Franciscan Missionaries of Mary USA Province Volume 41 No. 2 Summer 2011

2

Editors’ Notes

The loveliness of God‟s creation surrounds us here at Fruit Hill, North Providence. We have been reading and reflecting on Creation and all that this entails. Some of us here at Fruit Hill made a re-treat with Fr. John Hogan, ofm at Bethany. He shared with us his and others‟ reflections or stories pertaining to the history of the universe. He quoted Karl Rahner‟s reminder that the entire history of the universe has been the outpouring of God‟s love. Physicist Brian Swimme likes to say, “The planet Earth, once molten rock, now sings opera.” In our age we have seen the beginnings of Theology and Science coming together. We recommend going back to read what Theologians and Scientists have written over the years up to the present about Creation. Thanks to the Hubbell space telescope and exploration of outer space we know that our earth is a small planet in the midst of many others. The Earth is not the Center of the Universe. We include some recommended reading or in some cases rereading what has been written by Theologians and Scientists. See page 9.

Rosemarie Higgins, Anne Turbini, Annie Nebres and Maryann Alukonis, fmm

NEXT ISSUE: FALL

Contents

Our deceased, Eulogy, Sabbatical . . . . . . . 3 Roslyn, NY. . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Poetry Writing at St. Antoines . . . . . . . . . . 5 El Paso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sr. Lucia, Kennedy Day School . . . . . . . . . . .7 Tree Stewards, SEDOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Province News, Creation Readings . . . . . . . 9 Jubilee 2011 . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Sharings is published at: Provincial Communications Office 399 Fruit Hill Ave North Providence, RI 02911 Tel: (401) 353-5804 Ext: 130 Fax (401) 353-8755 Please send articles either to Fmmcom@aol.com or fmmch@aol.com

3

behalf. Throughout the entire time Theresa knew that God‟s will would be done as she strove to overcome her fear, not so much of dying, but rather the fear of not be-ing able to accept God‟s will. Those of us who journeyed with Theresa saw how peacefully she accepted God‟s will, saw the fear of death fade and how she embraced God‟s plan for her. In her last days at Calvary Hospital Theresa spoke again of acceptance, of following God‟s plan for her and know-ing that she had done her best to prepare herself and us for her final call—when God softly called her name and Theresa replied ever so peacefully, “Here I am!” May Theresa, our dear sister and friend, rest in peace. Lois Pereira, fmm

Sabbatical

On June 23 the Opening of the FMM Sabbatical Program took place in the Chapel at Bethany during a prayer ser-vice prepared by Mary Motte. We welcomed Lucille Bar-rette, Estelle LeCourtois, and Liliane Raincourt from the Canadian Province, Agnes Diouf coming from Canada on her way home to her home province of Senegal, Ann Condon from the province of England, Ireland, Scotland and Malta, Christina McGlynn from the Australian prov-ince and our own Joyce Gardella. Team members pre-sent included Mary Motte, Elizabeth Ann Conyers, Nzen-zili Mboma, Mary Petrosky, Yvette Hubert, and Emilia Palma. Alma Dufault, though not giving a session this year, was also present and will join the group whenever possible. Kindly keep the participants and team in your prayers as they delve into the elements of our charism.

L-R: Agnes Diouf - Senegal, Lucille Barrett - Canada, Estella Le Courtois - Canada, Joyce Gardella - USA, Ann Condon - Ireland, Christina McGlynn - Australia, Liliane Rancourt - Canada

Our Deceased Sisters & Relatives Theresa Conway, fmm (M. Grace Ann of the Sacred Heart) Born to Eternal Life July 2, 2011

Barbara Harrington, sister of Patricia Murphy, fmm

Our Sick Sisters & Relatives Please remember in your prayers - Nancy Cabral, fmm, Concetta Russo, fmm, Helen Kalogeras, fmm Liz Mulcahy, niece of Lois Pereira, fmm Anna Mai Nguyen, sister of My Hoa Nguyen, fmm

