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| Our Advent Wreath in the dining room |
Our Advent Wreath was a movable icon this past week; it
began in the dining room and then traveled downstairs for a gathering, then
upstairs again. On Wednesday, the 7th
of December it was the center of a brief prayer as we hosted dinner for the six
Presentation Sisters from Lantern Light ministries where Br. Charles works, and
Sr. Mary Lou from Café Reconcile. Lantern
Light provides a range of services to the homeless, often serving lunch for
over 200 guests. They also help homeless
folks whose identification cards have been confiscated, and who need help
navigating the bureaucracy that is meant to help them. The center depends on volunteers from
schools, parishes and city and private agencies who donate food and labor. They are funded by donations that, especially
now, are critical. Charles has been able
to direct many donations to them, besides working there. One of the Sisters has been named a vocation
director so has to leave, so we had a dinner and the Sisters were served for a
change. Of course at the end of dinner,
they commandeered the kitchen and wash-up was brilliantly fast and organized!
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| The "Newcomers" gathering on December 10. Note the traveling Advent Wreath, now downstairs! |
While we continued with our own ministries at OHH, in the
schools, and at Lantern Light, we also got ready for Saturday the 10th
when 25 “Newcomers” met at Constance Street.
We are a group largely comprised of religious who have come to New
Orleans since Katrina and who control no institutions, but work on the “edge,”
for those outside of our traditional ministries. We are Sisters of St. Joseph, Charities of
various forms, Ursulines, Holy Faith, Notre Dames, Religious of the Sacred
Heart, Presentations, Cabrinis—and Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. We minister in schools, in adult education
programs, homeless services, and volunteer communities. We meet every few months for prayer, a “check
in” and fellowship. The gatherings have
been invaluable in expanding our horizons, and keeping us focused
outwards.
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| The congregations: CFC, SND, MSC, RSCJ, CSJ, SND, SND, CSJ, OSU |
At this last meeting some of
us agreed to gather to discuss options for volunteer service now that Catholic
Charities is closing down Operation Helping Hands.
Part of our gathering this last time was an invitation to
reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. This sharing of story was personal and moving
and an eloquent homily on faithfulness and hope—very appropriate to
Advent. As Jean Danielou wrote, in THE
ADVENT OF SALVATION: “We live always during Advent. We are always waiting for the messiah to
come. The messiah has come, but is not
yet fully manifest. The messiah is not
fully manifest in each of our souls, not fully manifest in humankind as a
whole: that is to say, that just as Christ was born according to the flesh in
Bethlehem of Judah, so must he be born according to the spirit in each of our souls.”
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| Christmas in our kitchen, heart of the home: A gift from a teacher at St. Philip Neri School in the Bronx! |
After our prayer and sharing, we invited our fellow
“Newcomers” upstairs to have a meal [after all, they brought the food—we set up
chairs] and we put them to work! Our
custom is to set up our tree and invite visitors to decorate it.
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| We have another Taize prayer gathering on December 14th; more ornaments are ready! |
It was wonderful to have the visitors put the
hooks onto the Christmas decorations and then have lively discussions about the
balance of colors and ornaments. It
preserved the harmony of this local community at least.
As I write this we have most of our Christmas ornaments up
and today, December 13, celebrated the
Feast of St. Lucy which recalled happy memories for me of five years at St.
Lucy School in East Harlem and eight years in the Brothers community there.
Sudden as sweet
Come the expected feet.
All joy is young and new all art,
And he, too, whom we have by heart.
[Alice Meynell]
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