Rest and revival

Many lay people -- myself included -- struggle with unrealistic schedules and expectations, and the ominous 21st century phenomenon of being available 24/7 to clients and suppliers. 

I have begun to tell my clients, I am not available 24/7. Period. I don't take calls during meals, one-on-one meetings, daily Mass and my daily commitment to a half hour of mental prayer each day. Usually, I am privileged to have this time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in my parish church during daily adoration. Sometimes, I just pull off the highway and find a quiet spot. 

My spiritual father, St. Francis de Sales has this to say:

"But especially I commend earnest mental prayer to you, more particularly such as bears upon the Life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate Him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will grow in His Likeness, and your actions will be moulded on His.."

After 30 minutes with Christ, and Him crucified, I am revived and ready to continue the race. And I am confident that what I do and say is molded on the example of Christ, my God. I rest knowing I am doing my best to be like Him in my daily life.

From David Gardiner, a long-time friend of our community, who has our Cross of Affiliation

Reflecting back on the 4th of July

July 4th has special meaning here at Georgetown Visitation. Like everyone in the city, from 4 years up,we look forward all year to watching the sensational fountain of fireworks over the Washington Monument.

All other days, we look elsewhere for the sparkle of beauty. In 1673, St. Margaret Mary, a Visitation Sister, was told that the Tabernacle alone can not contain the shower of Love. "The Sacred Heart of Christ is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble…”

Between exciting Holidays, the Sisters know how to soothe the spirit, instead of craving awesome entertainment. The Lord, Himself, so eager to fill all hearts to overflowing, reminded St. Margaret Mary, “But above all preserve peace of heart. This is more valuable than any treasure.”

From our nurse, Priscilla Posch

"Next to Me," from Emeli Sandé

From Joshua 1:9. Our God is faithful!


Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Poem that gets to the heart of things

Here's a poem I like by Raymond Carver. It was written shortly before his death at age 50:

"Late Fragment" 

And did you get what

you wanted from this life, even so? 

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Remembering July 8, 1993

As we move toward the month of July our thoughts turn to July 8, 1993 - 20 years ago- when we experienced a fire that totally destroyed our main academic building. It was a blazing hot day - 103 plus - and painters using heat guns while painting the trim on our main building caused a huge fire that destroyed the five story academic building.

This incident in the history of our monastery and school reminded us of a steadfast teaching of our founder, Francis de Sales; namely, that God's good pleasure may be discovered in the incidents and accidents of our lives. It is our challenge to make certain that these incidents and/or accidents become blessings. 

Our fire indeed brought our monastery and school innumerable blessings as well as some huge challenges. We have grown stronger as a result of this experience which can be likened to the rise of the phoenix from the ashes

In the words of the Editor of our 1995 Yearbook: 

"This year we have truly risen to the occasion. We have adapted to our new situation (classrooms in trailers) and succeeded within its limitations. As the Academy building continues its journey to perfection, so do we. With each new day we rise like the phoenix."

May God be Praised!

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Ordination of Ed Ogden

Today will be a day filled with blessings as we attend the ordination of our Campus Minister, Ed Ogden. Ed has been a brother in the Order of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales for 25 years and during the past year discerned a call to the priesthood. 

Many members of our school and monastery communities will be traveling to de Sales University near Allentown, PA to witness this glorious occasion for soon-to-be Father Ed Ogden

Our Campus Minister has been a great source of Salesian spirituality for our faculty and staff and for many of our students who have participated in the Kairos retreats he leads.

Please add your prayers to ours as three members of the Oblate community will be ordained today Thursday, June 27.

MAY GOD BE PRAISED!!!!!

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Fill me with grace

Today I wish to share with you an inspiring prayer which fell into my lap a few days ago.  It beautifully expresses our Salesian spirituality and has given me an extra "oomph" in my efforts to follow Jesus more closely.

It comes from the Oblates Helper's Guild.

Jesus, be a guest in my heart today.

Help me always to recognize you.