Eulogy

Theresa Conway, FMM Our Foundress, Mother Mary of the Passion, wrote, „The joys of this world, the satisfaction of the senses, the kind-ness of creatures will truly appear worthless to us. Find-ing all our satisfaction in the love of Jesus, we shall eas-ily suffer passing ills and fix our minds on the joys and happiness of eternity.” (MD:263) In her ministry as Hospi-tal Chaplain at various hospitals in Chicago, Boston and Manhattan, Theresa helped many patients to fix their minds on the joys and happiness of eternity. Theresa brought much comfort and peace to those to whom she ministered. When we heard about Theresa‟s illness a little more than a year ago, many of us sent her cards with kind words, thoughts and promise of prayer. One of our sisters re-ceived this email reply from Theresa, “I carry the grace of God in this earthen vessel of mine. Each day is a gift. I pray for the courage and faith to accept God‟s will and if, God willing, a miracle cure,..wonderful! If acceptance, then, I thank God for all the prayers and support.” Theresa‟s thoughts corresponded with what Mary of the Passion told us, “What have I, a child of the Church, to fear? Christ is with me. Lord, Your will be done, not the will of such or such a one but Yours. May all be as God wills.” (MD: 125) In the beginning of her illness, we all turned to Mary of the Passion to intercede on Theresa‟s

4

Roslyn, NY

St. Francis Community

Wednesday evening, June 8th, we had an outstanding celebration at St. Francis Hospital. Employee Service Awards were given to employees who have worked here for 5,10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 years! Our own Concetta Russo, FMM received a standing ova-tion amid shouts of joy and awe from the more than 350 people present. Dr. Alan Guerci, our CEO of St. Francis and Mercy Hos-pitals paid tribute to Connie by saying that she brings joy to everyone she meets and has always done that. She is truly a compassionate presence here. He traced her ministries at SFH beginning in 1961 when she worked in Pediatrics, then in the Business Office and all the positions she‟s held through the years up to the present in Conference Management. At the end of his talk, Dr. Guerci informed us that as a gift to Connie, the Hospital has decided to plant a magnolia tree out-side the SFH Main Chapel close to the spot where Connie supervises the setting up of the Christmas Crib each year. While he was saying this, a photo of the tree was shown on the TV screen for us all to see. Connie was obviously touched by this award. And so were we and all present. We rejoice with you, Connie, and CONGRATULATE YOU on such a lifetime achieve-ment. In celebration of all the awards of the evening, we were invited to get up and dance. And dance we did for another couple of hours!!!! You should have seen Frances Milano dance! At one point in the eve-ning, everyone stopped just to watch her! She obvi-ously enjoyed it as much as we all enjoyed watching her!!! 32,000 hours and counting! That was the cover fea-ture of the act 2 section of Newsday, our local news-paper on Saturday, May 14, 20ll just days after the Vol-unteer Luncheon. There on the cover was a full-blown photo of Arlene Miller, and below the caption, the

words: “…Arlene Miller is just one of 10 volunteers over 90 still making a difference at a Roslyn hospital.” Many of you know Arlene as the Treasurer of the St. Francis Hospital Guild. But what surprised us at the Volunteer Luncheon was Barry‟s calling all 10 of the Volunteers over the age of 90 to come to receive awards. Newsday devoted 4 pages to this article in which each of the 10 recipients were interviewed. For those of you who have access to computers, the 4 pages can be viewed at newsday.com/act2. For those who don‟t and for those who used to live at St. Francis, 6 of the 10 volunteers over 90 who were featured are Edna Pascale 92, Bob Kirsch 90, Milton Katz 92, Arlene 94, William Bauer 91 and Walter Trifari 90. (His wife Ann who is 89 also volunteers.) Among the F.M.M. recipients of awards for volunteer service this year were Carol Ann Kane (100 hrs), Mary Catherine Boudreau (10 years) and Frances Milano (1500 hrs.) Speaking of Cathy Boudreau, who now prefers to be called Mary, she led us through much humor and good will as she prepared to leave Roslyn for her new mission-sending to Fruit Hill. We celebrated her move all together by going to the Old Country Buffet one Sat-urday for Brunch. Last but not least, St. Francis Hospital held its annual Golf Classic at three different Country Clubs on Mon-day June 6th. Organizers of the event from the Devel-opment Office were very pleased with a record turnout of golfers. We were graced with a beautiful sunny, cool Spring day for this event. Sisters Pauline and Lucie were spotters for a hole in one at the Creek; Vita and Frances were spotters at Nassau Country Club; and Betty and Lucille (visiting until returning to Fruit Hill for the Sabbatical) were spotters at Meadowbrook Country Club. Carol Flaherty, Carol Ann Kane and Nancy Cabral who is visiting us here assisted in sign-ing in the golfers and helped to set up favors for the golfers. Nancy wowed the Sisters and Staff with her salesmanship skills which she said she learned while working at Woolworth‟s before she entered. The evening concluded with a gala dinner under the tent on the upper lawn at the Creek. Dr. Guerci spoke that evening at the dinner and cited the many acco-lades the Hospital has received from “U.S. News and World Report” in this past year. Carol Flaherty, fmm

