Our Ministry of Prayer and Presence

The Haitian proverb “We see from where we stand” invites us to expand our perspectives and to grasp the interconnectedness existing throughout the world.  Developing this understanding has the potential to promote solidarity among us.

For me, this proverb is applicable to the work of Saint Joseph Guild which serves as a link between our Saint Joseph Villa Sisters’ Ministry of Prayer and the needs of our wounded world. Intentions come daily beseeching our Sisters’ intercession: from a heartbroken parent on behalf of a wayward child, a spouse for the recovery of a loved one, the safety of a son/ daughter in the military, for forgiveness and harmony within a family, the return of children to their Faith, and so many heartaches borne by others.

In response, all these burdens are lifted up during daily Mass and the personal devotions of our elder/infirm Villa Sisters. Additionally, these Sisters embody our Founder’s advice:  “If your state of life does not allow you to work openly for the advancement of God’s glory and the salvation of the neighbor, offer for both of these aims your holy desires, your prayers, your tears and your sufferings; in a word, every work of your life and the agony of your death, uniting them with the holy intentions of the Savior Jesus.”  (Maxims of Perfection XI, 3)

 Privileged to serve in the Guild, I witness this deepening of our interconnectedness with others wrought by our beloved Villa Sisters’ daily fidelity to their Ministry of Prayer and Presence. When you meet them, please express your gratitude to them for their outreach on behalf of our wounded world! 

Sister Fran DeLisle SSJ

Sister Fran is a native of Philadelphia. Her first 30 years as a Sister of Saint Joseph she ministered in elementary and secondary schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Fran began ministry among “Seniors” in 1991 spending one year at Bethlehem Retirement Village before coming to Saint Joseph Villa in 1992 where she currently serves as the coordinator of the Guild.

Cradled Closer to the Heart of Jesus

September 2015 marks my 40^th year as a Sister of Saint Joseph. In these years, the gift of prayer, being sensitive to God’s continued calling and grace have been what I have found to be most fulfilling. God places enticements before me to deepen our relationship while living out my call as a Sister of Saint Joseph. Recently, a question from Father Gustavo Gutierrez increased my desire to be joined with God, “So you say you love the poor? Name them.” This quote has encouraged me to be mindful of naming in prayer the poor person I encounter. I am challenged by a similar admonition from Dorothy Day, “The Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.”

In my ministry as a therapist, I meet individuals who feel undeserving of God’s love. They are emotionally and spiritually poor from having made the decision to have an abortion. The ministry of Project Rachel saturates these wounded souls with the message, “There is no sin greater than God’s mercy.”  Their poor troubled hearts carry a very unique sorrow that causes them a great deal of suffering. They believe that they have committed the unforgivable sin which makes them feel unholy. I more recently came upon a saying by Matthew Fox that read “God’s first outburst is always compassion.” I found this a remarkable notion and portrait of our great God and God’s reactions to us, and certainly a reminder for me to have that same emotional response with others. The post-abortive clients I meet are so ready to be condemned, punished and shamed for what they have done. To be part of a ministry that hands them only an awareness of God’s mercy and healing is a wonderful gift.  It is just the opposite of what they think they deserve. The SSJ vocation of reconciliation and healing allows me to introduce them to Jesus who knows their pain as well as their child. I share with them this beautiful statue that is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It lets them know that “nothing can separate us from the love of God,” not even an abortion.  They experience their child as cradled in the arms of the Lord. (http://lancastergardenofhope.com/)

 To conclude, I would like to borrow a signature saying of Oprah Winfrey:  “What I know for sure…” While interviewing others she asks them to complete that sentence. “What do you know for sure…?” What I know for sure is that God is faithful; we are never alone. My vocation, my relationship with God is deepened by a song with that sentiment and assurance.  “I Am Not Alone”- Kari Jobe is a reminder to me; it encourages me and gives me faith, hope and love each day as I continue to live the treasure of vocation that is being a Sister of Saint. Joseph. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow4OfW4DP9s) May your listening bring you a sense of being cradled closer to the Heart of Jesus.

Sister Meg Cole SSJ

Sister Meg is a licensed  Marriage and Family therapist at Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Allentown, PA. 

