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Spalding Students Go to PA with the Sisters!
July 08, 2010
| Students, Spalding University, Service Trip
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Come See and Serve
July 08, 2010
| Come See and Serve
Come See and Serve with the Sisters of Charity Federation in New Orleans this Labor Day Weekend, September 3-6, 2010.Single Catholic women ages 18-45 who are considering God's call to active religious life are invited to spend the weekend with Sisters of Charity, ministering to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Reflecting on the experience of service to the poor in the tradition of St. Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac and Elizabeth Ann Seton and learning about the congregations that make up the Federation. There will be opportunities for prayer and sharing with others on the discernment journey.
Contact Sister Nancy Gerth for details.
Nancy Gerth, SCN
snancy@scnazarethky.org
502-331-4516
The Holy Spirit Must Be Working Overtime
May 21, 2010
| vocation presentations, vocation directors, limited access to schools/parishes
Recently, I had a conversation with a group of vocation directors from various congregations. We were discussing what we enjoy about giving vocation presentations, where we give them, how connections are made, and where we are invited to speak. Many in the group have had the experience of not being welcomed into some schools or parishes. It seems they have been told that only certain types of religious communities were invited to come share the story of their charisms and gifts to the Church.
As vocation directors we assist those exploring a call with a genuine interest to help the person find the place to which God is calling him or her ... the "best fit" so to speak. In years past, there may have been competition for inviting new members. Now, perhaps we have grown up in a sense. Any vocation director who wants to invite a person into a community simply for the sake of having a new member and ignores whether or not that person is called to that particular community is doing a disservice to the person and the community.
My advice to someone thinking about a call to religious life is to pray, be open and explore different communities. Also, find a mentor who encourages this and be wary of someone who directs you to look at only one option. In my experience, those who have looked at other options during their time of discernment have felt strengthened and more confident at the point of making a decision.
One last thing as we approach Pentecost. My understanding is the wonderful gift religious life is (and has been for centuries) to the Church is that each congregation has a unique charism (a gift from the Spirit!), each carries out the Gospel through specific works, and together, all - of equal value - contributes to build up the reign of God. How sad that some people in our Church are limiting the exposure of certain charisms. It is almost as if some charisms are being put into a box and stored away for safe-keeping. Since a charism is a gift of the Spirit, I wonder what the Spirit makes of all this. The Spirit must be working overtime to figure out a way to get out of the box. How can all of these charisms be shared? How can part of the Spirit be recognized and part of it remain closed out? If the Spirit engages in strategic planning, I am sure It is in the midst of a very creative process. No doubt the outcome will be innovative and a surprise to us all. Isn't that how the Spirit works? When a door closes, a window opens... when the Spirit is put in a box, ... you finish the sentence!
As vocation directors we assist those exploring a call with a genuine interest to help the person find the place to which God is calling him or her ... the "best fit" so to speak. In years past, there may have been competition for inviting new members. Now, perhaps we have grown up in a sense. Any vocation director who wants to invite a person into a community simply for the sake of having a new member and ignores whether or not that person is called to that particular community is doing a disservice to the person and the community.
My advice to someone thinking about a call to religious life is to pray, be open and explore different communities. Also, find a mentor who encourages this and be wary of someone who directs you to look at only one option. In my experience, those who have looked at other options during their time of discernment have felt strengthened and more confident at the point of making a decision.
One last thing as we approach Pentecost. My understanding is the wonderful gift religious life is (and has been for centuries) to the Church is that each congregation has a unique charism (a gift from the Spirit!), each carries out the Gospel through specific works, and together, all - of equal value - contributes to build up the reign of God. How sad that some people in our Church are limiting the exposure of certain charisms. It is almost as if some charisms are being put into a box and stored away for safe-keeping. Since a charism is a gift of the Spirit, I wonder what the Spirit makes of all this. The Spirit must be working overtime to figure out a way to get out of the box. How can all of these charisms be shared? How can part of the Spirit be recognized and part of it remain closed out? If the Spirit engages in strategic planning, I am sure It is in the midst of a very creative process. No doubt the outcome will be innovative and a surprise to us all. Isn't that how the Spirit works? When a door closes, a window opens... when the Spirit is put in a box, ... you finish the sentence!
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Oprah and the Nuns - What Was Missing?
February 10, 2010
| Oprah Winfrey and Sisters
Did you have the opportunity to see yesterday's Oprah Winfrey Show? I received several phone calls, "Do you have your tv on? turn on Oprah...she has nuns on her program!" I was enroute in my car at the time so only managed to see the last few minutes of the show. That was enough to pique my interest so I stayed up past my bedtime to watch the second running of the show.