5

Testimonial

Dr. Alan Guerci, MD

President & CEO of SFH

October 1, 1961 is a significant date in the history of St. Francis Hospital. On that day, Sr. Concetta Russo be-gan her mission in the "wilderness" of Roslyn, Long Island and for the past 50 years, has been spreading joy, love and the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi to everyone with whom she comes in contact. She was first assigned to the Accounts Receivable and Purchas-ing Departments, but had a strong desire to work with children. She transferred to the long term care unit of the hospital where she took care of our pediatric pa-tients with the care, kindness and compassion that she has displayed throughout her time here. In 1974, when the Heart Center building opened and the focus of St. Francis changed from a Sanatorium for Sick Children to a state-of-the-art cardiac facility, Sr. Concetta's role also changed. She was reassigned to the Development Office and began working on plan-ning meetings and special events. In 1990, Sr. Con-cetta was appointed Director of Special Events. Her role continued to expand and when the Hospital moved many of its programs to the newly acquired DeMatteis Center, Sister gladly accepted the added responsibility as Director of Conference Management in 1994. For the past 17 years, Sister has relished this role and thrives upon the daily challenges associated with planning every event and all of the particulars associated with them from times, room assignments, and catering, that takes place at the DeMatteis Center. The spectrum of these events ranges from simple meetings, conferences, seminars and the Annual Meeting of the Medical Staff.

Ruth Hennessey & Dr. Alan Guerci with Connie

Those who have the pleasure of coming in contact with Sr. Concetta on a daily basis are truly blessed. They are greeted with a "Hi, Hon" or "Hello Dear" when she sees them. They know that they are in the pres-ence of someone special. At Christmas and Thanks-giving she coordinates the collection of food, clothing and toys to be distributed to those less fortunate fami-lies in our area. She takes care of all of her "children,” the members of the St. Francis Family, on a daily basis which goes back to her original desire in 1961. She truly embodies the spirit of St. Francis and lives her life by adhering to his prayer.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. We are deeply honored to have had Sr. Concetta with us for the past 50 years and it is a great pleasure to recognize her accomplishments and achievements tonight. A tree was planted in Connie‟s honor near the chapel.

6

week I listened to story after story of detainees who had suffered deep physical and/or emotional trauma. I shared their pain as they recounted histories of sex-ual abuse, torture, kidnapping or violent separations from loved ones. In addition, the accounts of atrocities occurring on the Mexican side of the border became, at times, overwhelming. Daily in our chapel we FMMs took all of this to the Lord in prayer. In January I met a friend at work who is a widow and who described her ranch where she has seven horses, three donkeys, a llama, chickens and five big dogs. She hopes eventually to have a riding program for wounded veterans. Most of her animals were res-cued from abuse. Sammy, the big yellow Labrador, still cringes at any sudden movement. I asked if I could come out to help and began going out on Saturday mornings. What began as a lark has become for me a therapy. First, I feed and water the chickens, then collect the eggs, (despite the protesting squawking of the sitting hens), then I help with other chores, and best of all, pet my four legged friends.. I can resonate with Sister Ilia Delio when she describes in her book, The Humility of God, our deep need for a cosmic relationship with all God's creation. Now, when the horses and donkeys come to nuzzle me , when the llama trots behind me and when Sammy lays his big head on my lap, I do experience a certain bonding with all of nature. There, under the wide Texan sky where "never is heard a discouraging word" I thank God for this opportunity to be renewed and refreshed in spirit. Life has many surprises, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that at 82 I'd become an old ranch hand from the Rio Grande! Beatrice Costagliola, FMM

