doing bigger kindnesses. With God ever present within us, we can ask for His help to do what needs to be done.

November also brings Thanksgiving Day. St. Katharine did not write special “Thanksgiving Day” letters because each day was Thanksgiving Day for her. “Eucharist” is Greek for Thanksgiving. Each time she received Holy Communion, St. Katharine gave thanks. We can do that also.

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

October 15, 2023

New Beginnings - September 2023

 

September – New Beginnings

September frequently means the beginning of school, at many levels. Maybe it means the beginning of a new job. It is also the beginning of the Autumn season. Maybe it is a good time to step back a little and prepare for these new ventures.

Education was a very important ministry for the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Katharine saw education as a means of social justice. She urged the Sister-Teachers to be so filled with zeal for Jesus that they instill a spark of this zeal in the hearts of their students. These students, these “Lay Apostles,” can take this spark into the market place, setting off “Celestial Fire Works.”

Maybe September is a good time to renew our spiritual life. Some of the feast days this month include the Nativity of Our Lady, the feasts of St. Peter Claver, The Most Holy Name of Mary, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Matthew, St. Pius of Pietrelcina, St. Vincent de Paul, and the feast of the angels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

Our Lady of Sorrows has been through it all, losing her husband and watching her Son be killed. She understands all of our sorrows, as only a mother can. Talk to her, ask her how to deal with problems.  Sometimes we share in Jesus’ sufferings when God gives us a “splinter” from Jesus’ Cross. At times we can act as a Simon of Cyrene or Veronica to help another carry his/her cross.

St. Vincent de Paul is the universal patron of all works of charity. This would be a great time to check your closets and give clean, useable items of clothing to those who could benefit from these.

When you see the beauty of the autumn colors, do you thank God for letting you see the beauty of His creation? Mother Katharine remembered that her father called trees a “picture gallery” in which he saw the beauty and love of the Divine Artist.

Have you gotten your car checked for winter driving yet?  What about a check up of your spiritual life? Mother Katharine urged all to see each Communion as a “real event” in our life. Each Communion can be “the beginning of a life of perpetual communion” with Jesus.

May the new beginnings this month be a time of spiritual enrichment for all of us.

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

August 28, 2023

*** Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., A.S.B.S. is the sole contributor to this blog as of June of 2023 ***

Mary, our Mother; Jesus, our Brother - August 2023

 

Feast of the Assumption, 2023

August has several special days, for example, the Feast of the Transfiguration and the Feast of the Assumption.

At the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw the glorified Jesus. Perhaps it was a sort of “pep” talk prior to Jesus’ Passion. Has Jesus ever given you a special moment, an uplifting of your spirit when you were feeling overwhelmed?

 

The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven

“And when I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3

“And the dead in Christ will rise first and so we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Mother Katharine urges us that: “During this Octave of the Assumption often think of the joys of heaven and that these are to be yours. Make it yours by corresponding with every grace.”

         Clearly Jesus did not want His Mother to be left alone on earth; He brought her home to Him in heaven.  This privilege can be ours, if we are faithful to our prayers and to the graces God sends us.  Jesus honored Mary as His Mother on earth. On their return from Jerusalem, we learned that Jesus went home with Mary and Joseph and was subject to them.  At the wedding feast at Cana, Mary told Jesus that they had no wine. He basically said, “So what? It’s not my turn, yet.” We don’t know what happened between Mary and Jesus next. Did she give Him the “Mother” look? We do know she spoke to the waiters and then Jesus turned the water into wine. Do we think Jesus will ignore any request from His Mother now that she is with Him in heaven?

 

In saying the “Hail Mary” we end the prayer by saying: “pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” Mary is our mother; she will not leave our side if we call out to her.

 

Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., A.S.B.S.

*** Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., A.S.B.S. is the sole contributor to this blog as of June of 2023 ***

July 2023, Happy Feast Day!

July 14 is the feast day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), the Lily of the Mohawks. Her mother was Algonguin and her father a Mohawk chief. Her parents had died from small pox when she was a child; Kateri’s face was scarred by small pox. Her uncle’s family adopted her. Kateri was baptized by Jesuit missionaries when she was about twenty years old. Her uncle did not approve of her becoming a Christian. Kateri went about her duties, praying while she was working in the fields. When she would not work on a Sunday, she was told she could not eat that day. Kateri escaped to Canada where she could live as a Christian. Shortly after her death in 1680, Kateri’s face, pockmarked by small pox scars, became clear and luminous. In 1904, Mother Katharine visited Caughnawaga, Quebec, near Montreal, where Kateri had lived, visiting Kateri’s shrine. In 1937, Mother Katharine wrote that the canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha would show that there is no distinction with God as to persons and that no race had a monopoly on sanctity. Mother Katharine hoped that at that time all would be truly seen as the children of God. Pope Benedict XVI canonized Saint Kateri on October 21, 2012, the first Native American saint in the United States and Canada.