What are my thoughts and impressions of the show? In the big-picture-scheme-of-things I am glad that religious life had a venue in secular television land. I think the women interviewed from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist were sincere in their enthusiasm and dedication in living out their call to religious life. Their reasons for the choices they made to enter, and why they continue to stay, were well articulated. It was very evident that they, no doubt, are good women - seeking God on a journey together.
All that said, I think that Oprah failed to present religious life in its total breadth and width and missed an opportunity to try to dispel the long-lasting stereotype of sisters. I kept waiting for something in the program to broaden the picture of "nuns" and present the other faces of religious life in today's world. Other than a few pictures flashed on the screen and a quick mention that there are other ways to live religious life, this never happened.
This may seem like a strange analogy, but I kept thinking about ice cream. Oprah only told us about vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is great. I like vanilla ice cream...but, think of all the other wonderful flavors of ice cream in this world. Why not talk about some of the other flavors? On several occasions, Oprah referred to what the sisters said and described it to the audience as "the way sisters live" or "a nun's life". Actually, she was describing the way the Dominican Sisters of Mary live out their charism and call on a daily basis. For those not familiar with religious life or who haven't had the experience of knowing many sisters, I fear that Oprah concretized the image of a sister into a singular one. Oprah's statements make a particular, unique reality seem as though it is exactly like that for all of us. The rest of us women religious have unique histories, traditions, lifestyles, and practices as well. Our daily lives look very different from one another's depending on the congregation from which we come.
I wish Oprah had done two things differently. The first, if only highlighting one community of sisters as she did, then provide a different framework for the audience, i.e., this is ONE way to live religious life... just like there are many ways to practice medicine, be a mom, be President of the United States, run a company or be a talk show host. Second, give her audience a chance to sample more flavors of ice cream - sisters/nuns come in all forms from cloistered to apostolic and everywhere in between and beyond. What a great educational opportunity this could have been. And, think of how much more the thousands of viewers could have learned.
Ice cream wasn't the only thing that came to mind as I reflected on what this program meant. On a much deeper level I immediately thought of the scripture (1 Corinthinians, 12: 4) "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same spirit". Religious life - each congregation and order -is a gift of the Spirit to the Church and world. Each one IS different. That IS the gift. One is not better than another and all are needed.
Wouldn't our Church and world be a happier, more just and peaceful place if we would all, first, become aware of the different flavors of ice cream, then learn to appreciate, share and celebrate the beautiful colors, textures and combinations we could create!
I am glad Oprah gave us a taste of religious life in today's world - vanilla is good. I hope she calls other religious women and invites them to her show so that more than vanilla is served!
All that said, I think that Oprah failed to present religious life in its total breadth and width and missed an opportunity to try to dispel the long-lasting stereotype of sisters. I kept waiting for something in the program to broaden the picture of "nuns" and present the other faces of religious life in today's world. Other than a few pictures flashed on the screen and a quick mention that there are other ways to live religious life, this never happened.
This may seem like a strange analogy, but I kept thinking about ice cream. Oprah only told us about vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is great. I like vanilla ice cream...but, think of all the other wonderful flavors of ice cream in this world. Why not talk about some of the other flavors? On several occasions, Oprah referred to what the sisters said and described it to the audience as "the way sisters live" or "a nun's life". Actually, she was describing the way the Dominican Sisters of Mary live out their charism and call on a daily basis. For those not familiar with religious life or who haven't had the experience of knowing many sisters, I fear that Oprah concretized the image of a sister into a singular one. Oprah's statements make a particular, unique reality seem as though it is exactly like that for all of us. The rest of us women religious have unique histories, traditions, lifestyles, and practices as well. Our daily lives look very different from one another's depending on the congregation from which we come.
I wish Oprah had done two things differently. The first, if only highlighting one community of sisters as she did, then provide a different framework for the audience, i.e., this is ONE way to live religious life... just like there are many ways to practice medicine, be a mom, be President of the United States, run a company or be a talk show host. Second, give her audience a chance to sample more flavors of ice cream - sisters/nuns come in all forms from cloistered to apostolic and everywhere in between and beyond. What a great educational opportunity this could have been. And, think of how much more the thousands of viewers could have learned.
Ice cream wasn't the only thing that came to mind as I reflected on what this program meant. On a much deeper level I immediately thought of the scripture (1 Corinthinians, 12: 4) "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same spirit". Religious life - each congregation and order -is a gift of the Spirit to the Church and world. Each one IS different. That IS the gift. One is not better than another and all are needed.
Wouldn't our Church and world be a happier, more just and peaceful place if we would all, first, become aware of the different flavors of ice cream, then learn to appreciate, share and celebrate the beautiful colors, textures and combinations we could create!
I am glad Oprah gave us a taste of religious life in today's world - vanilla is good. I hope she calls other religious women and invites them to her show so that more than vanilla is served!
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