Franciscan Sister Terrific Teacher

Posted on February 17, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 22 Comments

Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity, Sister Carol Juckem, was chosen Green Bay Channel 5 WFRV-TV “Terrific Teacher” for the month of February. Parents and Sister Mary Lee Schommer, principal of St. Peter the Fisherman School, Two Rivers, WI, nominated Sister Carol for her enthusiasm in directing the school’s classroom music, as well as band students.  Please watch Erin Davisson’s report live on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 6 p.m. or view the footage on this website after that date. http://www.wfrv.com/content/news/teachers/default.aspx

Sister Carol JuckemSister Carol reflects:When I first heard that I was chosen for “Terrific Teacher” for the month of February my first thought was: How blest I am to have such supportive parents and school staff. Their letters of appreciation and support are not just for this one  occasion, but have been with me throughout the 3 years I have been here at St. Peter the Fisherman. No wonder we have such a wonderful school.    Next I thought of the children. What an awesome responsibility is ours as teachers! We get to meet children every day, encourage them to be their best selves. We help them not only discover the many facets of learning, but also help them unfold their talents, their strengths and help point them to their future.  How delightful it is to see the sparkle in the eyes of children as they put the pieces together of what they are learning and discover new knowledge on their own. I have seen music, the subject I teach, turn a hesitant, reserved student into an enthusiastic, confident individual. I enjoy being a part of God’s creation, of the Lord’s work among His children. It has not only kept me young in spirit, but also has grown me as an individual in learning to be an encourager, learning to relate to  many types of personalities. I love every one of them.  Teachers always have stories to tell because children see life in fresh, uncluttered ways, and they let us, who teach them, get a glimpse of their viewpoint. They are constantly teaching me to see differently.

I am truly humbled, because I don’t concentrate on whether I’m a terrific teacher or not. My focus is on doing my best for the good of the children and being there for them. I want them to have a great experience of learning music.  I want them to have fun, yes, but to also learn a lot in the process.    The social aspect of music is so huge. Singing is very personal. It’s part of you, of who you are. There is such a delicate balance between encouraging participation and helping students improve and capitalize on whatever talent they have. I strive to take the students where they are to where they can be. It’s an exciting adventure. Playing an instrument with a group creates a new bond among the students. You can learn a lot about someone by how they play: passionate, tired, quiet, daring, confident. . . Playing in a group brings cooperation and team work to a new level. Everyone has their part to play, yes, but how your part fits into the whole is so essential. The volume of your part, the give and take of several tunes, “backing off” and “stepping forward” with your tune, isn’t this all part of the dynamics of life? If we can learn it well in the band room, maybe we can transfer it into the many other places we interact in our lives.  I know we have many “Terrific Teachers” in this school. We just need to take the time to notice and applaud them. I am thankful to all the parents and staff who did so for me. I thank my Sisters, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, who educated me and supported me throughout my learning years. I am also grateful to my family who first gave me a love of the Lord and for music. In my heart these two go hand in hand as I teach every child.   http://www.stpeterthefisherman.org/ http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org/where.htm#

Creating the Third Order…Pope Benedict XVI

Posted on February 15, 2008
Filed Under Vocations / Discernment | 6 Comments

jesusofnazareth.jpgAn excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth found while the Holy Father presents the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, may be helpful when discerning whether the Third Order of St. Francis is where one is ‘called to be’…

“For Francis, this extreme humility was above all freedom for service, freedom for mission, ultimate trust in God, who cares not only for the flowers of the field but specifically for his human children…For he did not want to found a religious order: He simply wanted to gather the People of God to listen anew to the word-without evading the seriousness of God’s call by means of learned commentaries.

dscf0754.JPGBy creating the Third Order, though, Francis did accept the distinction between radical commitment and the necessity of living in the world. The point of the Third Order is to accept with humility the task of one’s secular profession and its requirements, wherever one happens to be, while directing one’s whole life to that deep interior communion with Christ that Francis showed us. ‘To own goods as if you owned nothing’ (cf.1 Cor 7:29ff.)-to master this inner tension, which is perhaps the more difficult challenge, and, sustained by those pledged to follow Christ radically, truly to live it out ever anew-that is what the third orders are for. And they open up for us what this Beatitude can mean for all. It is above all by looking at Francis of Assisi that we see clearly what the words ‘Kingdom of God’ mean. Francis stood totally within the Church, and at the same time it is in figures such as he that the Church grows toward the goal that lies in the future, and yet is already present: The Kingdom of God is drawing near….” (page 78-79)

The world needs you. God calls you. We invite you.

http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org/contactus.asp

Walk a Lourdes Grotto Procession

Posted on February 10, 2008
Filed Under Podcasts | 5 Comments


On this eve of the Our Lady of Lourdes feast, walk with Camp Franciscan participants in a procession to the Lourdes Grotto on the Motherhouse grounds of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity in Manitowoc, WI. If you would like to attend Camp Franciscan 2008, the Third Summer of the Sisterhood, please contact us.

Our Own Lourdes Rose

Posted on February 9, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 5 Comments

Lourdes Grotto at Holy Family ConventRecently, a red rose was placed at the grotto of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity by a young family visiting one of the Sisters. It was a reminder that a  plenary indulgence is being granted “from the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2, 2008 until the end of the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11, 2008, which is also the 150th anniversary appartition, to all who devoutly visit a blessed image of Our Lady of Lourdes in any church, chapel, grotto Lourdes Roseor other suitable place in which it is solemnly displayed, and in the presence of that image perform some pious act of Marian devotion, or at least pause to reflect for an appropriate length of time, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, some legitimage form of the Profession of faith and the Jubilee prayer or some other Marian invocation.” (James Francis Cardinal Stafford, November 21, 2007)

Song of Bernadette by Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen

Posted on February 1, 2008
Filed Under Song of the Month | 14 Comments


Jennifer WarnesDuring this 150th anniversary year of the Lourdes Apparition, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are pleased to feature the collaborative energies of Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen in this beautiful song with an exquisite melody and meaningful lyrics. Jennifer, singer, songwriter and recording artist reflects:

I was given the name Bernadette at birth. But my siblings preferred the name “Jennifer” so my name was changed one week later. In 1979, on tour in the south of France with Leonard Cohen, I began writing a series of letters between the “Bernadette” I almost was, and “Jennifer”–two energies within me. One innocent, and the other who had fallen for the world.

The letters were just an experiment: “Dear Bernadette, I’m so lost right now.” “Hello dear Jennifer, don’t worry, I’m here, and it’s gonna be okay.”

dvd17.jpgI showed Leonard my letters to which he replied, “There’s a song in here…just start at the beginning…”There was a child named Bernadette, I heard the story long ago…and then keep going….”

So the song arose in a bus nearby Lourdes. I was admiring Bernadette’s countryside from the bus window, thinking about the great Saint who held her ground so well, and was not swayed from what she knew to be true.

But the song is also about me longing to return to a place that was more pure, honest and true. I still long for this, and I think others do too.

http://www.jenniferwarnes.com/

jennylennybig.jpgYou may listen to the conversation regarding Famous Blue Raincoat’s  Song of Bernadette between Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes http://www.jenniferwarnes.com/pages/fbr20-player-fbr-talk.html?*MPImage%3D%23*MPImageX%3D0*MPImageY%3D0*MPTitle%3DFamous%20Blue%20Raincoat%20conversations* Track 7 1:52

St. Bernadette with Lourdes Rose by Pat Benincasa

Posted on February 1, 2008
Filed Under Image of the Month | 13 Comments

St. Bernadette with Lourdes RosePat Benincasa paints this portrait entitled St. Bernadette with Lourdes Rose. Pat writes: “How do you paint eyes that have seen Our Lady? How do you paint eyes that have witnessed what words cannot contain? These questions are what went through my mind when painting Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes.”

From website:

My approach to being an artist is based upon rigorous research, study and my need to take materials beyond conventional use…

I once read something that sums up my art making philosophy. When Martin Heidegger asked: “What is a thing?” and responded that ” You know what a thing is by the way it gathers the world unto itself,” his statement gave me a framework to define what art is. You know what art is by the way it gathers the world unto itself. To this I would add that Art is a point of proximity that dissolves the distinction between our “here and there” as it pulls us toward itself. In this pull we understand how connected we are to all living things. In this connection resides the Sacred.

www.patbenincasa-art.com

Franciscan Sisters in Healing Ministry Genesis Healthcare System, Zanesville, OH

Posted on February 1, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 10 Comments

ghs-logo.jpgFour Franciscan Sisters of Christan Charity share their lives in community and serve within the Congregation’s Catholic sponsored institution of more than 100 years. Not only will you learn more about Genesis GenesisHealthcare System, an affiliation between two long standing hospitals that is dedicated to providing health care to southeastern Ohio, but you will learn more about the unique personalities of each Sister and how each one reaches out to others in the healing mission of Jesus Christ.

http://www.genesishcs.org

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