NOVEMBER 2018 VOCATION OFFICE E NEWSLETTER

LAUDARE, BENEDICERE, PRAEDICARE TO PRAISE, TO BLESS, TO PREACH

Mourning into Joy JEREMIAH 31:13

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Reflection on the Third Beatitude Recent Travels & Visitors Spotlight on our Schools

November 2018 Recommended Reading: Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting Generous like Saint Cecilia

Blessed are Those who Mourn for They will be Comforted A Reflection on the Third Beatitude

As the liturgical year draws to its end, the Church calls us to remember our own end. On November 2, the Commemoration of All Souls, we prayed for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, entrusting to God’s merciful love our friends and relatives who have died. Death, the separation of soul and body, is not natural to us, created as we are in God’s image and likeness. Almighty God created us to live with Him, soul and body, for all eternity. He sent his Son to save us from sin and death. In his own death and resurrection, Christ conquered sin and death, and we can believe with assurance that at our death life is changed but not ended. We are destined for eternal life.

Even in the midst of the sufferings and sorrows we so often experience in this life, we live in joyful hope for the fulfillment of God’s promise of eternal life. We are made for love.

It is right to mourn in the face of suffering, and the beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” does not in any way seek to gloss over the painful reality.

Looking to the Cross, though, we realize that God Himself has entered into suffering and given it meaning. The saints remind us of this by the testimony of their lives: for example, Saint Martin de Porres, whose feast day we celebrated on November 3, united the sufferings of his father’s rejection and of the racial prejudice of his time to the sufferings of Christ.

Saint Martin’s life became holy, and he radiated the beauty and the power of the security of belonging to his Heavenly Father.

God also gives us the graces to live out this beatitude. The Holy Spirit pours out the Gift of Knowledge, helping us see creation and human actions in relation to God, their source and end. When we mourn, this experience reminds us of the truth that “here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). Likewise, with the faith we receive at Baptism we are also given by God the virtue of hope. The virtue of hope is a supernatural gift bestowed by God through which one trusts that God will grant eternal life and the grace to attain it, provided that one cooperates with God’s grace. This does not mean there will be no difficulties or sufferings in our lives of faith; but the virtue of hope assures us of the help of God even amid the sufferings and difficulties we may encounter in this life. So, let us give praise and thanks to the One who turns our mourning into joy!

All Saints Day Teaching about the Saints during November Children love stories. During the month of November, many of our sisters spent extra time teaching about the lives and virtues of the saints. Throughout the school year, our sisters also use the Virtues in Practice Program which was developed by our sisters to teach the virtues through the lives of the saints.

Pope Benedict once wrote, "The saints are the true bearers of light within history, for they are men and women of faith, hope and love" (Deus Caritas Est, 40). Through a study of the lives of the saints may each of our students encounter our Eucharistic Lord who desires us also to become saints.

In several of our schools, students had the opportunity to research the life of a saint. On All Saints Day they dressed up as the saint and presented their reports or research about their particular saints.

You can learn more about how to access our Virtues in Practice Program by clicking here.

Generous like Saint Cecilia Celebrating Thanksgiving on Saint Cecilia's Feast Day - November 22, 2018 -

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His love endures forever."

This verse opens Psalm 118 which our sisters chanted as we began the Divine Office for the Feast of Saint Cecilia. In God's providence this feast coincided with Thanksgiving and provided us with a beautiful opportunity to reflect with gratitude on the witness of Saint Cecilia's generosity.

In a recent homily given at the Motherhouse during a Vocation Retreat, Father John Sica, O.P. also reflected on the generosity of Saint Cecilia. He first cited Saint Therese of Lisieux's own reflections about Saint Cecilia from Story of a Soul: "When learning that she was proclaimed patroness of music not because of her beautiful voice or her talent for music, but in memory of the virginal song she sang to her heavenly Spouse hidden in the depths of her heart, I felt more than devotion for her; it was the real tenderness of a friend... Everything in her thrilled me, especially her abandonment, her limitless confidence that made her capable of virginizing souls who had never desired any other joys but those of the present life..." Father Sica went on, "That last description is especially beautiful. The virgin Cecilia, in her generous love, was capable of “virginizing” other souls. As fire begets fire, the virgin martyr begets virginal souls. Not only does she convert her betrothed, Valerian, but also his brother Tiburtius. Cecilia’s virginal love is an irresistible fire, setting on fire cold souls... Cecilia’s generosity, flowing from her single-minded attention to the Lord, overflows in converting those around her... [She responded] in love to the truly generous one, Jesus Christ."

Father concluded his homily with these words, "Nothing pleases him more than that out of our poverty we make a gift of our lives in return for what he has done for us: for however little we give, if we give it with total love, it will be a complete gift."

Recent Travels in Kansas Emporia State University November 13-14 While visiting the Didde Catholic Campus Center at Emporia State University, Sister Peter Marie and Sister Bernadette Marie enjoyed visiting with many young women at the school. They also showed the documentary For Love Alone, discussed the beauty of religious life and prayed a walking rosary on campus.

Fort Hays State University November 14 The sisters visited the Catholic Campus Center at Fort Hays State University for their weekly Catholic Disciples event. They gave a talk which wove together the themes of gratitude, the example of the saints, and the power of Mary's maternal mediation in our lives. The night ended with the praying of Compline and fellowship.

Recent Travels in Kansas cont.

Kansas State University November 15-16 While visiting the St. Isidore Catholic Center at K-State, Sister Peter Marie gave a talk entitled "Finding Joy Now." The sisters enjoyed visiting with the students on campus and discussing the gift and beauty of religious life.

Benedictine College November 17-18

The sisters visited Benedictine College for its monthly Underground Event for high school and college students. They gave a talk entitled: "All the Way to Heaven is Heaven: St. Catherine of Siena for Today," which was followed by Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, and Mass. The sisters also visited with a number of women during a "Dining with Dominicans" Event.

Recommended Reading Come, Lord Jesus

Meditations on the Art of Waiting By: Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. As we prepare to begin Advent amidst the busy preparations for Christmas, Mother Mary Francis, longtime abbess of the Poor Clare Monastery in Roswell, New Mexico, provides us with a beautiful set of daily reflections on the gift of waiting for the coming of Christ. The book was compiled from talks given by Mother to her fellow sisters before her death in 2006. She drew her inspiration from the daily readings of Mass and the Divine Office as well as her own life as a consecrated woman.

This book will surely provide a daily opportunity to "learn more fully the art, the bliss, the peace, the pain, and the wonder of waiting!" (p.11)

"Let these precious hours of Advent be given to wonder. When we feel depressed by our faults, let us wonder that God can forgive us so much; let us be filled with wonder and praise that God goes on believing in us, hoping in us, and trusting that we will somehow yet realize his dream of us."Â Click on the image above for a link to order the book.

Upcoming Events If you are planning to attend the FOCUS SEEK 2019 Conference in Indianapolis, we would love to see you!

"Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore SEEK not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand."

–St. Augustine