El Paso, Texas

These last few months have kept us busy with Confir-mation preparations and with vocation promotion here in El Paso. I was asked to give a Vocation pres-entation to a group of Confirmation candidates. Yen came with me and gave a wonderful talk on her own vocation which included life in Vietnam. Besides the Vocation input, Yen gave the students a good insight into another culture since all of them were Hispanic. Next, at the request of the Diocese Vocation Team to which I belong, we spoke to the parents of the Confir-mation class about creating a culture of Vocation in the home. This time Beatrice came with me and pre-sented it in Spanish and I in English. One of our local parishes, Our Lady of Guadalupe, had a vocation fair which Yen and I attended. We met many families with children of all ages who asked a variety of questions. They enjoyed the power point which Yen had prepared. Finally, I participated in a Confirmation retreat day at two of the parishes where I minister. My topic was "our relationship with Jesus," but I was able to interject some FMM vocation aspects as well. We hope that in some small way the Lord used us as His instruments to "plant the seed.” Marie Cinotti, fmm A Tale from the Southwest

There is an old adage that says "variety is the spice of life" and these past few months I have experienced this truth. Towards the end of last year I decided to re-tire from my volunteer service at the Rape Crisis Cen-ter. I realized that I was on "overload", as during the

7

Sr.Lucia Yeong Seon Kim, FMM

Graduation from BC

Lucia tells us of her program ... “The title of my dissertation is “The Chronicler‟s Descrip-tion of the Temple Administration and the incorpora-tion of the non-priestly Cultic Personnel Among the Levites.” I started a Ph.D. program at Boston College in Septem-ber of 2001 and finished in May of 2011. Since my pre-vious studies were accomplished in Korean, I have struggled to finish my studies at Boston College mainly due to the language problem. However, through the struggles I have learned how to depend on God and with all my sisters‟ support and prayers I have reached this day! Through this process I realized I was never alone. I deeply appreciate each sister‟s support and prayer which have accompanied me all the time. Thank you . Lucia, FMM Lucia and her Mother, Mrs. Bonosa Anh

From Our Lady of Hope Community ...

We gathered at 5:45 PM and found the dining room beautifully decorated by Sisters Kim Loan and Chi. Lois lit the Pascal candle during the hymn Servant Song and lit a small candle for Lucia during the Refrain” This little light of mine. “ Then we all enjoyed a wonderful supper together.

Monday May 23rd dawned the Big Day - Sr. Lucia and her Mom, who was dressed in the traditional Korean woman‟s gown, Sister Ann Dundin and Tran from Fruit Hill came to join us. At 11:30 AM we left for the Boston College Campus and entered the Roscheild Theater . We found good seats and had our programs to scan. Sister Lois found Lucia‟s full name as a candidate for the Doctor of Theology diploma. What an excitement to read her name in an official program! I shed tears of pride. The Graduation theme music began and in processed the professors and graduates. Many mem-bers of Sister Lucia‟s Korean parish had come with cameras to commemorate this great day. The pro-gram went very well for 1 hour and 30 minutes and honor was given to all graduates. Once the gradu-ates and professors exited we all followed for outdoor pictures. The Korean community invited us all to Mag-dalena‟s home for a celebratory meal. After all the celebrations Sister Lucia is ready to share her knowledge and skills in the Korean Community. So the “light” she received in Baptism and enhanced with the Doctorate will be shed and shared in the Ministry obedience sends her. Gloria, fmm

Confirmation

Kennedy Day School

On Wednesday, May 18, 2011 six Kennedy Day School students received the sacrament of Confirmation at the Franciscan Hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts. Bishop Hennessey administered the Sacrament as Sister Peggy Youngclaus, SND presented these Special Needs students to the Bishop as part of the ceremony. These young people have participated in the “All Faiths Program” held at the hospital. For those confirmed it was a celebration of being “grown up” in the life of the Church Family. During the liturgy two students also received First Eucharist. For them it was a celebration of how much God loves us. Catechesis developed around Gospel stories, arts and crafts projects and hands-on activities provided a posi-tive framework for instruction. These activities helped the students appreciate God‟s goodness, love and mercy especially in the person of Jesus.

8

Bishop Hennessey was extremely patient and sensitive to the needs of the students. In addressing and ques-tioning the students he patiently waited for their re-sponses via their dynavox. In his homily he spoke to the parents and thanked them for the sacrifices that they have made for their special needs children. He was generous with his time following the ceremony for individual, group and family photos. A simple reception followed the service.