         July 16 is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. On that day in 1891 Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan of Philadelphia blessed the cornerstone of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The inscription on the cornerstone read: “and it shall be in the place where it was said unto them, you are not my people; there they shall be called the sons of the living God” (Romans 9:26).

         On that day but in an earlier, private ceremony, the Archbishop blessed the new habits of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. They had been wearing the habit of the Sisters of Mercy while in Pittsburgh; now they wore their own habit.

         July 26 is the feast day of Saints Ann and Joachim, the parents of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Their efforts to raise Mary in a faith-filled environment led to her “Fiat,” Mary’s acceptance of her role as the mother of Jesus.

         Family life was important to Jesus; He spent thirty years as a member of the Holy Family, hidden from public view. Mother Katharine called Jesus’ home “His first apostolate.” By living the life of an ordinary family member, Jesus sanctified “the ordinary way of family life.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the family the “original cell of social life” (#2207). As children we first learn how to interact with others within our family. Education in the faith begins when family members help one another to grow in faith by the witness of a Christian life (#2226). We begin to learn how to be Christian within our family.

         This summer may our families continue to cultivate the seed of a deep faith and confidence in God. May we truly see all people as children of God.

Stephanie Morris, ASBS

The Month of The Sacred Heart

 This blog has been written by Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell for many years. She is now stepping back and has invited me to step forward. Thank you, Sister Annette Marie, for your hard work and insights. I am Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., and ASBS, formerly the Director of the Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Katharine once said that we were “typewriters” in the hands of the Lord. It has been my privilege to have been her “typist” on occasion. I hope to share some of Mother Katharine’s insights with you.

June is a busy month – graduations, Father’s Day, weddings! Congratulations to all the grads, dads, and newly-weds! Congratulations also to those who may have received their First Holy Communion recently. A big thank-you to all those who instructed or guided people in these achievements. June is also the month of the feasts of the Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi and the month of the Sacred Heart!

As a young woman (before entering religious life), Kate reminded herself: “Do not let a day pass in the month of June without saying a fervent prayer to the Sacred Heart.” The color of the Sacred Heart is red, the color of fire and love. The Sacred Heart is alive and afire with His love for us. He can’t wait to pour His love upon us, with all the graces we need. We could all value Kate’s reminder to pray to the Sacred Heart.

“Corpus Christi” – the “Body of Christ.” My church – St. Ephrem Church, Bensalem, PA – is so arranged that the shadow of the Cross falls on the altar and the tabernacle. The priest literally stands in the shadow of the Cross when he says Mass. Christ comes down from the Cross to the altar and then to us.

Do we think of this when we receive Holy Communion?

May 2023 Blog - Our Mother Mary

 

May 2023 - Our Mother Mary

 

When we think of the month of May, Mother’s Day stands out. This is well deserved when we consider all the sacrifices, caring, and concern that we associate with mothers. God gave mothers the strength and compassion needed for their calling.

Jesus gave us many special gifts: He shared His Father with us when he taught us to pray the Our Father, He sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in us and guide us. Finally, on the cross, he shared with apostle John and us: His own beloved Mother.

Through the centuries, devotion to Our Mother Mary has been fostered through Icons (images of holy people) and apparitions (appearances) of Mary in troubled times. Let us focus on some of the devotions in honor of Mary the Mother of Jesus.

With Ukraine and Poland much in the news, let us study the Icon: Our Lady of Czestochowa also referred to as the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. The people of Ukraine and Poland have great devotion to Mary, depicted in this Icon. 

While there are many legends about the origin and history of the Icon, what is most important is her message. The image is of Mary holding the Child Jesus in her left arm. She directs attention away from herself by pointing to Jesus with her right hand. The Child Jesus faces the viewer and extends His right hand in blessing while holding a book of the Gospels in His left hand. Mary is referred to as “One Who Shows the Way.”

The Icon has been honored in many ways: King John II Casimir Vasa proclaimed Our Lady Queen of Poland. Several Popes have recognized the Icon including Pope Clement XI in 1717, Pope Pius X in 1910, Pope John Paul II in 1978, Pope Benedict in 2006, and Pope Francis in 2016. In addition, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and Belarus have a special devotion to the Madonna of Czestochowa.

