Lent, Spring and Easter

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.

We are progressing through the Lenten season. We have just celebrated the feasts of St. Katharine Drexel (March 3), St. Joseph (March 19), and the Annunciation of Our Lady (March 25). April brings the conclusion of the Lenten season and the beginning of the glorious Easter season.

“Lent” is associated with springtime and, in music, with “going slowly.” For gardeners, this is a season of planting seeds and bulbs. And waiting, but not idly so. These promises of flowers and edible gifts require our assistance; they need watering, possibly feeding with special nutrients, and possibly weeding or pruning.

Even as they become visible, these promises of flowers and gifts still require our help. St. Katharine noted that: “Flowers in themselves seem like graces,” and in each blossom, we can see the beauty and graciousness of God.

We received the seed of Faith at our baptism. This seed was carefully nurtured by learning prayers, attending Mass, and receiving sacraments of First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. As we grow older, we can continue to nurture our Faith by frequent Mass attendance and reception of the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, prayers and good works.

At, Katharine noted that before His Passion, Jesus “ardently desired to suffer in order to purify us in the baptism of His blood. Now He desires with a longing desire to come to us in Holy Communion that He may sanctify us. He desires us because He has redeemed us by His sufferings, purchased us by His labors, and conquered us by His victories. He desires us because we belong to Him, are His glory and His delight.” 

Just as a gardener might need to prune leggy branches and remove weeds, so too might we have some pruning to do. Lent, the season of “going slowly,” is a good time to consider this. Are there some weeds in the form of envy, unkind words or a gradual slipping away from prayers or spiritual/corporal works of mercy that we might have let into our spiritual garden?

A St. Katharine encouraged us: “Every effort for God leaves me holier, and as long as I am trying, I am making progress in the Spiritual life, though I cannot see it.”

As we prepare for Holy Week, we can examine our garden for these unpleasant aspects and try to remedy this by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

 We still have time to prepare our “spiritual garden” to better reflect the glory and delight Our Lord prepares for us on the feast of Easter. The beautiful flowers and gifts we will receive then will be in the form of countless graces and blessings.

May you have a blessed Lenten season and a glorious Easter!

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

 Along with Lent comes Spring! 

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.

March brings us several important days – March 3rd is the anniversary of St. Katharine’s death in 1955 – 70 years ago. March 5th is Ash Wednesday this year. March 19th is the feast of Saint Joseph.

Saint Katharine would prefer that we focus on Lent and Saint Joseph rather than on herself.

In 1889, Saint Katharine noted that she had received the grace to accept the call to enter religious life and work among the African American and Native American people on the feast of Saint Joseph.

Saint Katharine’s close relationship with God (remember her motto – “My Beloved to me and I to Him”) perhaps grew out of Saint Joseph’s close relationship with the Son of God – Jesus, for whom he served as a foster father. Perhaps in honor of Saint Joseph, we might try this Lent to develop a closer relationship with Jesus, our Brother, and Redeemer.

In 1911, with the approach of Lent, Saint Katharine urged her Sisters:

“To Fast interiorly.

To Fast from uncharitable thoughts and words …

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

Perhaps we could try to fast like this a little more this Lent.

Along with Lent comes spring! The days are getting longer; we enjoy more sunlight. Flowers will start making their presence known. Saint Katharine likened a field of wildflowers to the graces God is freely bestowing about us. So many beautiful colors and types, yet each flower is beautiful in and of itself.

May we remember that we are beautiful in and of ourselves in the sight of God.

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

February 25, 2025

2025 the Jubilee Year of Hope

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.

Pope Francis has declared 2025 the Jubilee Year of Hope.

Hope is one of the three supernatural virtues given to us at our baptism; the others are faith and love. Hope enables us to desire to be united with God and the confidence that we will be given the necessary graces to achieve this union. 

Saint Katharine noted that the more we hope in God, the more we trust in God. This does not mean that our path will be smooth, but greater trust in God will help us weather any storms.

How can we grow in Hope? By feeding it! Receiving Holy Communion is food for the spiritual life; it gives the spiritual food of faith, hope, and charity to the soul.

Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for January 2025 is for “The Right to an Education.”

Many children and adults have limited access to schools and education. We are fortunate to have great access. Both Saint Katharine and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized this need.

In January, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King is remembered in a special way. Dr. King advocated working for social justice in a nonviolent way. Saint Katharine said, “Working for social justice can take many paths.” Whichever path we take, it can help us appreciate the paths others have taken or are taking.

Dr. King (1929 – 1968) was a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He advocated equal justice for all and led nonviolent demonstrations in an effort to secure equal rights for all. Some results of his efforts led to better educational opportunities for African Americans. For Dr. King, “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” St. Katharine worked for social justice as well. At times, quietly in the background and at other times in a highly visible way, as in opening schools. St. Katharine found “no more elevating work than education.” One very visible school is Xavier University in New Orleans. St. Katharine urged the graduates of Xavier and other SBS schools to be “leaders, and leaders who really lead others by example, by word and by deed.” We can all be leaders and evangelizers by example, by word, and by deed.

These were not merely empty words. Xavier University began as a high school with a fifth year of “Normal School” education. Qualified African American teachers then went out to rural Southern regions to conduct the schools. Saint Katharine and the SBS opened. As teacher certification requirements changed, the SBS offered summer institutes for the Normal School graduates to meet those changes.

Just as the SBS provided African American teachers for African American students, the SBS provided Native American teachers for Native American students in the southwest. These schools had students from many cultures – Hopi, Pueblo, Apache, and Navajo. Classes were almost all in an “English as a second language” environment. The students were allowed to speak their Native languages when outside the classroom. Saint Katharine recalled hearing a boy chant in Navajo as he did his chores. Their parents brought the children to the school and stayed a few days to observe the Sisters and the school. Assured that their children were in good hands, the parents left.  Native American teachers acted as interpreters while also teaching Native history and skills.

Saint Katharine urged Native American students to become leaders among their people. Alumni returned to help the school and to be examples for the students.

February 12, 2025, will be the anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891. We pray for all the Sisters, living and gone from us, who tried to make this a better world for all people through education.

This has not been an easy winter. Let us remember in prayer those suffering from natural and man-made disasters such as the fires in California, the hurricanes in the South, and violence in our cities. Let us also pray that our elected officials lead us in truth and mercy. 

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

January 20, 2025

December 15, 2024

On the third Sunday of Advent, we prayed: “Rejoice in the Lord always …. . Indeed, the Lord is near.”

As Advent comes to a close, we are quickly coming to the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ.

Saint Katharine reminds us that “The first Christmas was the beginning of the Human Life of Jesus. This Christmas is the beginning of a new life for us.”

How can we begin a new life for ourselves? We don’t have to leave family and home, but can revitalize our lives just where we are.

Saint Katharine has a few suggestions:

        “… don’t forget daily prayer, daily meditation. Take the time for it for it is important as we were made to praise, honor and serve God.”

Archbishop Fulton Sheen recommended that we take time for a quiet hour of adoration whenever we can. Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline families, also advocated spending an hour each day in quiet adoration.

Even if you can’t get to a church or chapel each day for adoration, there is something else we can do. Saint Katharine urges us to “Try always to have sweet thoughts. It is as easy to have sweet thoughts as ugly ones. It is the same expenditure and it pays.”

Ugly thoughts can so mess up our day, spoiling our mood and darkening our outlook. We could be stuck in a long express line in the supermarket. Grumbling about the large orders ahead of us could make us unhappy and feel sour. Offering a few prayers of thanksgiving, thanks for being able to buy food and a home in which to enjoy it, would occupy our minds and time. This helps to shorten the wait time and to make our day a little brighter.

Shortly after Christmas Day we remember the death of the first martyr, Saint Stephen, and a few days later, the deaths of the Holy Innocents, We remember the beginning of Jesus’ human life and the beginning of the eternal lives of St. Stephen and of the Holy Innocents.

These feasts remind us that Jesus’ human life was not always full of joy and smiles and good times. As Saint Katharine wrote on December 28, 1893: “This life is our pilgrimage, eternity is our home.”

What do we take along with us on this pilgrimage? What can we do during this pilgrimage? We don’t have to plan big events or colossal deeds. God asks us to love Him in return for the love He has given us. How can we show God this love?

Saint Katharine suggests a way: “Love is proven by little things. Great things may never be asked of us. Little things appear at every moment.” Kind acts are love in action. Love of neighbor can be a challenge, but God asks that of us as well. A smile or a kind word can brighten the day of a neighbor who is having a bad day.

January 9, 1895, was the day on which Saint Katharine pronounced her vows for life, 130 years ago. Her motto, inscribed on her ring at that time, was “My Beloved to me, and I to Him.” This phrase, from the Song of Songs, referred to the love of a married couple. For Saint Katharine, it represented her personal relationship with the Lord and, subsequently, her relationship to all of His children. May we see all others as fellow children of our Savior and God, Jesus Christ.’’

January also includes Rev. Martin Luther King’s day. Dr. King advocated working for social justice in a non-violent way. Saint Katharine said that “Working for social justice can take many paths.” Whichever path we take, it can help us to appreciate the paths others have taken or are taking.

As we approach Christmas Day, may we remember that as we receive Holy Communion, we are as close to the Infant Jesus as if we were in the manger on that first Christmas.

Best wishes for a blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Stephanie Morris, ASBS
December 15, 2024

 Christmas is Coming!

The Christmas season is upon us. Christmas items and decorations have been in the stores since Halloween. Everything is happening so quickly right now. We just about finished putting the Thanksgiving dishes and leftovers away, and we are starting to plan our Christmas dinner. 

So, if we can, we should stop and take a breath. Let us inhale the Holy Spirit and be infused with the true spirit of Christmas.

As Saint Katharine reminds us, Jesus came as an Infant with tiny feet that would take tiny baby steps. We can begin to make positive changes in our lives by taking the small first steps. How deeply do we feel connected to God? Are our prayers routine or do we think about what we are praying? Do we include those cranky neighbors in our prayers? Maybe their crankiness is due to some secret suffering about which we know nothing. Maybe our prayers will spur their guardian angels to help ease their pain.

Imagine, if you will, being in the manger with Mary, Joseph, and the Infant Jesus. Can you smell the straw? Are there shepherds around you? Can you see the star in the sky? Mary holds her Son, close to her heart. As Saint Katharine told the Sisters in her 1908 Christmas letter, “His Immaculate Mother did not hold Him more truly in her arms that first Christmas midnight than you will have Him, heart to heart,” after receiving Holy Communion. Every time we receive Holy Communion, we hold Mary’s Son, heart to Heart. Saint Katharine prayed that each of us would “be born anew with the new-born Babe at Christmas.”

The First Sunday of Advent heralds the beginning of the new liturgical year. May it be a new year for us filled with peace and a deeper relationship with God.

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

November 18, 2024

 

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