LCUSA

ALLELUIA!

READINGS: Acts 10:34a, 37-43  ~  Psalm 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23 ~ Colossians 3: 1-4  ~  John 20: 1-9

Entrance Antiphon:

I have risen, and I am with you still, alleluia. You have laid your hand upon me, alleluia.

Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, alleluia, alleluia.

In reading a spiritual book written by two writers I enjoy, I came across their struggle to write a book together, but didn’t know what would be their theme? Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, told Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, that he kept coming back again and again to the meaning of ‘alleluia’. And then, they were off writing their book, Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All That IS. “One of the oldest anthems of the church, ‘ alleluia’ means simply ‘All hail to the One who is’. It is the arch hymn of praise, the ultimate expression of thanksgiving, the pinnacle of triumph, the height of human joy. It says that God is Good-and we know it”.

They go on to say that life itself is an exercise in learning to sing ‘alleluia’, here on this earth, in order to recognize the face of God hidden in the recesses of time. (Chittister & Williams, 2010, p. ix.) What struck me, in the chapters that followed, was their emphasis on saying ‘alleluia’ in times of trouble, in times when there is little control in our lives, in times of poverty, but it is not easy. However, as the authors so beautifully point out with our faith, “with the awareness of another whole kind of reality, beyond the immediate”, it is possible (p.ix).

The resurrection of Jesus brings us to this awareness of our faith reality and that in this light, we, too, can resonate in this Easter season with ‘alleluia’! We can ‘give thanks’ for the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus for us!

As Ladies of Charity, the first call of St. Vincent DePaul was made to you! This was brought home to me by a student at DePaul University last week as she read about you and your works for the community of the poor. Her reflection was ‘Imagine Sister, St. Vincent DePaul made his first call in the Vincentian Family to the laity, in calling the Ladies of Charity.

ALLELUIA!

Sister Frances Ryan, DC
LCUSA National DC Spiritual Moderator

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by Sr. Carol Schumer, D.C.,  St. Louis, MO

READINGS: Isaiah 50:4-7 ~ Psalm 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11 ~ Mark 14:1-15:47

From intimacy to abandonment,
from exultation to condemnation,
from adoration to torture,
from ecstasy to agony,
from “Hosanna!” to “Crucify!”

All in one Scripture passage, in one liturgical celebration,
in one Sunday!

Today we walk with Jesus, as his followers, from his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem through his anointing, his last Passover meal and his prayer in Gethsemane, through arrest, denial, treachery, rejection and finally to his heart-rending death on Golgotha.    With many others we travel.

With whom do I identify?

The gracious host, the brave woman with perfumed oil, one of his table companions; an exhausted friend, the deceived betrayer, the terrified youth; a witness, his questioner, a religious leader, a guard;  the released rebel, the weak ruler, a person in the crowd;  the vowing-disowning-weeping confidante, the able-bodied passer-by, a silent bystander, the thoughtful drink-giver; a faithful minister, the distinguished council member, the death informer, a devoted watcher and disciple?

Mark’s gospel account (only 119 verses in length) puts before us multiple personalities, filled with diverse and deeply-felt emotions, behaving in a spectrum of human ways.  Let us make time this day, this week to journey with Jesus, allowing his love and commitment to God’s will and our salvation to embrace and permeate our souls.

TRY THIS TODAY: Sit in God’s presence and ask yourself,
• as a Lady of Charity, where am I in this story?
• where do I fit in the drama of this passionate experience?

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READINGS: Jer. 31:31-34  ~  Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15 ~ Hebrews 5: 7-10  ~  John 12: 20-33

Reflection by Sr. Charlotte White, SCL
Spiritual Moderator, Ladies of Charity, Metropolitan Kansas City

In today’s readings we hear the plaintive cries of our human family: Make us whole again. Give again your covenant, which will not be like the covenant that we broke. Blot out our sins. Wash us and cleanse us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation.