The Place of Encounter

A number of years ago while I was studying Liturgy, one of my professors put up a print from the ”Creation of Adam” fresco by Michelangelo found in the Sistine Chapel. The print depicts the finger of God reaching for the finger of Adam.

This Jesuit priest told his class that the space between God’s finger and Adam’s finger is the Eucharist, the Liturgy—the place of encounter with the living God. I never forgot that statement and it continues to draw me into contemplation to this very day. My Jesuit teacher’s reflection reminded me so much of a quote from a letter of another Jesuit, Jean-Pierre Medaille who reminded all the daughters of Joseph, "Now, my dear daughters, is not all found in a marvelous manner in the Eucharist?" 

Core to my daily prayer is the Eucharist. On a daily basis, it is my privilege to be invited into this marvelous Oneness between God and humanity in the Eucharist. I stand in awe at the nearness of God and all creation in the celebration.

Sister Sandy DeMasi SSJ

  
Sister Sandy is a Pastoral Associate for Liturgy in Saint Rose of Lima Parish in Short Hills, NJ and a consultant for RCL Benziger Religion Publishers.

Jesus the Light in Our Darkness

As a chaplain at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I frequently meet people of deep faith asking questions, such as, “Why?” Why did I, my husband, wife, son, daughter, or loved one get cancer?  Why would God let this happen? Why has God abandoned me?

Each of us has gone through something we never thought God would permit, something we prayed against. Perhaps it was cancer, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the loss of a relationship. 

I never had cancer, but I know what it’s like to be in that dark place, when I did not sense the presence of God. Years ago, I went through a very painful experience. For weeks and weeks, I kept asking Jesus, “Where are You in all of this?  How do You feel about what I am going through?” 

One night during prayer, as the darkness enveloped my heart, I once again asked Jesus the above questions. Hours later, I had a sense of Jesus saying to me, “Anne, I am so sorry this is happening to you. I’ll love you through this.” Now, the pain didn’t go away, but I knew I wasn’t alone in it. To know that Jesus was with me IN the darkness, sharing my pain gave me deep peace, great comfort, and the trust I needed to believe I would know healing and, in time, I did. That experience, that movement from darkness to light, deepened my awareness of the love and faithfulness of Jesus.

Like our patients, I don’t understand the “Why” of suffering. Pope Francis, while speaking to parents of disabled children stated, “Do not be afraid to ask, even to challenge the Lord. 'Why?' Maybe an explanation won’t come… but we will feel his gaze upon us and this will give us the strength to go forward…The most important thing is the gaze.” 

May we have an open heart to feel the gaze; for our “God is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit, God saves.” (Ps. 34:19)

Let’s stay close; stay very close to Jesus, the Light IN our darkness. 

Anne McCoy SSJ

 

Sister Anne is a chaplain at the Cancer Treatment Center of America and has been a spiritual and retreat director for the past 25 years.

Loving God and Neighbor Without Distinction

“When I was hungry you gave me to eat. When I was thirsty you gave me to drink. When I was a stranger you welcomed me. When I was lacking clothes you gave me clothes. When I was sick you visited me. When I was in prison you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-40). These words have been my favorite passage since I was a child. My family, friends and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, in Saint Mary School, Saint Clair, Pennsylvania were a living witness to this gospel message. The Sisters of Saint Joseph, with their joyful spirit and generous outreach to others, inspired me to enter the Congregation.

Since my entrance into the Congregation, and especially for the last seventeen years in my current ministry at Chestnut Hill College, I have had the opportunity to experience the presence of God in many people.  Each day, I am enlightened by the Spirit working in numerous persons who practice this outreach to others, and by those who afford me the opportunity to do the same. Through networking with other Sisters of Saint Joseph, I’ve been able to direct those in need to the services that will assist them.

Many college students have never met a Sister of Saint Joseph until they arrive at Chestnut Hill College. A student told me that she never thought about outreach to others until she came to Chestnut Hill. She has since realized the many opportunities to assist others. She believes she found God through these opportunities of being “a healing presence.” This student’s faith and works of mercy are a testimony to God working in and through each of us.

