21st Century SPIRITuality
Posted on May 7, 2008
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Sister Ruth Ann Myers, OSF, reflects on the topic of spirituality from her broad background in theology, psychology and spiritual direction.
What is happening in the 21st Century Spirituality? Significant, perhaps, is the enormous interest in spirituality that is emerging today. Some writers are calling it “The Spiritual Revolution”. New, too, is that the interest is coming from a broad spectrum of people, not just religious groups. Also, the “revolution” is rising from below, not from above.
William Johnson, the Jesuit theologian, says that within the last thirty years, spirituality has become democratized. Holiness is no longer viewed as an ideal state attainable for only the elite; instead, it is within the reach of the ordinary person.
This interest may not be surprising in the light of the rapid changes taking place in the 20th and 21st 
centuries, changes far exceeding preceding centuries. These changes are making demands on everyone, demands that stretch us beyond the human and push us into the spiritual.
We understand ourselves through the world around us, so as the world changes, we, too, change. We know ourselves through the culture and the scientific developments in our particular time in history. This understanding of ourselves influences how we perceive Christ. Christ is not out there someplace, detached from place and time. Instead, he is within our personal and communal experiences in the era in which we are living. http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org/backend/PDF_uploads/publication_file2_4.pdf
No Complacency in Regards to Vocations-Pope Benedict XVI
Posted on April 17, 2008
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In an address at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on April 16, 2008 after commending the United States Catholic Bishops on their pastoral priority of strengthening the vocation of marriage and family life, Bishop Benedict XVI answered a further question regarding vocations this way:
What is needed above all, at this time in the history of the Church in America is a renewal of that apostolic zeal which inspires her shepherds actively to seek out the lost, to bind up those who have been wounded, and to bring strength to those who are languishing (cf. Ez 34:16). And this, as I have said, calls for new ways of thinking based on a sound diagnosis of today’s challenges and a commitment to unity in the service of the Church’s mission to the present generation.
Let us be quite frank: the ability to cultivate vocations to the priesthood and the religious life is a sure sign of the health of the Church. There is no room for complacency in this regard. God continues to call young people; it is up to all of us to encourage a generous and free response to that call. On the other hand, none of us can take grace for granted.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send workers. He even admits that the workers are few in comparison with the abundance of the harvest (cf. Mt 9:37-38). Strange to say, I often think that prayer - the unum necessarium - is the one aspect of vocations work which we tend to forget or to undervalue!
Nor am I speaking only of prayer for vocations.Prayer itself, born in Catholic families, nurtured by programs of Christian formation, strengthened by the grace of the sacraments, is the first means by 
which we come to know the Lord’s will for our lives. To the extent that we teach young people to pray, and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God’s call. Programs, plans and projects have their place; but the discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples. Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God’s call.
It has been noted that there is a growing thirst for holiness in many young people today, and that, although fewer in number, those who come forward show great idealism and much promise. It is important to listen to them, to understand their experiences, and to encourage them to help their peers to see the need for committed priests and religious, as well as the beauty of a life of sacrificial service to the Lord and his Church. To my mind, much is demanded of vocation directors and formators: candidates today, as much as ever, need to be given a sound intellectual and human formation which will enable them not only to respond to the real questions and needs of their contemporaries, but also to mature in their own conversion and to persevere in life-long commitment to their vocation.
Do these words of the Holy Father speak to your heart? The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity invite you to consider our May 30-June 1, 2008 young adult single women discernment retreat.
http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org/living/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/retreats-pub-2007-2008.pdf
Franciscan Sisters Bless and Dedicate Renovated Chapel
Posted on March 13, 2008
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With renovation complete, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity witnessed the blessing and dedication of St. Rita Chapel, tabernacle, ambry and San Damiano Crucifix the first Sunday of the 2008 Lenten Season.
This quiet, small chapel found in the section of the Motherhouse home to the sick and infirmed members of the community was chosen to provide an environment, in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord, to reflect on the San Damiano Crucifix so dear to both St. Francis and St. Clare. Sister Mariella Erdmann, art professor and artist in residence at Silver Lake College, wrote this particular icon, a visual text recounting the Passion of Jesus according to St. John’s Gospel which historically summoned forth St. Francis’ conversion and commissioned him to “rebuild God’s Church”. St. Clare, too, daily gazed on the original crucifix in the small chapel of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy where she resided from 1212 until her death in 1253. It was later moved for greater protection to the new monastery of St. Clare within the city walls. Sister Mariella personalized the events viewed in her depiction of the image by including foundresses of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity in its base.