The readings from Hebrews and John continue this cry – but from the mouth of Jesus! Jesus “offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death.” In the gospel you can hear Jesus struggling with the ending of his work. He’s astute; he can read the political winds and knows his days are numbered. He has been sent to bring the reign of God and has so little to show for it. Even his disciples haven’t got it yet; how will the work carry on?

Jesus wrestles with the meaning of his coming death: “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a grain of wheat.” Finally he cries, “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.” I have been faithful to the work for which you sent me. For this I will face execution. “Father, glorify your name.” Make some good come out of this. I have done what I can.

Jesus receives his answer from the Father: “I have glorified it.” Look back. Remember how I have been with you. Recall all I have done for my people. “And I will glorify it again” through what is to come.

Now Jesus can proclaim with resolve: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” God will see to the fulfillment of this work.

How often our hopes die, our plans fail, or we face personal deaths both large and small. Indeed, it seems that this is the only way we can “produce much fruit.” We don’t have to like the dying; Jesus didn’t. But, for our neighbor, we continue our efforts – and trust the God of Easter see to the outcome.

PRAYER

I beg Our Lord, Monsieur, that we may be able to die to ourselves in order to rise with Him, that he may be the joy of your heart, the end and soul of your actions, and your glory in heaven. This will come to pass if, from now on, we humble ourselves as He humbled Himself, if we renounce our own satisfaction to follow Him by carrying our little crosses, and if we give our lives willingly, as He gave His, for our neighbor whom He loves so much and whom He wants us to love as ourselves.

Vincent. To A Priest of the Mission, In Saintes, 27 March, 1650. Emphasis added.

TRY THIS

You have been called to be a Lady of Charity. Consider this vocation; does it urge you to let go of anything for our neighbor whom He loves so much and whom He wants us to love as ourselves?

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READINGS: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16,  19-23,19-23  ~  Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6. Ephesians 2:4-10  ~  John 3:14-21

Today’s readings invite us to raise our consciousness of God’s presence and to keep our minds and heart alert to God’s messengers calling us to Jerusalem. There with Jesus we must be “raised up” in suffering and “ rise up” to eternal life. First, Chronicles reminds us that “early and often the Lord sent his messengers” but the people ignored or rejected them, continuing in their sin. Psalm 37 cautions that in addition to attentive listening we also need to keep our memories active and rich with stories of God’s goodness and fidelity. Indeed, “if I forget Jerusalem, let my tongue be silenced and may my right hand be forgotten” because my word and work will have no meaning. Paul in his “Letter to the Ephesians” insists on great attention to the fact that just as a temple is raised up so was Jesus raised up. In that action which was pure gift from God, we have received our salvation. To round out this theme of being alert to God’s presence and having an active remembrance of Jesus going up to Jerusalem to die for us, the Gospel of Johnreaches back into history describing how Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert” to heal his people and prefigured Jesus as Savior. “So must the Son of Man be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” John stirs our memory that in Jesus’ time, as in the early history of the Jewish people, “the light came into the world but people preferred darkness to light.” Sadly, they did not remember and they did not hear.What questions “rise up” for our consideration and prayer as we direct our own journey to Jerusalem? We have already seen and experienced how “rich in mercy” God has been to us. Let us now consider the following in our prayer:

1. What can we do to stay alert so that we hear clearly those messages and messengers God sends to us in our regular rhythms of life? How can we quiet the other messengers that drown out God’s voice?
2. Do we remember and raise up memories of the great graces Jesus has won for us in the past so that our hope for the future is deepened and His promise of eternal life is central in our earthly lives?
3. “Gratitude is the virtue of the spiritually mature.” It gives us the power to integrate suffering and loss, as well as sadness and joy, into our daily walk to Jerusalem.” Let us remember some events in our lives which, like Jesus’s accepting the Father’s will that He be raised up, have raised us up. In that rising we were able to radiate light to others as they seek truth on their journey.

