1 Franciscan Way

This coming May 12th will be a big day at St. Francis Convent!  We will be celebrating the Diamond Jubiliee, that is, 60 years of religious profession, of our Sister M. Wencesla.  You can read more in an article in the Alton Telegraph . Thank you Lord for the gift of her life and her service to the Church!  She is an inspiring example to each of us of prayer, joy and fidelity. Please pray for her.  We will celebrate with a Jubilee Mass at 9am and a reception from 3-5pm at St. Francis Convent. 

Do you ever fear hearing the voice of God?  We all want the answer to a question yet when it comes time to listen for it, sometimes we distract ourselves because of fear of what it just might be!  This is true for many who want to know God's Will when discerning a vocation.  This past Sunday was World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Here is a quote from Pope Benedict XVI: Today’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations is dedicated to this purpose. In fact, the Lord always calls but often we do not hear him. We are distracted by many things, by other more superficial voices; and then we fear hearing the Lord’s voice, because we think that it could take away our freedom. In reality, each of us is the fruit of love: certainly the love of our parents, but, more profoundly, the love of God. The Bible says: if even your mother does not want you, I want you, for I know you and love you (cf. 49:15). In the moment that I realize this, my life changes: it becomes a response to t...

"Every Christian relives the experience of Mary Magdalene. It involves an encounter which changes our lives: the encounter with a unique Man who lets us experience all God’s goodness and truth, who frees us from evil not in a superficial and fleeting way, but sets us free radically, heals us completely and restores our dignity. This is why Mary Magdalene calls Jesus “my hope”: he was the one who allowed her to be reborn, who gave her a new future, a life of goodness and freedom from evil. “Christ my hope” means that all my yearnings for goodness find in him a real possibility of fulfilment: with him I can hope for a life that is good, full and eternal, for God himself has drawn near to us, even sharing our humanity." - from Pope Benedict XVI - Easter Morning Message

“He had loved his own in this world, and would show his love for them to the end.” John 13:1 Jesus showed the depth of his love to the end.   We are in the middle of the Triduum. Good Friday has passed and now we await the Resurrection.   We wait in the midst of the restlessness, the longing of our hearts.   To the end:   Jesus poured out everything on the Cross.   He endured every moment of the Passion for love of you.   Did you stop to reflect on that yesterday?   Today?   He loved you and thought of YOU, to the end.   As you gaze upon the Cross, the price of our salvation, remember that it was out of depth of love for you that Jesus chose to do the Father’s Will.   How far are you willing to go for Love?   How deep is your love for Love?   Be not afraid to follow the One who loves you so much.   Be not afraid to open your heart to be filled with this Love.   Be not afraid to die for love of Love.  

          During this Lenten season I have felt the Lord asking me to enter more deeply into our spirituality "They shall look upon Him Whome they have pierced."  While praying in front of the crucifix I realized that my vocation, caring for the poor and needy of every condition as a Sister, was an answer to a prayer I had made when I was in middle school.  I prayed that I would never be afraid to stand up for anyone.  It came as a result of a specific situation that I don't think I will ever forget.  There was a girl in my class that many students had started making fun of.  It began small, like most things do, but it grew into a daily isolation and taunting, which eventually led her to leave the school after that year.  I remembered when it started.  I didn't take part in it but I didn't do anything to stop the teasing either.  When I was asked by a teacher to be a friend to her, I did, although I was...

I love being Catholic.  (Shocking, I know!).  Every once in a while, I have an experience that rekindles that love or opens me to a new portal of discovery of the richness of the Catholic Church.  Last month, I had the chance to experience this richness and communion in a new and deeper way when, at the invitation of one of our students, a few of us sisters visited Assumption Ukrainian Catholic Church as they hosted a replica of the Shroud of Turin. Since I teach Theology of the Church each year to my Juniors, I am aware that there are 21 Eastern Catholic Rites that are in union with Rome.  And that’s about it…awareness. Even walking through the doors of the church that evening (and then two more times within the following week) was an invitation to recognize and enjoy the universality of the Church.  Beauty flooded my senses as I walked through the doors.  The following Sunday, I was overwhelmed by even more beauty as we prayed the Divine Liturgy in Ukr...

Fr. Swift, a 92 year old priest, serves our Sisters and the community in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He inspired our Sisters with his homily for the First Sunday of Lent.  Yes, it may be a few weeks later, but it may be a good source for reflection on how our lenten resolutions have been lived out.  If we have been lax, now is the time to begin again and to recommit!  No matter what our age, the Lord uses us as His instruments!  Take a few minutes to receive from the heart of a faithful servant of the Lord. FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT The last words of the Gospel reading today, brief as they are, should force us to some very serious thinking:  This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the Gospel. For us Lent is a time of conversion, which is the purpose of all penance.  And those words of Christ should force us to stop and look over our efforts to live as Christians. All of us surely can find more t...