It is a humbling experience to practice the works of mercy and to know that what I do for others, I do for Christ.

Sister Marie Bambrick SSJ

Sister Marie currently ministers at Chestnut Hill College in the Division of Teacher Education and Leadership.

The Other Chair

To develop an intimate relationship with another takes time, many risks and complete trust. As a Sister of Saint Joseph for 60 years, I believe I have begun to develop that intimate relationship with Jesus. What has produced this moment?

As a 17-year-old, my entrance into the community entailed trust. I had no concept of the days, the years ahead. When I began teaching, I had my first wonderful experience of racial diversity through my 83 African American students in my second grade class. Each day, as I remember it now, was a learning experience – for me! During my teaching years, I met so many people with different backgrounds from mine. They each taught me the value of praying, the beauty of diverse hymns, and the trust that God would provide no matter the circumstances. They taught me to try again, that God had a reason for my being there.

Later, my ministry at the SSJ Welcome Center also opened a new world for me. Sometimes I had to check the map to locate the country from which a student was coming! Their acceptance and love for me energized my quiet self. The sacrifice of home, family and country of origin to come to the United States to create a better life for their children told the immigrant story to its depth. They were trusting of God’s directing them and I imbibed that trust each day. My own education was given to me freely; theirs was a trustful place of learning a new language in our hands, the hands of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. We walked with them as they learned to speak English, to read, to communicate, to love the United States, to become citizens.

It is through the people with whom I have ministered that my relationship with Jesus has responded. Now, I sit down and I ask Jesus to take the other chair and we sit together. As a Sister of Saint Joseph, I recognize the trust, the intimacy of my life with Him, as he gently calls me, “Marie.”

There are no outstanding or miraculous moments in my life. There were no events of adventure. There were simply the people who touched my soul, who brought me to my relationship with Jesus who sits with me each day on the other chair.

Sister Marie Lewis SSJ

Sister Marie is a resident of St. Joseph's Villa in Flourtown PA.  She recently celebrated her 60th Jubilee as a Sister of St. Joseph.  After spending her life and ministry in the city, she now enjoys the quiet and relaxing life at the Villa.  

Serving the “Dear Neighbor” in the Last Frontier

As the Diocesan Director of Religious Education in the missionary diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, I encounter the Lord in my ministry in many ways. The place I most experience God is with the native people in our village missions. Recently, I had the joy and the blessing of assisting the parents in the preparation of their children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist. It was a wonderful day on Sunday when five of the children received their First Communion and a baby was baptized. I went to another village mission for Mother’s Day weekend for First Communion as well.

I fly to the villages in small planes that land on airstrips outside the village. My ministry involves flying to 13 native village missions including Barrow on the Arctic Ocean and Little Diomede Island, 25 miles from Russia in the Bering Sea and driving to our nine parishes on the road system. I assist in preparing the people for the sacraments. I am, also, responsible for Catechist Formation, Adult Faith Formation and Religious Education.

There 46 parishes in the diocese, 36 are in native villages in the bush (access by plane only) and nine are on the “road system.” Fairbanks is the largest diocese, geographically, in the United States and the only all mission diocese. Because of the shortage of priests here (16 priests and one Bishop), the missions in the bush have Mass only every two to three months depending on the weather. Communion services are the norm in these villages. We also have only seven Sisters and two Brothers.

Sister Maggie Butler is the other Philly SSJ in our diocese. She is in Tok, which is on the road system about four hours from Fairbanks and 80 miles from the Canadian border.  

So although my ministry is challenging at times (for example: being snowed-in for several days in a village, being in one of our missions without running water, limited food options, difficult travel conditions with the temperature -30 or less), I feel I am making a difference in serving our “dear neighbor” with the remarkable, resilient, faith-filled missionaries and people of our diocese. To learn more about the Fairbanks Diocese go to www.dioceseoffairbanks.org

Sister Dorothy Giloley SSJ 

 

Sister Dorothy was born and raised in Philadelphia. She has ministered in elementary school, youth ministry, campus ministry, and religious education, as a pastoral associate and in adult faith formation. She served in the inner city in Philadelphia for 18 years, and in New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia. She has been serving in Alaska for the past 14 years