 “Whoever lives the truth, comes to the light so that his works may be  clearly seen as done in God.” (St. John)

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Exodus 20:1-17  ~   Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11  ~  1 Corinthians 1:22-2 John 2:13-25

Reflection by Sister Elyse Staab, DC
Vincentian Family Ministry

Today’s readings set a rich table for our prayer and reflection. The first reading from Exodus reminds us of God’s predilection for his chosen people by forming with them a covenant held sacred through the observance of the Commandments. The responsorial psalm reminds us that God’s law is perfect, right, rejoicing the heart, more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, asserts that the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Finally, Jesus weighs in in John’s Gospel by dispersing the money changers from the temple, his Father’s house, because the temple was no longer producing what it was intended to produce – an intimate relationship with God as a place of prayer.

PRAYER:

God, whose mercy is infinite, please forgive our fear of the cross. We see the needs of so many and the cries of the poor but are afraid for ourselves and the price of love. Give us the courage to love without careful accounting, with our eyes only on your children and our ears turned only to your words, so that we may follow the example of Jesus regardless of what it costs, trusting that you who created us for love will complete our love with your grace.

John van Bemmel

TRY THIS TODAY:

Spend 15 minutes in quiet prayer reflecting on how you see and observe God’s laws. Are they chains and restrictions which limit you ~ or are they wings that free you for service to others?

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READINGS: Genesis 22:1-18  ~  Psalm 116  ~   Romans 8:31-34
Mark 9: 2-10

This Sunday’s readings are challenging but hope-filled! Listen to God’s promise to Abraham, “I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore…”(Gen. 22:1-18) His binding covenant with us! Ponder Paul’s words “If God is for us, who can be against us?”( Rom.8:31-34) In the Gospel reading we hear the Father saying to Peter, James and John (and to us) “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” (Mark 9:2-10)

This Lenten season is an invitation for us to experience a “transfiguration” within ourselves.  In his book, Table Talk, Jay Cormier, offers us this prayer for this second Sunday in Lent:

May the Light of Love illuminate our hearts, O God that we may discover the sense of your divinity within ourselves.
May that sacredness enable us to see beyond our own needs, wants, and interests so that we may set about to transfigure our lives and our world in your compassion, justice and forgiveness.”

TRY THIS TODAY:

Spend some quiet time today listening to Jesus speaking to you.  What is He saying? How are you responding?

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by Sr. Frances Ryan, DC
LCUSA National Spiritual Moderator

Scripture Readings: Genesis 9:8-15  ~  Psalm 25: 4-9  ~ 1 Peter 3:18-22  ~   Mark 1:12-15

One theme of the readings centers on the sacred shared covenant that God promises us in the rainbow. “I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I shall recall the covenant I have made between Me and you.

The other theme that comes through the readings is ‘forty days’. Noah (Genesis 6-9) builds the Ark and, as a sign of hope from the devastating flood , sends a dove with an olive branch to God. The journey of the ark is forth days before the flood waters recede. Jesus also prepares by going into the desert for forty days which becomes a reminder to us of our Lenten preparations for our own forty days.

PRAYER: 

In our Vincentian vocation of preparing and praying in the marketplace, let us remember the words of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: ‘When we handle the sick and the needy, we touch the suffering body of Christ. We need the eyes of deep faith to see Christ in the broken body and dirty clothes under which the most beautiful One among us hides.”

TRY THIS TODAY:

As a Lady of Charity preparing for Lent, perhaps ‘giving up something’ is challenged by the pressing needs of our times. Rather, consideration this Lent should ponder the question: ‘how can I give more reflection and time to serve those that are vulnerable and are in my daily life?’ Whether through systemic change or direct service, how can I find the Suffering Christ that is in my midst?

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Through the Eyes of Children

“For a child is born to us …” Isaiah 9: 5

A little girl was frightened on being put to bed. Her mom reassured her that God is always present to protect. The child agreed, paused then added, “I really want someone with skin on.” (adapted from Andy Stanley, pastor/founder of North Point Ministries, Atlanta, GA) Is this not true for all of us? God knows our desire, for we are his creation. As a result, God who so loved the world, sent his only Son (John 3:16) in skin and flesh.

