The REAL Meaning of CHRISTmas

A few months ago I went to a presentation on mindfulness in the classroom and I have recently found myself coming back to what I learned. In a room filled with teachers and administrators, the presenter literally walked us through an experience of mindfulness or "wise attention." Sitting up straight, eyes closed, hands resting on my lap, I joined in the activity as she asked us to become mindful of our breathing. As we moved through the activity, the presenter asked us to visualize a flashlight; when we found our attention drifting away, we could notice what was distracting us, then, focus our flashlight back on our breathing.

This is a wonderful activity to use with children in the classroom to help focus their attention and I have also found myself using it to help ground me during prayer.
In the midst of a recent transition, I have found it challenging to sit quietly and pray. I've been very distracted with my own emotions as I moved into a new living situation. However, as I was setting up the Nativity in our chapel this year, I found myself able to refocus my flashlight on what is important...Jesus.

The Son of God, Jesus, came into this world as a baby, born of a virgin in a humble stable surrounded by animals.  Jesus willingly took on the human form so that he could experience love coupled with immense suffering. He is the greatest gift given to us by God, and the Wise Men knew this as they risked everything and followed the ultimate flashlight, the Star of Bethlehem. They knew this Baby was a special gift to the Jewish people.  He was the sign they had waited for, and the Star of Bethlehem lit their way, as they journeyed to bring gifts to the newborn King.

It's not about the gifts they brought; it is about the seeking and how the Wise Men refocused their own flashlights on finding Jesus and how each of us is called to do the same.

The Wise Men had their own distractions during their journey, yet they continued to pay attention to what was really important.

We are called to notice the distractions that come up when we are still, then try to refocus attention back to Jesus.

Notice the distractions; then come right back to Jesus.

Notice the distractions. Come back to Jesus.

Notice. Come back.

As I move through these days of Christmas, I will try to remember to keep my flashlight focused on the real meaning of the season...Jesus.

 Sister Meaghan Patterson, SSJ

 

Meaghan entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 2002 and has had many varied experiences since then.  Currently, she is ministering at Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School in North Philadelphia and living at our newly established hospitality house in Chestnut Hill.

When Words Become Flesh

I’m a… word nerd? language geek? literature junkie? I was intrigued by my grandparents’ magical ability to communicate with words I couldn’t understand. As a student in grade school, through high school, college and a teacher in grade school and college, I have loved vocabulary, Voyages in English, reading, writing. Yes, my students diagrammed sentences and memorized poetry. I’m silently correcting your grammar. I majored in languages… you get it!

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to communicate with people in their native tongue and to travel where Spanish is spoken, opening doors into people’s lives and relationships. This puts me in new worlds, invites me into realities other than my Northeast US white culture and stretches my seeing the world. Often it feels like two worlds! My training, profession and ministry move me in the circles of higher education administration, research and immersion in beautiful language and literature. Relationships, community and ministry connect me to dear neighbors near and far who speak the same beautiful language but have little or no access to literacy.

If you feel my walk in two worlds, you will appreciate my delight when they converged in October at a professional conference for literary types (mostly university professors). I heard an amazing address by Stuart Day of the University of Kansas. Professor Day is an accomplished teacher, scholar and literary critic, thriving in the “ivory tower.” He shared his efforts, building on the work of scholars like Kimberley Nance and Marta Caminero-Santangelo; teaching Latin American and Latino theater in a way that helps students to understand privilege, systemic oppression and the power of community. I was deeply moved as I listened to this kindred spirit clearly in love with the beauty and power of words; seeking to share not just literature but the reality it depicts. Included in Stuart’s “student learning outcomes” are empathy, understanding and identifying entitlement and privilege and then movement to action and social justice.

I was especially taken by an assignment he designed: “dialogical shadow acting.” Students must write themselves into a text with three conditions: they are not a hero, they must help someone already in the play, and they must respond to this question from a character, “What gives you the right to be here?” In processing this assignment, Stuart reminded us, he is evoking a principle of teatro campesino or of the theater of the oppressed – in engaging these plays, we are “rehearsing the revolution.”

Is this writing in of ourselves not a reflection of what Jesus does in the Incarnation, what Father Medaille means, perhaps, when he speaks of Jesus’ humility as he comes to us in Eucharist? In whatever “world” I find myself, how can I write myself into the text? How am I called to be a helper, to further good? What gives me the right to be here? As followers and lovers of Jesus, how are we called to “practice the Revolution?” How do we say, “¡Presente!” with our lives? 

