Catholic Schools Week

Throughout the country Catholic Schools Week began today. The theme this year is "Catholic Schools: Dividends for Life". It focuses on the dividends of Faith, Knowledge, Discipline, and Morals.

At Blessed Sacrament School in Erie, where I teach, we began with a special liturgy this morning that included participation from students in each grade level. Our student choir and cantors led the singing. After liturgy, everyone went to the cafeteria for donuts and coffee, then they were invited to tour the school during the open house. Among the visitors to my classroom were alumni whose children will begin school next fall. It was wonderful to hear them recall their times as students. Most exciting for me was hearing them ask about our sisters whom they remember as their teachers and principals. These alumni remember their school days in a positive light.
I am a product of public school education, so I do not have the background or memories of the alumni I met today. I wonder if they realized then, as they do now, the value of their Catholic Education. I think it is great that they want the same experiences for their children.
What was your Catholic School Education Like? What do you treasure and hold in your heart of those memories?

Connections

One of our sisters gave me this quote today, "Connect with God first so you can connect with others." Prayer is an important part in the lives of women religious. Each sister spends time in quiet prayer, or reflection, or contemplation, or meditation, as well as communal prayer. This quiet time alone with God is what strengthens, consoles, empowers, and brings joy to go out and minister to others. This connecting with God first helps each sister to be and do what God desires of her in her ministry.

My quiet time is Sunday morning. With school and other commitments, I can easily fall asleep if I try to sit still on weekday evenings. Prayer, reflection, journaling, spiritual reading, and listening to spiritual music gifts me with the graces I need to be a good educator, a good Sister of Saint Joseph, a good member of my community, a good member of my family, and a good friend. I know without a doubt the importance of prayer in my life. I need to connect with God first at the beginning of the week to bring Christ to others. This connection with God reminds me who I am and why I do what I do.

How about you? Share with me, if you will, about your quiet time. Have a great week!

You Are Loved!

I can guess that probably everyone has had a day (or more) when they are not feeling good about themselves. There are numerous things that can go wrong that lower our self-esteem. The first reading from Sunday's liturgy can help us. No matter how we see ourselves, God sees us differently.

The reading from Isaiah 62:1-5 reminds us we are assured of God's love. God always wants to give us what is good and claim us just as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride. God makes us feel special by holding us as a "royal diadem". We are God's "Delight" no matter how we see ourselves. Allowing ourselves to hear these words can help us to see more of what God sees in us. God is passionate in God's love for us. I think that God wants us to know this so that we can become more than we ever believed possible.

So, the next time you are having one of those days take time to sit, pray, and reflect with this passage from Isaiah. Just as Zion and Jerusalem were renewed and restored, may God do the same in you.

Winter Grace

I have survived a week of snow! Winter is not my favorite season of the year. Every day I scraped the ice off my windows, brushed the snow off the car each morning and after school, and I drove to and from school on sometimes slippery roads. One of our drivers kindly helped me shovel my car out one morning. Finally, we have had two days with no snow and ice. I don't know about you, but I needed a break.

The sunshine and crisp air was energizing on Saturday and I delighted in the blue skies. On Sunday as I drove down I79, I was in awe by the beauty of the frozen snow on the trees down by Edinboro. I could not help but be reminded of the "Grandeur of God" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. How could the snow that I dread each day during winter be so beautiful? Only in God and by His grace can I see the glorious winter scene from my car window. I am grateful for moments like these when I can still feel alive in the midst of winter.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a joyous celebration of Christmas. Mine was just as I said it would be in my last posting.
At our Community Living Center, where I live with about fifty other sisters, we had an evening prayer service for New Years’ Eve. During this prayer we were asked to pray for the grace we need this year. I’m still trying to narrow it down as I think I need a lot of graces. Perhaps I will tell God what they are, and ask God to give me the one I need the most.
After the prayer service, we had a New Years’ Eve party with food and drinks, the annual Word Find (with a word missing), and we watched the movie, "Julie and Julia". At 11:00 I went back to our Gathering Space, and with six other sisters stayed up to watch the annual celebration in New York City when the ball goes down as the crowds and we count down the seconds until midnight.
In between the first party and the later party I had gone back to my room. One of my annual traditions is to sit and reflect on the past year. I made a list of the blessings I had received in 2009. Wow! After listing them, I thought how fortunate I am to be loved so much by God. I gave thanks and I felt at peace. I like this tradition. I am sure some of you do something similar to end one year and begin another.
It has been nice to be out of school for a couple of weeks. In three more days, life will go back to normal. I will go back to school, exercising at the cardiac center, and all the other routine activities that are part of my life.
The New Year is only beginning. There is still time to reflect on the blessings you have been given. May God bless all of you abundantly in 2010.