When I feel sad, send me joy,

when I feel flawed, pour in your love,

when I feel empty, fill me with grace.

Jesus, I am grateful that you live in me.

Make my heart warmer, more vulnerable,

more pliable and easily mended.

O Jesus, let my attitude be yours. 

Help me to empty self

and be filled with service for others.

Engrave LIVE  JESUS on my heart

so that all my actions speak your love.

I ask this in your name.  Amen.

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Calming the Tempest

Today we offer a timely thought from our Foundress, St. Jane de Chantal

She offers us a little model of what we might do when we are taken by surprise as we peacefully row our boat throughout our day.

"When all our emotions arise to stir up a great internal storm that seems certain to overwhelm us or drag us after it, we must not wish to calm this tempest ourselves. Rather, we must gently draw near the shore, keeping our will firmly in God and coast along the little waves which are found closer to the shore."

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

June 24, 1799

Today is the 214th anniversary of the founding of Georgetown Visitation in 1799. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the rich history of our monastery and school. The Sisters who have gone before us experienced with courage the many vicissitudes that life brought them during these early years - wars, depressions, slavery, dire poverty - yet in the midst of these hardships our dear Sisters always showed a beautifully resilient spirit.

Today we stand on the shoulders of these remarkable women with hearts filled with gratitude for the rich heritage they have left us. It is  now our sacred responsibility to carry their spirit forward as we face the challenges of life in this 21st century. 

The history of our monastery and school continues to teach us many lessons of steadfast faith, long-lasting hope intertwined with an undying charity. God has blessed us in so many ways and we are deeply grateful.

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

St. Francis de Sales on "Devotion," offered by Sr. Eleanor

Devotion:

The virtue of devotion is neither more nor less than a general inclination and promptitude of spirit to do what we know is pleasing to God. It is the joyful expansion of the heart spoken of in the Psalms: "I have run in the way of your commandments since you have set me free."

Ordinary people walk along the path of God; devout people run; very devout people fly.

Times of prayer must become so much a part of our day that we never omit them except out of great necessity.

The length of our prayer should be in proportion to the amount of work we have to do.

From St. Francis de Sales, offered by Sr. Eleanor May Klaber, V.H.M.

Thankfulness

Thankfulness all year round, not just on Thanksgiving Day!




Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

St. Damien De Veuster, Part II of II

The blog posts for May 9th and 10th will be about Saint Damien De Veuster, known for decades as “Father Damien of Molokai". Saint Damien was canonized on October 11, 2009.


The feast of Saint Damien De Veuster is celebrated today. Usually a saint’s feast day is the date of his or her death, but as April 15th often falls in Lent, the choice was made instead for May 10th. According to the Hawaii Catholic Herald, that date was picked because it marks a significant event in his life, a day on which he performed a particular act of supreme charity and selflessness that would ultimately lead to his canonization. On May 10, 1873 he stepped onto the island of Molokai and made it both his life’s work and eventual place of death. The opening prayer of the feast day Mass reads in part, “Father of mercy, in Saint Damien you have given us a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned. Grant that by his intercession, as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus, we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.”


Sr. Joanne Gonter, VHM

St. Damien De Veuster, Part I of II

The blog posts for May 9th and 10th will be about Saint Damien De Veuster, known for decades as “Father Damien of Molokai". Saint Damien was canonized on October 11, 2009.


Joseph De Veuster was born in Belgium January 3, 1840. In 1859 he entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and took the name Damien. Arriving in Honolulu in March 1864, he was ordained for service as a “country missionary” in Hawaii. When the Hawaiian Government deported anyone infected by leprosy, then thought to be an incurable disease, to the island of Molokai, Bishop Louis Maigret asked for priest volunteers to take turns visiting the island. In 1873, Damien was the first to go and then, “at his own request and that of the lepers, he remained on Molokai” for the rest of his life.

When he contracted the disease in 1885, Damien, using the expression “we lepers,” found his strength in the Eucharist. He died on April 15, 1889, having served sixteen years among the lepers.