What a source of wonder! Watch a youngster, your own or a grandchild! How their eyes glisten and glow at the lights, the beauty of this season. Jesus declares: “Let the little children come to me. … The reign of God belongs to these.” (Luke 18: 16) And then he invites us to “… become like little children.” (Matthew 18: 3)

So with child-like trust and delight, let’s listen and ponder a child’s version of Jesus’ birth:
“She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity, convinced every word was revelation. She said, ‘They were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat and they went a long way from home without getting lost. The lady rode a donkey, the man walked and the baby was inside the lady. They had to stay in a stable with an ox and an ass (hee-hee), but the three Rich Men found them because the star lited the roof. Shepherds came and you could pet the sheep but not feed them. Then the baby was borned. And do you know who he was?’ Her quarter eyes inflated to silver dollars. ‘The baby was God.’ And she jumped in the air, whirled round, dove into the sofa and buried her head under the cushion … which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation.”        (“Sharon’s Christmas Prayer” by John Shea, The Hour of the Unexpected)

Take a few minutes during the holidays and

1. sit quietly at the manager in awe and gratitude for the gift of Emmanuel, God-with-us.
2. check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ki8EcnVbd-Q of The Christmas Story as told by Hilltop Preschool and Kindergarten Students from Portland Christian Center. (www.pcctoday.com)

1. 3. read a child’s book, e.g., The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and recall the wonder and blessing of child-like living and trust.

May the God of love bless all of us now and throughout 2012!

Carol Schumer, D.C.
Ladies of Charity, Archdiocese of St. Louis

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Take Time to really celebrate the Incarnational Moment!

2 Samuel 7:1-16 ~ Psalm 89 ~ Romans 16:25-27 ~ Luke 1:26-38

We give time to that which is important for us in our lives. Christmas is a time for celebrating Love. Christ was born. God made flesh. What greater Love? We think of those that we love in our family and friends. With our Vincentian charism as Ladies of Charity, we see ‘incarnate love’ in the vulnerable and marginated. Christ is born again in the faces of the Poor. We serve and often it is not what we give the poor person in front of us, but the message we convey that “you are important to me.” I call you by name just as 2000 years ago, a babe was born in Bethlehem and they named Him, “Jesus.”

In this 4^th week of Advent, the readings remind us of making time to be available for the Incarnational Moment. In the first reading, (2 Samuel 7:1-5), King David is concerned about the ark of the covenant being housed in ‘a tent’. God urges David to ‘build a house’ for the ark of the covenant.’ “Your house and  your kingdom shall endure forever before me.”  In the Gospel, Mary ponders the word of the angel, Gabriel, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” But Mary thinks “how can this be?” Gabriel, the angel, reminds Mary that “nothing will be impossible for God.” (Luke 1: 26-38). Mary, in faith, responds “be it done to me according to your Word.”  Ironically, in the line of David, Jesus Christ is born in a stable. Without a house, the Incarnational Moment begins “the new covenant” with God’s people.

As Ladies of Charity, we need to take time to ponder the awesomeness of this Incarnational Moment that brings alive our covenant with a God who so loves us that He came to earth and lived amongst us.

-Sister Frances Ryan, DC
LCUSA Spiritual Moderator

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The Ladies of Charity USA gratefully acknowledge the Sisters of Charity of New York for sharing their Advent reflection.

This reflection is one of several spiritual resources offered to you during this season. After this prayerful reflection, please visit our Advent Spirituality page for more.