Tree Stewards

Certificates of Achievement were presented to 23 per-sons on Tuesday, June 7th the last classroom session of the spring 2011 Tree Stewards Education and Train-ing Course. The 6 week course provides intensive in-struction on tree biology, planting and care through lectures and a field workshop. Congratulations to Anne Dundin who was awarded a Certificate as a Tree Steward. The third Tree Steward class held in the Peace Barn at Fruit Hill finished June 7. In addition to receiving a certificate, Tree Stew-ards were awarded a pin. Two more workshops will be held here in the Peace Barn. For more information and to register for the fall Tree Steward Program please visit www.RITree.org.

SEDOS

Sr. Nzenzili Mboma, fmm, the Executive Director of SEDOS gave a power point presentation to all of the communities at Fruit Hill. She gave an over-view of the organization and the functions of SE-DOS. Nzenzili is one of the presenters of the 2011 Sabbatical, which is in process in the Mission Resource Center.

SEDOS is a forum of religious and missionary Institutes of men and women who combine their resources in order to serve the Church more effectively in her missionary activity. SEDOS stands for: Service of Documentation and Study. SEDOS began very simply during the Second Vati-can Council when seven missionary Societies began to meet informally and to exchange information and views on Mission in the Church. They made a significant contri-bution to the Vatican Council‟s AD GENTES, which was greatly influenced by their deliberations with the mem-bers of the Roman Curia. The Executive Director has the responsibility of the gen-eral administration of the office. She/he calls for the meeting of the Executive Committee, prepares the agenda and presides at the meeting. She/he studies the budget with the SEDOS Treasurer. She/he prepares an annual report of the activities of SEDOS and presents it to the Annual General Assembly. She/he represents SEDOS in the International meetings related to Mission. She/he is responsible of the Web Site and Homepage of SEDOS and collaborates with the SEDOS Web Master. She/he organizes conferences at least three per year, and the

SEDOS Residential Seminar, once a year and for five days. After Nzenzili‟s well received presen-tation, Sr. Alma came forward to chat with Nzenzili. Alma looks and feels great.

New Address

Many FMMs know Rosetta La Vecchia. Her new address is: MISS ROSETTA LA VECCHIA PO BOX 185 PALENVILLE NY 12463

9

PROVINCE NEWS In late April Sr. Liliane Alam began her new ministry as Chief Financial Officer of Franciscans International. She is based at their office in Manhattan but has already travelled to Geneva for business and as part of her ministry will visit FI offices other parts of the world. We welcome Sr. Nzenzili who has come to help with the Sabbatical Month and to finish her service as a Board Member with the Conrad Hilton Fund for Sisters. Welcome back dear Nzenzili. In August we‟ll welcome a sister of Temporary Vows from Canada. Karen Corera is no stranger to us. She came a few years ago as a novice and spent time in the novitiate community. Karen is coming for an inter-province community/ministry experience. After the Chapter Karen will visit a few communities here on the east coast and will then join our sisters in El Paso for ministry experience. Sr. Marilyn Tarraz, our General Treasurer and Sr. Linda Price who works with Marilyn, arrived in New York from Rome on June 15. They had a meeting in Man-hattan and visited Fruit Hill and St. Antoine before re-turning to Rome. Marilyn was here in 2002 and par-ticipated in the FMM Sabbatical Month and a semester at Berakah.

from Spring Sharings ...

Guess Who

This is a childhood photo of a Senior Sister at Fruit Hill. Lois Houlihan The first responder to contact Sr. Rosemarie Higgins (by phone, email or directly) with the correct name, gets the reward. Reward: The Luminous Mysteries of the Ro-sary, prayed by Identi-fied Sister for all of your intentions.

