In preparation for Christmas, the Famvin Systemic Change Commission invites you to a weekly offering of Advent Reflections.

The second volume of The Journey Magazine for 2022 will be hitting mailboxes soon and is available to read online.

The Sisters across the provinces have devoted the day of recollection and prayer from 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4. This was a day of strengthening each other and enveloping the missions with God’s mighty presence and transforming love for the future.

In preparation for Christmas, Famvin Systemic Change Commission invites you to a weekly offering of Advent Reflections.

Dance was always a part of my life growing up. I am from German heritage so polkas, along with the chicken dance, conga lines, the hokey pokey were a big part of our family celebrations. Our joy and enjoyment was expressed with our whole being – mind, heart and body. I loved it!

But, I never thought of dance as prayer until the novitiate. Our novice director, Sister Mary Pauletta, had a Sister friend from another community who visited her when I was a first-year novice. This was in the post Vatican II days when lots of new ideas were emerging. The Sister friend introduced us to liturgical dance. She choreographed several dances to psalm songs and many of us participated. Though her name is long lost in my memory, I will never forget the gift she gave me by introducing body as well as mind and heart to my way of praying. I loved it!

Enjoy this video tour of St. Vincent de Paul Church. The church was completed in 1854 and continues in testimony to the belief that the Eucharist and prayer are pivotal to the life of a Sister of Charity of Nazareth.

What seems like a lifetime ago, during a third grade social studies activity about daily life for the Kentucky pioneers, I vividly remember taking turns churning
butter and pouring melted tallow into iron candle molds. I was fascinated by all they embarked upon on their journey. From an eight-year-old’s perspective, their
lives seemed unbelievably difficult – fraught with obstacles to daily survival, uncertainties about the future, and risk. I could not understand why someone
would choose this path; however, I admired the passion, grit, ingenuity and faith in God required to cross from the known into the unknown. All that I learned back then took on its own shape in my active 8-year-old imagination and I believe those early images of the pioneers awakened in me a curiosity and awe about acting on a dream. What was it like to be so strongly drawn to move into the unknown – willing to risk it all in the name of hope? I was captured by this pioneer spirit. As I grew older, my understanding became more informed, less imaginary and more inclusive of the various impacts of this westward movement. Today, it continues to be expanded as we search to recognize the full story of that era and our place in it – good or bad. We still have so much to learn. However, for this reflection, I will focus on the part that captured my interest as a child – spirit, passion and resilience.

I often use my prose that I produce as a creative writer, as a stepping-stone into my prayer time with God.

Vipassana means “to see things as they really are.” It is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques rediscovered 2500 years ago by Gotama the Buddha, and is the essence of what he practiced and taught.

If you’re seeking a break from the hectic pace of life, consider a trip to Camp Maria Retreat Center. Surrounded by peaceful beauty and filled with amenities and activities to help you relax and recharge, it’s the perfect place to find spiritual renewal.