First Sunday of Advent – Nov. 27, 2011

READINGS:
Isaiah 63:16-19; 64:2-7 ~ Ps. 80 ~ I Cor. 1:3-9 ~ Mark 13:33-37

“You break the power of evil and make all things new in your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe….Free all the world to rejoice in his peace, to glory in his justice, to live in his love.” (Opening Prayers)

Here we are again, at the end of one Church year and the beginning of another. Trees grow bare and cold winds blow, partisan bickering in Congress gets uglier by the moment, millions in our country are without jobs, homes, and hope, and the gap between the desperately poor and the scandalously rich widens with each day’s news. We may be saying to God with some frustration, “You make all things new? I sure don’t see where!”

As one commentator remarked, “I find myself praying, ‘Give us a break, Lord!  Is this any way to run a railroad?’ ”

St. Elizabeth Seton would urge us to find the grace in this present moment, this challenging time in history.  Where do we see signs of Jesus Christ, making all things new?

The Constitution of the Sisters of Charity reminds us that “the Gospel overturns all purely human understanding of authority.’ Jesus offers us an alternative way. Jesus gives us a different lens through which to view leadership. We get a glimpse of that lens in the readings for the feast of Christ the King.

Newness comes through those who act like shepherds, who make a home to gather those scattered,  who look after the weak and wounded. God promises to act this way with us (Ezekiel).  Jesus paints an unforgettable picture of the end times when we will be judged not on our right thinking, our orthodoxy, our adherence to rules, but on our care for the least among us (Matt. 25).

Christ our leader doesn’t seek to be at the top of the pyramid, or to claim privilege (like a multimillion dollar bonus, perhaps) at the expense of others. Our leader doesn’t demand our servile homage; he doesn’t “lord it over” us like the world’s rulers.

Rather, Christ sets the bar high by stooping low, by showing us what true servant leadership looks like, by going the extra mile to rescue the lost and shepherd the wounded. We keep waiting and longing for the day to come when all of us who bear leadership responsibilities, great and small, will follow Jesus’ example of serving others like a caring shepherd.

Sts. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac lived this Gospel. They saw the face of Christ in those who were hungry, thirsty, outsiders, naked, sick, or imprisoned. In our own time, Dorothy Day was one who carried on their legacy.

A mother, convert, co-founder of the Catholic Worker, lover of the poor, and untiring activist for peace and social justice, Dorothy died Nov. 29, 1980. (Sisters of Charity can be proud that Dorothy became a Catholic in 1927 through the tutelage of Sister Aloysia Mary Mulhearn, then on mission at St. Joseph’s Home, Huguenot, Staten Island. ) The Church has declared her “Servant of God,” the first step toward being named a Saint.

The prayer for Dorothy Day’s cause for canonization says in part: “May her life inspire people to turn to Christ as their Savior and guide, to see his face in the world’s poor and to raise their voices for the justice of God’s kingdom.”

In his Advent homily of 2008, Pope Benedict XVI offers us much to reflect on: “Certainly, we don’t want the end of the world to come now. But, on the other hand, we want this unjust world to end. We also want the world to be deeply changed, the civilization of love to begin, a world of justice and peace, without violence, without hunger, to arrive. We all want this — and how can it happen without the presence of Christ? ….Come, Lord! Come to your world, in the way that you know. Come where there is injustice and violence. Come to the refugee camps…. in so many places in the world. Come where drugs dominate. Come, too, among those rich people who have forgotten you and who live only for themselves. Come where you are not known. Come to your world and renew the world of today. Come also to our hearts. Come and renew our lives. Come to our hearts so that we ourselves can be light of God, your presence.

In this sense, let us pray with St. Paul: Maranà, thà! Come, Lord Jesus! And let us pray that Christ may be really present today in our world, and that he may renew it.”

The season of Advent challenges us: “Don’t let the bad news get you down, don’t let it cloud your vision. Keep looking around, keep staying awake (Mark). The signs of the reign of God are all around you.  You don’t want to miss them.”  May our God who is faithful keep us firm to the end (I Cor.)

Sister Regina Bechtle, SC
Sr. Regina, currently Charism Resource Director for the Congregation,
writes, lectures, & offers programs and retreats about St. Elizabeth Seton
and the spirituality of the Sisters of Charity.

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