Winner: Yvette Hubert, fmm

Creation Readings

The writings of Karl Rahner, S.J., Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ, as well as those of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure are compatible with our new understanding of Creation Fr. Thomas Berry writes that “God is here Now. Every bush is burning. God has been at work for billions of years everywhere in the processes of creation that are still going on.” Fr. Ed Hayes writes: The task of saints of the 21st cen-tury will be to find God in the ten thousand things of creation: how it unfolds, how it produced us.” Sr. Illia Dellio latest book is: “The Emergent Christ.” Ilia Delio makes fascinating sense of the universe, be-ginning with the story of cosmic evolution, coursing through the meaning of God in evolution and the emergence of Christ, and concluding with new ways of seeing Christ in all things. As Teilhard de Chardin did in The Divine Milieu, Ilia Delio reveals the sacrament of God at work in the world. She also explores the spiri-tual evolution within each of us and suggests that it will change the cosmos as well as the church. She shows that we are at a stage in evolution where our choices will determine what happens next. The Emer-gent Christ is an antidote to the new atheism that says there is no place in evolution for God, let alone a God of love. It is also a spiritual tonic for Christians inter-ested in understanding their place and purpose in this evolving universe.

Appointment of New CFO

Franciscans International is very pleased to welcome Sr. Liliane Alam FMM as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Sister brings with her a strong financial background and a broad experience of working within the NGO sector. Sr. Liliane has served in nu-merous countries and speaks several languages including

French and Spanish. Sister will work out of the FI office in New York.

10

.

Welcome

Welcome. It is good to be here. We join in this won-derful celebration for and with our jubilarians, Rose Marie Brooks and Mary Nancy Cabral who are cele-brating twenty-five years of religious life and Elfriede Jackson, Claire Napoleon and Vita Marie Riccardelli who are celebrating fifty years of religious life. In our Franciscan Missionary of Mary way of life we profess to give ourselves unreservedly to God, follow-ing the example of Mary and St. Francis. We offer our lives for the church and for the salvation of the world. We dedicate ourselves to Eucharistic adoration and to the evangelization of peoples all over the world. We also commit ourselves to live in community. We live the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience through-out our lives. Our five sisters have witnessed to the above for twenty-five and fifty years and many of us here today have been on this journey with them. They have witnessed this way of life to people here in the United States and in different parts of Africa. As they have touched the lives of others so they have let others touch their lives to bring them to who they are today. As we continue this celebration not only do we give thanks for our sisters but we give thanks for all who have accompanied them along their various journeys. We also give thanks for our foundress , Blessed Mary of the Passion, who was born on this day 172 years ago. Because of her we are here to celebrate. Yes, indeed, it is good to be here. Lois Pereira, fmm

On May 21, 2011 five Franciscan Missionaries of Mary celebrated their Jubilees. L-R Vita Marie Riccardelli, Elfriede Jackson, Lois Pereira, Rose Marie Brooks, Nancy Cabral

Front: Claire Napoleon

11

Homily

The first aim of every prayer and every religious celebra-

tion should be to give thanks and praise to God. Today we thank and praise God for many things and in par-ticular for the life and ministry of 5 very amazing women: Claire, Elfreide, Vita Marie, Nancy and Rosie. We gather here today to celebrate with our sisters: I say "our sisters" because they belong to us and we belong to them. In Baptism we have all become chil-dren of God. In Baptism we have become sisters and brothers of Jesus. As I reflect on the lives of these women I am amazed by the power of God that has been at work within them. It is not power as the world understands it, or as Mao Tse Tung the Chinese Communist leader under-stood it when he said "Power grows out of the barrel

of a gun.” The power of God is a different type of power, it is the power of love, and it is enormously subtle. No one forced our sisters 50 or 25 years ago to make religious profession of vows in the Institute of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. No one forced our sisters to offer their lives for the sake of God's King-dom. No one forced these 5 women to follow in the footprints of Jesus Christ by living in poverty, without anything of their own and in chastity. The lives of our jubiliarians speak to us of God's power: a loving, caring, gentle power that brings hope and healing - that offers new possibilities and that speaks to the downtrodden and oppressed. It is the power of God's Love, that for the most part, comes in ways that are not all that spectacular: just a gentle nudge here or there, no brilliant flashes of lightning, just the constant reassuring presence of a loving God ever concerned about the welfare of those God calls his own. This gentle power of God's Love has shaped their lives, often in quiet and hidden ways just as God has done for each of us here today joining in this celebration. So often we are unaware of it happening unless we search for it. Is it any wonder then, that the image of God that we find in scripture is not God at the head of a fearsome army, but God dying alone on a hill of Cal-vary flanked by criminals. Not God depicted as a roar-ing lion, an image reserved in scripture for the devil, but as God, the innocent Lamb shedding his blood for the benefit of others. Not God entering the world sur-rounded by riches and magnificence, but God as a poor and helpless child in a manger. I suspect that each of our jubiliarians could speak of the power of God's Love in their own life: an event, a person, or some other moment that had an impact on the direction their lives have taken - the direction God desired for them. And I suspect that each of our jubiliarians would ac-knowledge the power that Mary of the Passion has had on them: a power that has inspired and influ-enced each of them. The zeal of Mother Foundress in living the gospel knew no bounds. Her commitment to the poor and abandoned still speaks to hearts today. Her interest in the promotion of women and in social questions of the day set her apart from most religious women of her times. Mary of the Passion offered a new impetus and a new understanding for living a religious missionary vocation - the very vocation these sisters having been living for the past 25 or 50 years.

