BACK TO SCHOOL

Wow! It is hard to believe that I have been home only nine days. Retreat already seems like a long time ago. Thank God I have my journal to remind me of the many graces and how truly blessed I am.

This past week I have been to two inservices, one faculty retreat, and spent two days and half of Saturday getting my classroom ready. Yes, it is time to go back to school. I don't understand why we just don't wait until after Labor Day. Winter is sooooo long in Erie that it would be nice to have that extra time to be outdoors.

For my last free day (well most of it was free) I spent a couple of hours on the beach at Presque Isle. I was happy to be in the sunshine and watch children playing in the sand or in the water. It was very relaxing to listen to the gentle lapping of the water against the shore in comparison to the roaring waves of the ocean. It was always high tide in the afternoon while I was on retreat. I watched, read, and slept.

School begins tomorrow and I look forward to meeting my new students. At the Parent Information Night I told the parents not to worry if their child comes home looking wild-eyed as fourth grade is a huge transition. They really are not fourth graders until after Christmas. So, summer fun ends and its back to lesson plans and correcting papers.

MINISTRY AND RETREAT

Hello Everyone. I arrived back in Erie on Friday. My trip driving to and from New Jersey was good with not too much construction and great weather.

My first five days at St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, located on the Jersey Shore, I was part of the staff. For the past eight years I have been cooking for those who are on vacation. Usually, there are about one hundred to one hundred and twenty people. This year, however, I was assigned to salads. Brother Dennis from Jamaica, NY and I were a good team. He had all the vegetables lined up with cutting boards and knives so that anyone who would volunteer to come and help chop them would know exactly what to do. I helped at this task when needed. While that was being done, Bro. Dennis and I worked on the special salad. There was always a regular salad bar and something special that Bro. Dennis would create. One evening it was tomato with fresh basil and oil, and another evening was a zucchini salad. We did fruit salads also. Our job was to get it all out before supper and clean it all up and put it away afterward.

I have been going down to this retreat house for fifteen years. For me these five days each year is way for me to give back for the generosity of the staff and the many graces I have received there while on retreat. It is a chance for me to meet new people and catch up with friends I have made while being there these many years. When I was finished with salads, I would go over to help dry pots and pans or put them away. With all the people working in the pantry, the cooking, and the salads, there is always a lot to clean before and after each meal. Two of my friends came down early on the day retreat was to begin so that we would have time to catch up with each others' lives. Then, that evening retreat began.

I am delighted to tell you that my gift from the sea was a Remembering Heart. During those eight days of silence and prayer my heart was drawn to the many different moments of my adult life when God touched me, called me, and was present to me. I was so aware of how my heart was filled with so much gratitude as I would share my prayer and reflection with the director each day. Like Ann Morrow-Lindberg I also collected small shells or stones to mark special moments of grace. I only brought one home.

On the evening before the Feast of the Assumption, candles are placed around the huge statue of the Blessed Mother that stands in the court yard facing the ocean. Many of us quietly sat out on the porches in awe of the beauty of the statue with the candles flickering in the dark. The candles were also lit on the evening of the feast. On that feast day, my director asked me to spend the day in prayer and reflection with the Blessed Mother. The day was filled with graces as I remembered significant moments of my past and Mary showing me how blessed I am.

As the graces of retreat continue to unfold, God continues to touch me, call me, and as He promised, is always present to me.

It would be an honor for me to hear about your retreat experience. Write me or e-mail me at s.lfusco@ssjerie.org if you wish to share.

HOMECOMING

On Sunday, August 1st our congregation held a homecoming event as part of our 150th year celebration. It was an event to welcome and celebrate women who were once members of our congregation. It was a time of remembering, healing, sharing, and reconnecting. About sixty-seven women returned for this celebration

As soon as I walked toward the entrance of our Community Living Center, I could feel the excitement, energy and joy that came from sisters and former members greeting one another. There was hugging and laughing, bonding of members of a "crowd", and for me a great sense of awe in what was happening. The chapel was filled and the liturgy expressed the joy that was evident. Our chaplain was also touched by the excitement and joy that he heard and saw.

After the liturgy, we continued the celebration with a brunch. During this time, people continued to move around and reconnect. Pictures were taken of some of the crowds. Some of the women took a tour of our Community Living Center and Administration Building. Some even went down to 819, our old Motherhouse, to see how it has been transformed into apartments and to once again walk the hallowed halls which held so many memories for them. The celebration continued into the late afternoon.

It was wonderful to me to share in this event. I did know a few women and I also got to meet women whose names I had heard whenever one of our sisters would share a story. It was a day that all of us will remember for a while.

I am leaving tomorrow morning for retreat, so I will not be posting for a couple of weeks. I will be by the ocean looking for my own gift from the sea. Please keep me in prayer and know that I will be praying for all of you.