Photo Ops Take 2

In this months photo ops, we have pictures from when we carved pumpkins and of the "modifications" the squirrels decided to make for us.  Enjoy!

The Before Photos

And after......

Caught in the act!

 What has been cooking in the CDN?   

The last few weeks have seen us celebrate and keep some of the Maryknoll sisters’ festivities. We celebrated Mother Mary Joseph’s anniversary on the 9th of October.

Mother Mary Joseph, the foundress of Maryknoll Sisters was born on October 27, 1882, in Roxbury, Massachusetts as the fourth child in a family of eight siblings. She founded the congregation in1912. As Sister Camilla Kennedy, MM writes in her book, "They were the first American community of women religious devoted exclusively to the worldwide mission of the Catholic Church." 

Mother Mary Joseph died on October 9, 1955, at the age of 73. Her anniversary is celebrated by her sisters wherever they are, thanking God for the woman who shaped them…. It’s because of her that we are! These celebrations were extended to the CDN community this year. Annie Killian did a lovely dessert and I read my favorite stories of Mary Joseph as told by sisters who lived with her. The stories were compiled by Sister Jennie Natividad, MM.

 

                     Community warming up for dessert                        sharing Mother Mary Joseph story

On the feast of St Teresa, we kept the famous tradition of having Ice-Cream Sodas. We at the CDN celebrated with Coke or Gingerale with either chocolate or mint ice-creams. This tradition was first introduced by Mollie when the sisters moved from Hawthorne to Ossining Maryknoll. 

Theresa Baldini, MM, and Madeline McHugh MM write in their book, Mollie's Legacy of Love’, "On October 15, 1915, Mother Mary Joseph started a Maryknoll tradition by celebrating St. Teresa’s Feast Day with ice cream sodas. She secretly set up a soda fountain and booths in the garden, but Margaret Shea, unaccustomed to handling such a large bottle of soda, managed to spray it all over the kitchen before the party started, and another had to be purchased. The soda fountain offered such tempting concoctions as Ningpo Sundae and Chop Suey, with Mary Joseph (a.k.a Mollie by then) and Margaret serving as soda jerks. In what also became a Maryknoll custom, the party was followed by three-legged sack races and dancing. There were birthday parties, plays, picnics, and outings to Rye Beach, where the women went swimming in the tank suits of the time!" 

What a perfect example of service and love for others from Mother Mary Joseph! She reminds me that Joy is found in serving others in the ordinary. It is not how much I give, but how much love I put into giving.

 

The Vows and Exodus

Recently, between class at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) and other formation events, a lot of talk has been happening about the vows (poverty, celibate chastity, obedience).  I am also in an introductory class on the Old Testament at CTU.  The invitation of this year is not simply to gain brain knowledge about what we study, but to develop the life long skill of reflecting on what stands out to us, what challenges us, how topics are related, etc.  As I reflect on dinner table and class discussions, and about the readings from this week, it is the connection between the vows and Exodus that I’m currently reflecting on.

Antonio M. Peria, SVD, says, “The mystical dimension of the evangelical counsels refers to the profession by consecrated persons of God as their only treasure (poverty), their only love (chastity), and their only freedom (obedience).” [1]  But, what the heck does this have to do with Exodus?  Well, in class, we’ve been learning about how the Book of Exodus answers the question “Who is God?” and the above quote, to me anyway, is a very clear answer to “Who is God for those called to religious life?”

In the lessons on the Book of Exodus, I have learned about a powerful, faithful God who is always there; who is always ready to guide His children to safety; and who will not abandon them, no matter the cost.  These all stem from the central fact that God loves us (God is love after all!) and wants to be in relationship with us.  This reality is true for every single person to ever be born, but what does this look like in my life now that I have entered the formation process and am learning what it means to live out the vows?

Part of our study involves looking at what the constitutions of our individual congregations say about the vows.

Before I entered, I had a relationship with God; now that I am in formation, I still have a relationship with God.  God hasn’t changed, and never will, but my state of life clearly has.  With this new state of life (well, state of life trial package since I am still in discernment), my relationship with God should shift, right?  To those in religious life, please correct me if I’m wrong, but the above quote sure seems like a key understanding to the way I am called to understand God’s love, faithfulness, and protection from the viewpoint of a woman religious.  This shift will not take away from what Exodus teaches us about God, or what my relationship with God is currently like, but if I allow it to this shift will help me experience how God takes care of those called to religious life.  Different state = different needs, right?

What exactly will this care, and this growth in my relationship with God, look like?  Only time will tell, but I’m excited to experience it unfolding one grace at a time.