12

In 1978 Mother Teresa was invited to speak to a con-ference of German bishops. The title of the conference was "God's Call: Our Way." In her speech she defined the call to discipleship as "the call to become carriers of God's love." That is what being a Christian is about, she said; it is about being "carriers of God's love." Our sisters, with whom we celebrate today, have been caught up in the spirit of Mary of the Passion and a deeply prayerful relationship with the Lord. They have been and continue to be carriers of God's love. During the beatification of Mary of the Passion, Blessed John Paul II said: "The primary service we can give to the mission is the sincere and constant quest for holiness. We cannot witness to the Gospel genuinely, if first of all we do not live it faithfully." Claire, Elfreide, Vita Marie, Nancy and Rosie - we thank you for your fidelity to living the gospel. We thank you for your quest for holiness. We thank you for being true daughters of Mother Foundress. We thank you for your example and witness in the good works you have done in which God has been glorified. And we thank God for calling and choosing you. Again, referring to Blessed John Paul's homily on the occasion of the beatification of Mary of the Passion John Paul said: "Mary of the Passion let herself be seized by God Who was able to satisfy the thirst for truth that motivated her. Founding the Franciscan Mis-sionaries of Mary, she burned to communicate the torrents of love that sprang up in her and wished to extend them over the world. At the heart of the mis-sionary commitment, she placed prayer and the Eucharist, because for her, adoration and mission blended to become the same work." Dear sisters, you have done the same. You are true daughters of Mother Foundress. May I be so bold as to share with you words that come from your Foundress, words that are just as pertinent today as they were over a hundred years ago when she spoke them, words to encourage you and strengthen you. In No-vember 1896, the Insititute held a general chapter at the end of which Mary of the Passion exclaimed, "Today I feel a great desire to say to you what Saint Peter said to the lame man of the Gospel: I have nei-ther gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk! Yes, I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have, I

give you. I give myself entirely to you, despite my crosses, my poor health, my poverty. But stand up and walk! I beg you, walk in the footsteps of Jesus." The Second Vatican Council said "The future belongs to those who are strong enough to give succeeding gen-erations reasons for living and hoping." We have reasons for living, we have reasons for hop-ing. And we have reasons for loving. As daughters of Mary of the Passion, as Christian women called to live the gospel, as jubiliarians celebrating your lives as Franciscan Missionaries of Mary I pray that: You may have a living faith to always inspire; I pray you may have a hope strong enough to survive every storm and temptation; and I pray that you have a love that is pure and enables you to see the face of Christ in the people you meet. And may those you meet know, because of you, that they too are loved by God. Finally, it has been reported that when Pope Leo XIII was celebrating his 93rd birthday someone said to him: "May you live to be 1OO." Leo replied, "Why set limits to God's providence?" May you live as long as you want in the providence of God and never want as long as you live. Tom Hartle, OFM

Thanks!

Dear Sisters, Thank you all so much for being part of our celebra-tion. Being a Franciscan Missionary of Mary is a great gift that includes the wonderful sisters God has given us. Our years in the Institute have been filled with many blessings and much joy. Thank you also for your generous prayers and gifts. God bless you all. Much love and prayers. Vita Marie Ricardelli, fmm Nancy Cabral, fmm

From Blessed Mary of the Passion ...

Holiness is communion with God, but one cannot attain it

if we do not love all, even those who make us suffer.

10 May 1877