The Black Madonna Icon is now housed in the Monastery of Jasna Gora (English: Bright Mount) in Poland. It is said to have miraculously saved that monastery from a Swedish invasion in 1655.

In the United States, there are two shrines: The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. There is also a shrine in Garfield Heights in Ohio.

Through the centuries, Jesus has sent His Mother to appear at difficult times to be a comfort to those who are suffering. During an especially painful time in 1531, our Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Christianity, on Tepeyac Hill, now in a suburb of Mexico City. She asked that a shrine in her honor be built there.

However, when Juan Diego brought her message to the bishop, he doubted the reality of the apparition. Therefore, he demanded a sign before he would build a church there. When Mother Mary appeared again, Juan Diego was upset because he could not convince the Bishop of the reality of his vision. Gently, she spoke these endearing words: "Hear me and understand well, my little son, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed .... Am I not here who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection?" (Juan Diego was a grown man, the diminutive 'my little son' was an expression of affection).

Our Lady then instructed Juan Diego to pick some roses on the top of the Hill and bring them as a sign to the bishop. (It was December when that type of rose would not normally bloom). Juan Diego carried them to the Bishop in his tilma, (poncho). When he opened the tilma, the roses fell to the ground. Printed on the tilma was a picture of Our Lady as she had appeared to Juan Diego. 

The bishop fell to his knees and ordered the construction of the Shrine which is visited daily even now and contains the tilma with the imprint of the picture of Our Blessed Mother.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe is credited with the ending of a deadly epidemic of hemorrhagic fever which ravaged Mexico City from 1736 - 1737. Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego and declared Our Lady of Guadalupe the patroness of the Americas. 

Might she not help us in the deadly pandemic which we are experiencing now? Let us pray to her who is our Mother too.

On March 27, 2022, Pope Francis made the following Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on behalf of our world, especially Russia and Ukraine, asking for an end to the war and peace in our World.

  

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives, and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins, we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame, we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. At every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you, we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, the fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.
Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.
Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, and protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.
Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.
Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way, he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history.  At this hour, weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice, and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church, and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you, we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

 

Blessings to all mothers, grandmothers, godmothers,

and all those who provide motherly care. 

 

Comments:

Stephanie Morris, ASBS, Ph.D. Historian, Certified archivist, emerita

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world. From Pope Francis’ “Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

From the cross, Jesus gave His Mother to be the mother of John the Apostle, and John (on our behalf) to be her child. Confident of this, in 1883, Kate (St. Katharine Drexel)asked the Blessed Mother to be her mother after the death of Emma Bouvier Drexel.

St. Katharine urged all to “go to Mary as their Mother.” She also prayed the Rosary for all involved in armed conflicts. St. Katharine urged all to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary. Perhaps our meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries could include some of our current concerns.

The Agony in the Garden: Pray for those anxious about where they will go, will sleep if they will ever return to Ukraine.

The Scourging at the Pillar: Pray for those in areas under attack.

The Crowning with Thorns: Pray for those wearing a mantle of leadership, deliberating on steps to stop the aggression and aid the afflicted.

The Carrying of the Cross: Our Lord fell and needed help. Pray for those injured that they find support in Our Lord’s wounds and from the help of others.

The Crucifixion: Pray for those killed or injured in this conflict and in our cities.

Our Lady, Queen of peace, bring peace and justice to the whole world.

 

Pat Chiaffa, ASBS

Thank you for including Pope Francis’ Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the blog. It is such a beautiful appeal to Our Mother Mary on our behalf. That Consecration will serve as my Examen of heart and consciousness as I reflect on the daily contributions I make toward peace or toward disharmony.

I pray for peace yet so many times my thoughts reveal deep inner unrest. I recognize that I have strayed from the path of peace that Jesus desires. The more I hear of violence and destruction, the louder I hear the voice of fear. Fear makes for misery and I go about my day feeling broken-hearted, wanting to withdraw and grieve what once was. I am reminded by the Act of Consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart that it is my responsibility to seek the Presence of God in the midst of suffering humanity, to step out in faith, and to embody peace and love I want to see in the world. If I can uplift but one person today, I have acted as an agent of change. 

I turn to Mother Mary with the heart of a humbled daughter, seeking forgiveness and asking for her powerful intercession with Jesus for all the times I have chosen to ignore Him and be satisfied with my illusions, for the times I have not respected the garden of the earth, and for those times I chose indifference to others over my own selfish interests. 

I close with the sentiments of Pope Francis. Mother Mary, through your intercession, “may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days… May you, our ‘living fountain of hope,’ water the dryness of our hearts…You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace.”

May we receive the tender motherly love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary into our hearts this day and share it with all those we encounter.