_____

[1] Antonio M. Pernia, SVD, “Interculturality and Leadership in Consecrated Life,” in Engaging Our Diversity: Interculturality and Consecrated Life Today (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2020), 47–61 (54)

Stewarding Gifts of Creation and the Spirit

For Dominicans, the study of Scripture leads us deeper in relationship with God and helps us perceive God’s grace at work in the world. Through prayerful meditation on the Word, we listen for God’s call impelling us to respond to the needs of our times. Every Thursday at the CDN, we devote evening prayer to lectio divina, or sacred reading. Together we read the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday, each of us listening silently and noticing what catches her attention, then reflecting on how God is speaking to her, sharing any insights with the community, and finally concluding with prayer. Last week, my meditation on the Gospel was illuminated by my two courses of study on the New Testament and the Vowed Life.

St Dominic Reading and Meditating on Scripture 

Detail from fresco by Fra Angelico in the Convento di San Marco, Florence, Italy

 

In the Gospel for last Sunday, the 27^th of Ordinary Time, Jesus told the chief priests and elders a parable: a landowner leases a vineyard to some tenants, expecting them to harvest its fruits. The tenants, however, refuse to hand over the produce. Instead, they kill all the servants sent by the owner, and his son as well, hoping to acquire the vineyard for themselves. Clearly, the murderous tenants are a figure for the chief priests, whom Jesus warns, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit” (Mt 21:43). This parable exemplifies the particular vitriol against the religious leaders of Israel characteristic of the Gospel of Matthew (which I just read for class). Jesus condemns them for failing to produce the fruits of God’s Reign: justice, mercy, humility, and righteousness.

 

This parable speaks to me of stewardship, or how we make use of the gifts God has entrusted to us. For the Vowed Life class, we read Pope Francis’ Homily on the 24^th World Day of Consecrated Life (2020). He writes:

 

This is what the eyes of consecrated men and women behold: the grace of God poured into their hands. The consecrated person is one who every day looks at himself or herself and says: “Everything is gift, all is grace.” Dear brothers and sisters, we did not deserve religious life; it is a gift of love that we have received. 

 

As Pope Francis reminds us, religious life points to the truth that everything is God’s gift. Ultimately, human beings cannot claim ownership of anything. All comes from God, who entrusts to us the gifts of Creation and provides us with spiritual gifts for building up the church, tending the earth, and serving one another, especially people on the margins. If God’s gift of love to me is like the vineyard in Matthew's parable, I am prompted to reflect: Am I stewarding this gift responsibly for the sake of God’s Reign, or chasing my own agenda? Am I living in obedience to God’s will, recognizing my absolute dependence on God’s Providence? How is our society called to good stewardship?

 

Perhaps because the Season of Creation ended on Sunday, I then found myself taking the figure of the vineyard more literally. Earth, our common home, belongs to God and produces an abundance. That produce is meant to provide nourishment for all God’s creatures. But throughout humanity’s history of colonial exploitation and imperialism, people have claimed ownership of the land, displacing indigenous peoples and robbing them of their rights. In the Americas, the U.S. government has desecrated tribal land by testing nuclear weapons and leaving behind radioactive waste. Prophetic activists who have advocated for indigenous land rights, like Berta Caceres in Honduras, have been killed by former soldiers trained at the U.S. military’s School of the Americas. Matthew’s parable of the vineyard contains a dangerous message for the murderous tenants in our world today.

“Nuclear Energy” sculpture by Henry Moore, a Chicago landmark commemorating 

the first controlled generation of nuclear power in an experiment by Enrico Fermi and colleagues 

(Photo courtesy of Lorraine Reaume)

 

As we prepare to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day on October 12, I am challenged to reflect on how our church and religious congregations have been complicit in the dispossession and exploitation of tribal lands. As Dominican Sisters committed to preaching God’s Reign of justice and peace, we are called to the work of reconciliation – asking for God’s healing, telling the truth about U.S. colonialism, pursuing justice by making reparations, and envisioning a future in which the land is reverenced and preserved for generations to come. Commissioned to be prophetic preachers, we must denounce any degradation of the earth, and announce the good news that equitable sharing of resources ensures the common good. May we help our world perceive the grace of God, pouring forth abundant life for all.

Every meeting of our Vowed Life class at Catholic Theological Union begins with an acknowledgement 

of Native People and the tribal lands on which the city of Chicago now stands 

 

Photo Ops Take 1

About once a month, instead of a written post, we will be sharing some photos that have been taken throughout the month.  Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to since moving in August 14th.

The yard and library needed some help so we got to work during our first weeks in Chicago.

No longer needing to wear masks in the house = pure joy!

Our first out of the house adventure, after our 2 week quarantine, was to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Spring rolls anyone?

A couple of COVID friendly ways people have welcomed us to the neighborhood.

A papaya, tomato, and cookie car is the only proper way to celebrate Faithmary getting her Illinois drivers license.  We had no doubts but are still proud! 

Labor Day celebrations.