Sister Cecelia J. Cavanaugh 

Cecelia J. Cavanaugh SSJ grew up just outside of Philadelphia. After entering the Sisters of Saint Joseph, she taught in elementary and junior high school before beginning doctoral studies in Spanish literature. She joined the faculty of Chestnut Hill College, a sponsored work of the Philadelphia SSJs in 1991 and was appointed Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies in 2001. She is the author of two books about the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.

The Urban Sea

One of my earliest recollections of being called to religious life involved the scene of Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee--calling ordinary folk to follow Him. So, leaving their nets behind, they did.  Centuries later, I did as well.

While the sea in every form captivates me so much still, my "sea" has, for most of my religious life, been urban city streets in Newark and North Philadelphia.

I could never have imagined this life for myself! I could never have scripted how this living, working and "being with" my sisters and brothers at the margins has both challenged and enriched me.

Community prayer, church and school prayer as well as private prayer have led me to a place of inner and outer freedom. This freedom has allowed me, in the way I am able to live my life as a Sister of Saint Joseph, to respond and to be present to all kinds of folks, with few limits or boundaries on my service or my presence. This both humbles and excites me...especially on days I am fully attentive...

As an SSJ, never knowing on any given day exactly what will be "required" of me, I am daily re-awakened and stretched to live this call. I have come to know and to trust that "the little I have" will be enough as Jesus' spirit transforms and enlarges. I have the daily opportunity, along with my Sisters, to be impelled and emboldened as we attempt to “be Jesus” in this day, in "whatever" place.

Fasten your seat belts. God is in charge! Let’s go!

Sister Nancy Fitzgerald, SSJ

Sister Nancy has spent her entire religious life in Philadelphia and Newark serving in urban education, a field to which she is committed and about which she is passionate. She currently serves as the Principal of Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School in North Philadelphia.

Wonder and Mystery

I have always been drawn to Wonder, and intrigued by where it has led me, whether it is about things and their origins, or about the kind of Wonder that takes me deeper, into Mystery. I have often tested some of my wonderings with my trusted friends. An example of what I wonder about is the “egg!” Who had the thought, “That looks good, let’s eat it?” Better yet, how long did it take before we said, “Let’s fry it?” I hope you are laughing or at least smiling. Most of the time my friends offer a polite smile, and continue to wonder about me!

Seriously, I love to wonder, and I believe I will always ponder what it takes to elicit this in others. What is it like to be caught in the Mystery of God, revealing through time? I ask, “How do I live a life of Wonder and Mystery, while inviting others to do the same?

When I considered college, and my future, my sense of Wonder drew me further inward. I began to experience an awareness of Mystery in a place where answers are elusive, and words disappear. I wondered if this sensation was real or was it the pressure to move on with my life? Was I being lured by Mystery. Was I being chosen?

Time passed, my horizons broadened, and I became attracted to a woman who brought me to another level of Wonder about my life’s direction. I wondered why she came into my life? Why did she become a Sister of Saint Joseph? It was evident she could have chosen any vocation she desired? What was it about her person that was radiant whenever I saw her? Why did I feel more me when I was with her? What was it about her that made others want to be in her presence? I have come to know and believe it was Mystery that found her heart, called her into being, forming her true self. Something happened I could not explain. I asked myself, “Is this the same Mystery that caught and is wedged in my heart, which continues to mold and shape me to become my best self?”

Presently, I keep asking myself, do I make people wonder, are they taken by my presence in a way that makes them wonder about their future? Do they see or feel something inspiring when I am with them? Do I make them wonder about the Mystery of being chosen by our God?

How does one cultivate Wonder and Mystery in one’s life? Pray, wonder about eggs, pray, make people laugh, pray for Mystery to embrace you, laugh some more, fry an egg, pray for the grace to be attentive to God’s breaking through each day, and say “yes” to Mystery and the place where there are no words. Wonder some more!

Kathleen Brabson, SSJ

Sister Kathleen serves as the president of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, where she has been in ministry for over twenty years. She sees each day as a new day with the young women of the Mount community. S. Kathleen finds wonderful role models in the women who have "laced a legacy," of courage, vision, and great love that inspire her everyday. She enjoys walking on the Wissahickon, sharing a meal with family and friends, and being with the Mount community.