Monday, October 31, 2011

October 28, 2011

rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
October 28, 2011

...Then I took possession of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
Holding him close to my heart,  
I went forth to scatter my treasure everywhere,
without fear that it would be exhausted. ...
All went well, and no sorrow, not even holy sorrow, could find place in my heart,
for it seemed to me that the merits of Jesus
were about to be applied in a wholly new manner..
Dear Mother, when you say to me,  
Behold I send you,  
I shall answer quickly,  
I will go.
Philippine Duchesne's April 4, 1806 account of Holy Thursday, to Madeleine Sophie Barat
 
(Full text of this reflection may be found here: http://www.rscj.org/node/359)




For Reflection...
  
How do I feel drawn to mediate Christ's pierced heart to the wounded heart of humanity?  How do I feel drawn to contemplate his pierced heart in my own wounded heart?

  
Philippine is renowned for her underlining the success of failure. She contemplated Christ's pierced heart in her own wounded heart - and we are invited to do the same. Philippine's response to her pierced-heart experiences was not to turn in on herself in disappointment, resentment, or self-pity, but rather to continue to let Christ speak and act through her, and find joy in his presence.   
  

October 21, 2011

rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
October 21, 2011

Mary is a model of a fidelity to which we cannot even come close.
In speaking of infidelities, I do not mean faults that the weakness of our nature causes...
but those that close our hearts and keep our Lord at a distance;
those little voluntary infidelities to which we easily give in:
a light that we do not wish to follow,
an inspiration that we resist...
Fidelity and receptivity to grace.
Litany to Mater

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Conférences I, p. 31




For Reflection...

How in my life do I reflect fidelity and receptivity the the grace of the Sacred Heart charism?  Do I sincerely open my mind, my heart, my spirit to others and trust in God?
  
In our life-journey, we accompany and are accompanied by many people, and in these interchanges we learn from one another and share knowledge and experience. To achieve this we have to go beyond prejudices about the limitations of each age, which make people say things like: "How can a young person have anything to give me?" or: How can an older person ever understand the problems of the young?" If we keep on breaking down these barriers, we will discover so much wealth in the exchange of our experiences; a surprisingly strong current can flow between people of very different ages and origins.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

October 14, 2011

rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
October 14, 2011

Without silence

no real purity of heart,

no real devotion to the Holy Spirit,
 
no real teaching from God,
 
who cannot make His still small voice
 
heard in the talkative soul.


Janet Erskine Stuart



For Reflection...
  
How do I find time to be silent and still?  How do I step away from the demands of the world and connect to the divine through prayer, meditation and reflection?  Am I quiet enough to hear the voice of God? 
  

Where is stillness to be found? ... I have come to believe that stillness is a choice we make. ... Stillness has less to do with inactivity and more to do with a purposeful heart, no matter the activity.  Stillness is a deeply contemplative spirit in face of the frazzled cashier, the incompetent driver, the tired and whiny child, the variety of opinions ... Stillness is at once alert, expectant, diligent, quiet and patient.  ...  For you, O God, our souls in stillness wait.  Truly our hope is in you.
  
Kathleen Hughes rscj
      

  
 stillness

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

September 9, 2011

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart - September 9, 2011


rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
September 9, 2011
 

"Seek your sanctification in bearing lovingly with all around you, in forgiving and excusing and not dwelling on their faults. 
People in general are very little culpable in God's eyes, and God sees more often weakness and not malice."

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, in a letter from 1839


 
For Reflection...

How can you more meaningfully cultivate communion with yourself and with the people in your life?  

...community is built by loving those we have been given, not just those we choose; community is built by learning to live without illusions and perhaps even with a measure of disappointment; community is built by loving with forgivingness, forbearance, evenness, generosity, and surely a dollop of humor when things get really tough. 

("In the manner of Sophie... A Reflection on Community" Kathleen Hughes, rscj, 2010)

The full text of Sister Hughes' paper may be found here:  http://www.rscjinternational.org/resources/bibliography.html#charism

Philippine and Sophie 

September 16, 2011

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart - September 16, 2011


rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
September 16, 2011
  
  
Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. 

Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be
straight-forward and unafraid.

Grant that we may realize that it is
the little things of life that create differences,
That in the big things of life we are one.

And, Lord, God, let us not forget to
be kind.  
  
excerpt of a prayer written by Janet Erskine Stuart, rscj



 
For Reflection...
  