In 1938 the process for his beatification was introduced in Belgium. Pope Paul VI signed the Decree on the “heroicity of his virtues” in July 1977. In July 1995, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.


Sr. Joanne Gonter, VHM

Angels in the sky

Taken in Florida after announcement of Pope Francis
Taken from: http://pinterest.com/pin/569986896559342302/


Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Antiphon for Morning Prayer on the 4th Saturday of Easter

Live + Jesus!
"God loved the world so much that He gave us his only Son"
Francis de Sales held that, even if we had never committed the original sin, Jesus would have come down to earth anyway, because He loves us and enjoys our company. He said it Himself:

"My delight is to be with the Children of Men."

He walks among usl, but we seldom recognize Him. He is present in the people around us, the world and the good that it holds.

The spirit of the Lord lives within each of us, the source of our life's breath. When we listen and when we speak, God is speaking and listening too.

He loves us. He delights in our presence. He became one of us, with all the pains and sorrows and regrets that entails. He tells us that we bring Him more joy, even in our sin and struggles, than pain.

He tells us that we are worth dying for.

May God be praised!

Sr. Mada-anne Gell, VHM

A Truly Faithful Visitation Sister

As we bid a final farewell to our dear Sister Josephine who left us in a hurry yesterday to meet her loving God, our thoughts are filled with the beauty of her life - a life which mirrored our Salesian virtues in so many different ways.

Sister possessed the virtues of humility and gentleness to perfection. Her simplicity in meeting the events of each day was refreshing while her genuine acceptance of God's will in the challenges of her life inspired us all. She was not one to complain; on the contrary she always expressed a lovely spirit of gratitude.

Perhaps her greatest gift was her selfless and loving care of one of her Sisters in Parkersburg; a Sister whose physical condition demanded a tremendous amount of support. Sister Josephine was always at her side and gave of herself unstintingly as she ministered to her Sister until her friend's final days.

One of the graces of living in community life is the joy of experiencing the everyday holiness of our Sisters. Our gratitude for the example Sister Josephine offered us of the power of holy living will long remain with us.

Requiescat in pace, dear Sister!


Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Angels Around Us

Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit for without being seen, they are present with you.

-St. Francis de Sales


Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Watch for new intrusions

Another Salesian Principle for Holy Living has to include an important element:

Strive for Balance

and Moderation

In this age of texting, tweeting, emailing, voice mailing, etc. etc.it is easy to allow these new "toys" to intrude into our lives, especially in our personal social relations with friends. I use the word "intrude" purposely because I think it is quite easy to become addicted to these social media and this can create an imbalance in our lives.

Perhaps if St. Francis de Sales were with us today he would caution, "Salt and sugar are both excellent things, but too much of either will spoil the dish."

May we discover helpful ways to introduce balance and moderation into our lives!

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Live in the Present Moment

Here is another important hint for Holy Living in the Salesian Tradition:

Live in The Present Moment:

St. Francis de Sales offers us this helpful advice: "Leave the past to God's mercy, the future to his Divine Providence and embrace the present willingly and lovingly."

It can be very futile to dwell on the past and even more so to worry about the future. The Romans expressed it well: "Carpe Diem!" Live today well.

Living in the present moment is an important element in Salesian spirituality which encourages us to concentrate on the gifts or challenges of the present and accept them as coming from the loving hand of God - no matter how indirectly. Use them well to grow in holiness!
Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Gentleness and Humility

Today let's listen to Father John Fisher, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, as he speaks of the beauty of the virtues of gentleness and humility.

To be humble is to live in the truth of who we are in the sight of God. Name your weaknesses; name your strengths; most of all name your need for God's love, mercy, forgiveness and justice. "Sometimes," says St. Francis de Sales,  "we so occupy ourselves with trying to live like angels that we neglect to be good men and women."

"Be gentle: live in the truth of who you are in relation to yourself and others. Put yourself in others' shoes. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Powerful is St. Francis de Sales' insight: "Nothing is so strong as gentleness; nothing so gentle as real strength."

May your day be filled with gentle strength!

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM