Do you get paid?

Posted on November 20, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World, Vocations / Discernment | 4 Comments

This was one of the questions posed by St. Mary Central High School, Menasha, WI students to Father Thomas Long, Diocese of Green Bay vocation director and other women religious representing the Racine Dominicans, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Elm Grove, WI, and the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Manitowoc, WI. on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

Faculty member, Karen Fahley invited the guests to introduce themselves and answer the students’ prepared and spontaneous questions during religion classes. A music-PowerPoint prayer began each session. The song and images highlighted all of the vocations-marriage, single life, priesthood and religious life.

Here are a few more student sample questions. You are invited to answer these questions, add your own or just comment from your own heart based on your life experience. Notice most questions could be answered from any one of the vocation perspectives.

What was the experience in your life that you felt God’s presence with you the most?
What made you decide to become who you are?
Is it worth it?
Do you ever regret the life you chose because of what you had to give up?
How could you do that? Did you feel the vocation inside before the decision?
Do you get lonely?
What do you enjoy most?
What is the coolest place you have traveled?
How much money do you make?
Is there anything you feel you missed out on?
Why a priest instead of a deacon?
Is your faith in God ever swayed?
What other careers did you consider?
Did you ever want to be married?
Is it bad for you to have fun sometimes?
What freedoms do you wish you could have back?
What was the one thing that made your decision clear to follow Christ and the Church?

Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Rochelle Kerkof, OSF, is principal of St. Mary Central High School. Michael Sullivan is president of Twin Cities Catholic Educational System.

So Many Choices, One Life to Live by Sister Anne Marie Lom, OSF

Posted on November 17, 2008
Filed Under Vocations / Discernment | 66 Comments

“What will I do with this one, precious life I have?” This seems to be the underlying question I hear from my younger clients as I see them for spiritual direction. As a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity, I have an inclination to turn to St. Francis for some guidance, myself, as I assist others in navigating this path of choices in life. How did Francis come to understand God’s call, God’s will for his life? He prayed for guidance, he listened, he consulted with others and he was willing to grow in his understanding of God, of life and of his unique call and ministry.

I find some young adults begin to think seriously about their call to a lifestyle late in high school or early in college. Am I called to be single, married, a religious sister, brother or priest or a diocesan priest? Some put this discernment off for several years and concentrate on a career first, be it education, business, health care, or one of the myriad choices one has to make regarding how one will pay bills, serve others and find a certain joy in the workplace. It is easy to confuse a lifestyle and a career choice but they are radically different.

A lifestyle demands a life long commitment, an investment of love, a willingness to blend and negotiate with others, a fundamental focus of time, energy and talents. It is a basic way of seeing the world and finding a “fit” that brings joy and a sense of “being at home” in the world. It is often accompanied by vows to God in a community, vows to a diocesan bishop or vows to a spouse. In all cases a person opens to a vulnerability to others and trusts that their life is given over to a process greater than the self. The single life, too, has its own demands of time, energy and vulnerability where a person commits to caring for others in a unique way suited to their temperament. None of these lifestyles are successful if a person is self-centered and calculates “what’s in it for me?” The nature of a lifestyle is self-giving and other-centered. When questioned about discerning a lifestyle, I encourage the young adult to pray for guidance, listen to how God is speaking in their heart, consult with others and then take some action. Be willing to continue to clarify your calling as your prayer, your significant family members and friends continue to interact with you.

I hear comments that some young adults have prayed reverently and long, asking God for guidance, but to no avail. My response is: God speaks in your deepest heart and in those around you. God speaks to you through others, especially those with the wisdom of experience and true friends who will be candid with you about your temperament and gifts. God is not sending emails and text messages but is very present in your life. Ask for help from others to see how God is working and then listen carefully for a response. A lifestyle call may take some years to emerge so be patient and watchful. A mentor or spiritual director can be helpful in discerning a call to a lifestyle.

A career, on the other hand, is a particular way that people can express themselves in an ever-changing world. As a religious sister, I have had four careers and may have some more in the future. My siblings have both had several careers. As our world and culture change and develop, new careers open and people can find themselves in a position where their career is no longer viable. Some elements in choosing a career are the same as discerning a lifestyle. Consulting with trusted others is a must. They often have valuable information about your talents and gifts and may help to predict some challenges you will face.

Whenever you are making an important decision, whether it may be a lifestyle or a career, here are five important discernment guidelines my clients have found helpful:

What makes you “deep down happy”? When does your “heart sing” with joy? Follow that intuition. God speaks through our deepest desires. God desires our happiness.
What kind of support do you need to follow your dream? Where will you get that support? Can you ask for support if it is not forthcoming?
How do you manage financially? It is not wise to attempt to enter any lifestyle carrying a lot of debt. What kinds of choices will you make to be financially sound?
Realistically, what career choice will pay bills, offer you flexibility for your lifestyle options and motivate you to get up in the morning? Is the career you are pondering ethical? Will it make the world a better place? Do you have the physical, mental and emotional stamina required by this career? For example: if you plan to have children, will your career allow for spouse and family life? If you think you might be called to a religious life, will this career fit into that vocation?
Are you able to share your thoughts, dreams, ideas, joys and challenges with others? All lifestyles and most careers demand this type of interaction. If you find this difficult, how can you develop these skills?

Whether you are discerning a lifestyle or a career, are you willing to pray, ask for guidance, consult with others and then take concrete steps, actions, to move toward your dreams? With one precious life to live, may you live it abundantly!

Sister Anne Marie Lom is a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity. She is a spiritual director for her religious community as well as for St. Raphael Parish, Oshkosh, WI. Choose God.

Franciscan Sisters Commemorate Founders Day 1869-2008

Posted on November 9, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 6 Comments

Today, November 9, 2008, is the 139th anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Manitowoc, WI. Four young women in their twenties and early thirties, strong in their faith, professed their vows in 1869 and faithfully launched a religious community. This historic day in history was the first of many to begin a growing Sisterhood alive in living the Gospel and eager to serve the needs of the pioneer Church.

Most years since 1939, a Founders’ Day Program, a sharing of remembrances in the form of some home-spun entertainment, has been part of the Motherhouse day’s festivities. Here’s a portion of Sister Chiara LaValley’s script for this 2008 Pauline year including present day Sisters, St. Paul and Teresa Gramlich, one of the first Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity:

SMJ: Journey….I remember that Sister Donna Marie told us in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scripture Class that journey is deeply rooted in the Pentateuch. Abraham is called to a new land. Jacob must find God far from home. Joseph must go to Egypt. Israel must cross the desert to find a Promised Land.

SFA: St. Paul sure had a lot of journeys! I read that be traveled over 6000 miles! Can you imagine that? It was not too convenient either or easy! In learning about our Community history, our Sisters were called to journey lots of miles, too.

St. Paul: I was born a few years after Jesus was. My parents were strict observant Jews. We lived in the city of Tarsus which tells you that my family was wealthy. We also had prestige and importance by claiming Roman citizenship.

Teresa Gramlich: I, Teresa Gramlich, was born on November 23, 1842 in Schlierstadt, Germany. I am an ordinary settler’s daughter. I was only ten years old when I came to America journeying across the Atlantic Ocean with my family.

Other activities of heart-felt warmth on this significant and holy Franciscan day are the Eucharistic Liturgy and the cemetery service, remembering all the foundresses past, present and future….

Click here for more photos.

Joe Garagiola Gifts a Learning Center

Posted on November 5, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 3 Comments

Joe Garagiola, a retired and renowned major-league baseball player, wrote Just Play Ball, a book about the game he enjoys, but he was present among the children at St. Peter Indian Mission on Sunday, November 2, 2008, because it is these little ones who are blessed to receive his love.

About 300 individuals watched the Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix bless a new learning center. This is not the first time the St. Peter Indian Community has been gifted with Joe Garagiola’s generosity. He is a frequent visitor to school, has been behind many a renovation project and is considered a friend and respected elder by all. Being an author himself, the faithful benefactor, is interested in reading and all aspects of learning for today’s student.

“We have been blessed, and we are celebrating our blessing as the learning center is blessed,” said Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity, Sister Martha Mary Carpenter, OSF, principal of St. Peter Indian Mission School.

Click here for more pictures.

Cedars by Andrew McKnight

Posted on November 1, 2008
Filed Under Song of the Month | 60 Comments

During this harvest month seasoned with a spirit of giving thanks to God for family, friends and the goodness of creation, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are pleased to share the music of Andrew McKnight, a masterful acoustic musician and vocalist whose creative skills as a song/lyric writer are equally awe-inspiring. Since permanently leaving his corporate environmental engineering career in 1996, the award-winning folk and American singer/songwriter and Falling Mountain recording artist’s musical journey has traced nearly half a million miles of blue highways and small towns nationwide, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim.

“Cedars” is a lament for every generation that reaches the age and awareness that you can truly never go “home” again, for you will find the place forever changed from your memories. Here in rapidly suburbanized northern Virginia, one doesn’t have to wander too far from my home amongst the ghosts of American history at the foot of the Blue Ridge to find seemingly endless patchworks of homogenized cul-de-sac enclosures neighborhoods of three quarter million dollar homes, whose occupants know little of their dependence on the land or the stories buried in their backyards. Here, the transition of land from a family farm to a city in the fields is usually marked by a few fallow years when the fast growing cedar trees begin their doomed attempt to regenerate forest.

“Cedars” comes from my latest CD, “Something Worth Standing For”, an album of songs both celebrating and acknowledging the childhood ideals of America that were taught to love, and our frustrations at how much we have let them erode. Choosing to transcend political viewpoints in favor of finding the common ground that politicians, corporations and the media seem to want us to forget that we share, it is an American album born of these times we are living in.

All five of my CDs are available at iTunes, at CDBaby.com and at our record label’s Falling Mountain Music.

Website: http://www.andrewmcknight.net

-Andrew McKnight

Cedars Lyrics:

Verse 1

The unmarked blacktop winds back in time,

remembered ways I’ve known and left behind

the signs have changed but the way is clear

it’s been so long since I’ve been here

Memories point past that sycamore tree

make a left where the Miller’s red barn used to be

the gravel gently gives beneath my wheel

and I remember how it feels

Chorus

A rusted tractor rests among the cedar trees

a pause between the past and what’s to be

ten thousand houses don’t leave any space

this was home, when this was a different place

Verse 2

These windows watched three generations grow old

silent statue stands to times long ago

when they say you can’t go home again,

I know what they mean

I still see those fields of green

Verse 3

Now open red clay wounds weep every time it rains

castles grow instead of acres of grain

I wonder if those kids will know where food comes from

and if someday they’ll ask where we have gone

“Cedars”Words & music by Andrew McKnight, 2007©Catalooch Music, BMI(from the 2008 CD “Something Worth Standing For”, Falling Mountain FM-1050)

This Journey by Shanna Franklin

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

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The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity image of the month focuses on the photography of Shanna Franklin. Shanna reflects:

The leaves look like glitter as they scatter down from the branches of trees, frosted with Autumn. Colors cover the ground like icing on a cake, and soften every step; this place is just another attempt to silence the voices in my head, constantly pulling me in every different direction.

At times it is difficult to believe that another year has passed; this is one of those times. I don’t feel any different, although I know I should. I know I am. I look back on the previous year and imagine myself standing in this exact spot, trying to feel what I felt in those moments, so silent and colorful. The only thought that comes to mind is an illusion–a constant, flowing stream that waits for no one–not even change.

It has always been hard for me to see my life for what it is, and it seems like it’s getting harder. Every day that passes is another step in the right direction, but with all these leaves floating down from the sky, it’s hard to see in which direction I’m headed.

I know that change feels slow– and although I can’t see any differences in the mirror, one day I will wake up to a brand new me–and I’ll realize that, while I have been searching for myself, I have been slowly growing into the person I want to be–the person that I have become. And I’ll welcome that person with open arms and an open heart.

The road is never easy; this we have all discovered. But the part that seems to be the easiest to forget–is that it is always worth the while.

Click here for Shanna’s Flickr site.

Franciscan Sisters Called to Serve in Zanesville, OH

Posted on November 1, 2008
Filed Under Franciscanized World | 15 Comments

The book of Eccelesiasticus contains a tender passage that is a means of comfort as the world celebrates All Saints, All Souls, a kind of spiritual facebook feast of connecting and sharing with loved ones who have died and are now ever ready heavenly intercessors.

All these have gained glory in their generations, and were praised in their days…but these were men [women] of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed…their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Let the people show forth their wisdom and the Church their praise.

One of these faithful women of mercy, Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Mercedes Spaulding began her ministry as a teacher for fifteen years, 1912-1927. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Catholic University in 1935 and also was certified as a Medical Records Librarian that year. Sister Donna Marie Kessler, OSF, Archivist of the Franciscan community, writes:

In 1927 she was sent to Good Samaritan Hospital where she worked in Admissions and Medical Records for twenty-eight years. She was a perfect public relations person as a business man in Zanesville noted. He said, I believe the 75% of our patients and families know Sister personally and appreciate her kindness and sympathy in time of distress. The physicians of the community have great confidence in her ability to meet their needs and requirements.”

Sister was known for her friendly, tranquil and charitable disposition. She was accepting and had a keen and lively interest in people. She was remembered as a prayerful and good religious woman.

Today in 2008 four Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are blessed to live and serve in south eastern Ohio at Genesis Healthcare System. Learn about the good deeds of their lives and discover their unique personalities.

Do you get paid?

So Many Choices, One Life to Live by Sister Anne Marie Lom, OSF

Franciscan Sisters Commemorate Founders Day 1869-2008

Joe Garagiola Gifts a Learning Center

Cedars by Andrew McKnight

This Journey by Shanna Franklin

Franciscan Sisters Called to Serve in Zanesville, OH

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