Richard Hartman, who serves in the Motherhouse Maintenance Department, crafted the tabernacle, ambry, pedestals and prie-dieux out of lumber harvested from the woods on the Franciscan Sisters’ property. The symbol on the front of the tabernacle was also designed by Sister Mariella. ‘My God and My All’ are words attributed to St. Francis. The ambry-repository will hold the Oil of the Infirm after the new oils are blessed at the
Green Bay Diocesan Chrism Mass on March 18, 2008.
Pause and consider this memorable moment:
…A few days had passed when, while he (Francis) was walking by the church of San Damiano, he was told in the Spirit to go inside for a prayer. Once he entered, he began to pray intensely before an image of the Crucified, which spoke to him in a tender and kind voice: “Francis, don’t you see that my house is being destroyed? Go, then, and rebuild it for me.” Stunned and trembling, he said: “I will do so gladly, Lord.”
Legend of the Three Companions Chapter V, 13
Creating the Third Order…Pope Benedict XVI
Posted on February 15, 2008
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An 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.
By 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
Abundance of Heart
Posted on January 24, 2008
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Francis’ mouth spoke out of the abundance of his heart, and the fountain of enlightened love that filled his whole being bubbled forth outwardly. Indeed, he was always occupied with Jesus; Jesus he bore in his heart, Jesus in his mouth, Jesus in his ears, Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his hands, Jesus in the rest of his members.”
(1 Celano, 115)
We, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, are called to be women of the Gospel who do our utmost best to extend the reign of God in our world. How do you see this happening in your life?
I Really Like Advent!
Posted on December 1, 2007
Filed Under Vocations / Discernment | 13 Comments
Advent is a celebration of time for me. I look forward to many readings, symbols, and the reaching out to others that confidently point to Jesus. Clearly, Advent initiates the reliving of the Jesus – event within the Liturgical year. Advent is genuine, more real than all the shopping, foods, gatherings, that celebrate Santa, elves, reindeer and my many wants.
Come Lord Jesus,
help me to read the signs of the Advent season.
Let me be a sign of hope in you.
Our Life of Grace
Posted on November 1, 2007
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Our bodies are made to grow as our inner life desires to grow in relationship with the Lord God.
At Baptism, our life as a child of God begins. This life of grace matures through Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, prayer and doing good.
Relationship with the Lord changes and develops. Notice. What change has happened in your life personal interests, plans, shadows, desires, virtues?
How important to you are family, education, travel, successes, failures, friends, personal growth?
We know the Lord is with us and active in our hearts. As you examine personal change, see how this reflects the Lord’s presence and will within you.
Is God calling you to something more?
Does the Lord desire you to be His own in a unique way?
To what is He calling you?
Examine the change in your life:
What is really important to you?
In what are you really interested?
Can God be asking you to focus more on His desires for you?
What does the Lord want of you?
Helps for you may include:
Journaling.
Speaking to a person you trust who has insight on call or vocation.
Reading about people who take God seriously.
Praying. Placing your heart before the Lord.
Love Him!
“This is what I want, this is what I was seeking.
From this day forth I shall set myself with all my strength to put it into practice.”
St. Francis
(Sabatier p. 44)
Be a Juggler of Compassion
Posted on October 19, 2007
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“The servants of God are really like jugglers, intended to revive the hearts of men and lead them to spiritual joy.” St. Francis
(Sabatier, p. 137)
Have you been capturing the sunbeams of God’s grace inding light and peace in your life?
Have you written your insights into a journal or shared them with someone you trust?
Now, what is in your heart – casting a shadow?
At times it is helpful to look at people with their heartaches, sufferings, sadness.
Is God alerting your eyes and heart to be a servant, one who goes forward to help?
Can you “juggle” your interests, worries, loves,
to bring joy and peace to someone who is weary, aching, lonely?
To become a servant of God is a gift from God:
To be like a sunbeam or a juggler
Bringing God’s compassion, joy, peace!
Let a Sunbeam of God`s Love…
Posted on October 1, 2007
Filed Under Vocations / Discernment | 2 Comments
“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” St. Francis
Sabatier, Paul, The Road to Assisi,
Paraclete Press, Brewster, MA 2004
page 44
Have you ever known a deep down whisper to surface in you?
Were you ever avoiding an answer to a persistent question?
Have you wondered … what is happening?
As these personal wonderings keep coming
quietly
hidden,
until the right moment brings them in
or
erupting unexpectantly,
repeatedly..
Does listening to this inner voice, this movement of spirit,
bring some peace and still some lingering unrest?
Remember:
“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”
God, the light of our life, lives in us,
loves us,
made each of us uniquely.
Come to know God through these questions.
Place this ‘wondering’, restlessness, into God’s hands
and ask that some insight, answer, word might be given to you.
Let a sunbeam of God’s love bring light to a shadow of wondering in your heart. Also, sharing this with a prayerful person may reflect God’s sunbeam to you.
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