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