On June 1,
Charles, Bob and John celebrated the birthday of Edmund Rice with dinner at “Ignatius”
on Magazine Street.
On June 2 John
joined other members of the executive committee of the Burning Bush group that
supports programs working for a more peaceful city through Burning Bush members’
prayer, personal involvement and advocacy.
This was the final meeting for John and Sr. Regina Petersen; she leaves
for Ethiopia this month.
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| John, Regina Peterson MSC , Kitty Bethea OP, Claire Regan, SC, Maura O'Donovan CHF |
On Thursday the
4th the Touro-Bouligny Neighborhood Association Meeting was held in
the Blessed Pauline Center.
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| Sr. Pauline O'Reilly CHF and Br. Charles |
On Saturday,
June 6th the Sisters of Holy Faith celebrated Sr. Pauline O’Reilly’s
Golden Jubilee. The Congregation of
Sisters of the Holy Faith was founded in Waterford, Ireland by Margaret
Aylward. There were over 30 guests
celebrating Sr. Pauline’s 50 years of religious life. Her joyful spirit, commitment to the poor,
and gracious presence were celebrated by fellow religious, co-workers and friends. Sr. Pauline lives in community with Sr. Nancy
Hale whose brother Mike, and sister-in-law, Betsy attended; Sr. Pauline’s
family lives in Ireland. Sr. Pauline and
Sr. Nancy were joined by the two other Holy Faith Sisters, Sr. Maura O’Donovan and
Sr. Teresa Rooney, in renewing their vows.
The joyous commitment of people who give their lives to God and the People
of God in a particular religious family and who have persevered is an
interesting phenomenon is our current individualistic age when promises are so
lightly broken if discomfort or suffering is entailed. One author wrote: “Integrity is keeping a
commitment even after circumstances have changed.” Certainly on Saturday, June 6, the Jubilee
was one of Joy on the Journey that Pauline, her Sisters and fellow religious
are embarked upon.
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| Sr. Nancy: 'What a big house you have." Br. John: "The better for big parties, my dear." |
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| Vow Renewal: Sr. Maura O'Donovan, Sr. Pauline O'Reilly, Sr. Nancy Hale and Sr. Teresa Rooney |
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| Mike and Betty Hale |
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| T J Wain, John Petrullo, Sr. Monica Gundler, SC |
REFLECTION:
A selection from the letter to all consecrated people on the Year of
Consecrated Life
APOSTOLIC LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE FRANCIS
TO
ALL CONSECRATED PEOPLE
ON THE OCCASION OF THE YEAR OF
CONSECRATED LIFE
II. EXPECTATIONS
FOR THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE
What in particular
do I expect from this Year of grace for consecrated life?
1. That
the old saying will always be true: “Where there are religious, there is joy”.
We are called to know and show that God is able to fill our hearts to the brim
with happiness; that we need not seek our happiness elsewhere; that the
authentic sorority found in our communities increases our joy; and that our
total self -giving in service to the Church, to families and young people, to
the elderly and the poor, brings us life-long personal fulfilment.
None of us
should be dour, discontented and dissatisfied, for “a gloomy disciple is a disciple
of gloom”. Like everyone else, we have our troubles, our dark nights of the soul,
our disappointments and infirmities, our experience of slowing down as we grow older.
But in all these things we should be able to discover “perfect joy”. For it is
here that we learn to recognize the face of Christ, who became like us in all
things, and to rejoice in the knowledge that we are being conformed to him who,
out of love of us, did not refuse the sufferings of the cross.
In a society which exalts the cult of
efficiency, fitness and success, one which ignores the poor and dismisses
“losers”, we can witness by our lives to the truth of the words of Scripture:
“When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor12:10).
We can apply to the consecrated life the words
of Benedict XVI which I cited in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium :
“It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but by attraction” (No. 14).
The consecrated life will not flourish as a result of brilliant vocation
programs, but because the young people we meet find us attractive, because they
see us as men and women who are happy! Similarly, the apostolic effectiveness
of consecrated life does not depend on the efficiency of its methods. It depends
on the eloquence of your lives, lives which radiate the joy and beauty of
living the Gospel and following Christ to the full.
From the Vatican, 21 November 2014,
Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
BLOG 06.08.15
Hello! I am a former student of Sr. Pauline O'Reilly and I am VERY VERY EAGER to get in touch with her! She has made such a huge positive impact on my life and I would love to catch up with her and thank her for everything. Please email me back at inacpp@gmail.com. Thank you!!!!
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