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How do we pray today? What do we pray about?
We pray in and through the desires of our hearts and the work of our hands.
We pray in the words of our lips and the gestures of our bodies.
We pray by contemplating God's revelation in Scripture and in the experiences of each day.
We pray alone, in small groups, in large gatherings of worship.
We pray where we live and where we work, at congregational gatherings and with God's people whom we serve.
From the midst of their real-time lives, Sisters of Charity and Associates find signs of Christ's risen presence in relationships: with Mary, mother of Jesus, with all mothers and mothers-to-be, with Jesus who leaves us in one way yet remains present in his Holy Spirit, with creation's breathtaking beauty, with family at First Communions, Confirmations, graduations, weddings.
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My mother, Marian, always used to say, "God never closes one door that He doesn't open another."
(Sr. Maryellen Blumlein, SC)
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Louise de Marillac, herself a mother, found strength and consolation in reflecting on the hidden life of Jesus, first as he was cradled in the womb of Mary and then as he grew to maturity in the village of Nazareth. These small worlds constituted his "house of belonging"; and for Louise, a starting point on her journey to God.
(Sr. Mary McCormick, SC) |
In awesome humility and complete abandonment born of faith Mary says…"Be it done unto me according to your word." These are among the first recorded words of Mary, and I believe the last are those she said to the waiters at Cana… "Do whatsoever he shall say to you." She herself seems to have done just that all her life; pondering God's Word, fostering it, listening deeply and doing only God's will.
It seems to me that in pondering God's Word and listening deeply, we too meet our grace in community, living lives of love, doing whatsoever he shall say to us.
(Sr. Marie Immaculata Burke, SC)
(Sister Immaculata, now 93, has served as a missionary to the people of the Bahamas and, for the past 42 years, of Guatemala. The 4 clinics begun by "La Madre," as she is affectionately known, continue to provide basic health care, especially for women and children.) |
Come Holy Spirit! (English)
Viens, Esprit Saint! (French)
Moya Okenele Utahe Kuluna (Lozi)
Ven, Espiritu Santo! (Spanish)
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Tha'aa ya roah il idoas (Arabic)
Vieni Santo Spirito (Italian)
Chpe ta ri Tioxalaj Uxlabaxel (Quiche)
Halika Mahal Na Espirito Santo (Tagalog)
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