How can I infuse more kindness into my thoughts, words and deeds?  How can my heart be more open to loving the Christ in others?
  

It takes an openness of heart to discover that deep place where we are truly sisters, where we are one-with one common vocation, one charism, one identity ...   


 
(Clare Pratt, conference to the probanists June 22, 2006)
  
The full text of Sister Pratt's reflection may be found here:

  
heart leaf 

September 23, 2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart - 9.23.2011

rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
September 23, 2011

 

With God go forth, hold your divining rod,
Hope for those springs, desire and love them.

They do exist in those you meet!

Who but you will detect, divine them,
And help them come to light?
 


excerpt of a prayer written by  Agnès Bigo, rscj, Province of Belgium-France-Netherlands




For Reflection...
  
As divinity dwells in each of us, so it dwells in those around us. In those inevitable encounters with difficult situations and with difficult people, how am I guided by God's spirit rather than self will?


If the shepherds could see a God incarnate in a child, I can see God incarnate in my brother and sister.




(Ana María Gallart rscj, Province of Argentina-Uruguay)
  
The full text of Sister Gallart's poem may be found here:



  
 RSCJ International Site

September 30, 2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart - 9.30.2011

rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
September 30, 2011

Madonna of the threshold 
  
So she sits at the threshold of the Temple,
at the  threshold of her own tomorrow.
She is there too at the threshold of all our tomorrows,
in her wisdom gently forewarning -
"The future is not what it was".
  
Province of Ireland
  
  
excerpt of a reflection on Mater Admirabilis from the Province of Ireland




For Reflection...
  

How do I live the charism of the Sacred Heart? Do I perceive within my spirit, my heart, its message?  Do I trust in its guidance?
  
  
In the midst of our busy lives may we allow ourselves to be touched by the stillness of this image, asking Mary to show us in her interior life, the source of her total, true love.
  
Mary, woman of faith among the People of God lives close to us, as she does to everything that radiates the life of her Son.
 
Our Society entrusts itself in a special way to her whose heart is united and conformed to that of Jesus, so that she may lead us to Him.   

(Constitutions RSCJ #9)

  
The full text of this reflection on Mater Admirabilis as well as the picture of Mater below may be found here:   
 mater

First Fridays for Food Security - 10.7.2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

First Fridays for Food Security - 10.7.2011

rscj
October 7, 2011

 First Friday Hunger Awareness is a project sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to increase community awareness of hunger and food insecurity, especially amongst those for whom food security is the norm.


Below is a link to a PDF document that describes the First Friday Hunger Awareness  program. 



If you cannot open the PDF document through the link, go to the website for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops at:

 


On the right side of the  webpage you will see a search box.
.
In the search box, enter the words, Kids and Hunger,  and click Enter.
.
The first thing on the list on topics under What's New is the link to all the information you need.


A suggested mealtime prayer from this program:


Lord Jesus Christ,

In your great goodness, you became human, being born into a poor family.

We ask you to look with kindness on those children in our nation and in our world who do not have enough to eat.

Kindle in our hearts the fire of love for our brothers and sisters, so that we may do all we can to meet their needs.

We ask this through you, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

October 7, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart - 10.7.2011

rscj
Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart
October 7, 2011


What is interior spirit?

It is the entire sacrifice of ourselves by the mortification of the senses,
by the immolation of our passions,
by the ceaselessly renewed recollection of the presence. . .

Interior spirit is, then, that intimate union of our soul with God . . .
that immediate dependence upon the grace of God,
upon the touch of the Holy Spirit.

This way of ways, this way par excellence, is interior spirit,
that spirit that gives life and fruitfulness to everything.
It is interior spirit that makes us another Jesus Christ. ..

This interior spirit must be the breath of our soul, the soul of our soul.

St. Madeline Sophie Barat 





For Reflection...
  
How do I build my interior life, my interior spirit?  How do I release my attachment to the material world of appetites, of possessions, of image, of self?  How do I recall my deeper, truer, divine nature and offer it to the world?



From the contemplation of the open heart of Jesus, we draw the power that inspires us to live in communion with all people, to bring others to participate in this communion, and to commit ourselves with our whole being, in the church and with many others, to work to bring about a world that is more just and more united (GC 08 16).
    
  
Quote and reflection are excerpts from: Perspectives on apostolic contemplation according to Madeleine Sophie Barat and Helen McLaughlin by Annice Callahan, rscj http://www.rscjinternational.org/resources/bibliography.html#charism

  
 joyful