In the News

Check out an article about Sister M. Anselma in The Telegraph.  Sister serves in our St. Anthony's Health Center here in Alton, IL.  Have a blessed New Year's Eve!

Accompany Your Mother

Artwork by Christopher Santer
 http://www.pacemstudio.org/

Our Lady - She is your Mother or do you call her Mama? Do you know her?

Have you walked with Mary this Advent towards Christmas?  Imagine what it was like for her to encounter Archangel Gabriel. “Do not fear Mary...Behold, you will conceive...and bear a Son...and you shall name Him Jesus.” What are some of your fears? What is the Lord asking of you? Will you say yes like Mary?

What was it like for Mary to travel to see Elizabeth? What is it like for you to see someone you have not seen in months? Years? JOY! “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Do you recognize Christ when He comes to you each day? In your family? Friends? The unknown? The familiar?

Accompany Mary and Joseph as they travel to Bethlehem. Place yourself walking on the road, entering the city, and hearing the response “No” to “Do you have any room?”

Very soon.  The manger. Jesus is there, a precious newborn. Have you ever held such a tiny baby? Have you seen the glow of a new mom? There’s Mary. She invites you to hold her Son. She rejoices that you are there with her. Be still. Be at peace. The newborn King is here....for you. His Mother, your Mother, is with you.

Allow Mary to be your Mother this Christmas. Let her show you how to love her Son. Let her love and protect you as her precious child. Remain in her arms. Simply be with her. Simply be with her Son. She will show you how to accept His love for you. She will show you how to love in return. If you do not know her, now is the time. She invites you to walk with her these days.  You are not alone.

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Called by Christ

Sister M. Chiara and Sister Mariela are featured in an article in the local paper.  We give thanks for the gift of their vocation. 

Waiting

May the peace of Christ fill you this day! I pray you have encountered the Lord during this first week of Advent!

So, what are you waiting for? A sign? A message? An invitation?

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that this is a time of waiting and that we wait in many circumstances in our lives. “One could say that man is alive so long as he waits, so long as hope is alive in his heart.” – Pope Benedict XVI, from his Angelus Address on the First Sunday of Advent. As you await the coming of Christ each day, as you await the answer to a question, a desire of your heart, remember that you are LOVED.

What do you do while you wait? Do you still serve? Worship? Move ahead? While this song is not necessarily about Advent, it does relate to the theme of waiting: While I’m Waiting by John Waller.

May Our Lady accompany you on the journey these days and bring you to the Heart of her Son.

Flowing From His Side

This fall, our Community began a new apostolate which has its goal to share the mission and charism of our Congregation to all we encounter.  The new Office of Mission Advancement will be sharing with you the prayer, apostolic work, and life of our Sisters and informing you of the needs of our Province in the United States.  We have begun by publishing our first newsletter entitled “Flowing From His Side.”  This comes from our charism which is “to make the Merciful Love of Christ visible in our service to Christ and His Church” and from our spirituality which stems from Sacred Scripture, “They will look on Him Whom they have pierced” (John 19:37)  We hope you enjoy this first issue and look forward to seeing our future issues posted on our Blog and on our “Happenings” page.  This quarterly newsletter will be just the beginning of our work in “advancing the mission” of our Community in our American Province St. Elizabeth.  If you would like more information about how to support our Sisters in anyway, please contact Sr. M. Stephania Newell, FSGM by email at oma@altonfranciscans.org  or by phone 618-474-6193.  May God bless you during this holy season of Advent.