Journey: Winter 2002
Contents
• S. Adele Recognized as “Outstanding”
• Cincinnati Parish Center to Be Named for CSJ
• Social Ministry on the Bayou, by Celeste Cotter, CSJ
• S. Lucille Cadieux, CSJ (S. Marie Blandine)
• S. Anne Martina Ganser, CSJ
• What’s in a Call?
• From the President: A Greeting for the New Year
• Reflections on Our 25th Anniversary
• Viewpoint on Spirituality
S. Adele Recognized as “Outstanding”
On October 24, S. Adele Lambert was honored by the Family Service of Greater New Orleans as one of its Ten Outstanding Persons. This award is given annually in recognition of exceptional volunteer, charitable, and civic service.
For over a decade S. Adele has been active in combating hunger and supporting the rights of the poor. From 1992 to 2001, during her term as executive director of the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Office of the Social Apostolate, the office began new initiatives for feeding, educating, and empowering poor people. Concurrently S. Adele served as executive director of the Archbishop’s Community Appeal and as diocesan director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. As president of the Second Harvesters Food Bank of Greater New Orleans from 1999 to 2001, she helped facilitate the growth of the KIDS Café, a dining and food service training program for urban youths.
S. Adele has received numerous honors for her work. Most recently, in 2001, she received the Lindy Boggs Hunger Awareness Award from the New Orleans chapter of Bread for the World. Earlier in 2001 she was chosen as Religious of the Year for her work with programs for the elderly in the archdiocese. In 1999 she was named a Role Model by (and for) the city’s Young Leadership Council.
In the citation read at the awards banquet, S. Adele was described as “an approachable servant leader with the gift for nurturing the potential in others and bringing together people of all faiths and backgrounds toward a common goal....As a leader in the local religious community, she has championed the rights of the working poor and facilitated papal justice teachings. Choosing to work quietly and diligently in the background rather than taking center stage, she continues to seek the common good and works to further the causes of charity and justice for all through empowerment of the poor.”
Cincinnati Parish Center to Be Named for CSJ
S. Dolores Beringer, remembered with deep affection by decades of students, will be honored when a thriving Cincinnati parish builds its new meeting and activity center and places her name over the door.
S. Dolores taught at the Guardian Angels Elementary School in Cincinnati from 1921, the year after she joined the Congregation, to 1985, when she retired. She died in 1997 at age 99.
Former students recall S. Dolores’s love of children and of teaching. One of these students, S. Caroline Benken, said, “Early on in her religious life the words of Jesus, ‘Let the little children come to me,’ took hold of her heart…Dolores’s goal didn’t seem to rest in becoming the shiniest star, but to light the stars in the eyes of hundreds of others.”
Journalist Mark Motz shared the following memories of S. Dolores in an article he wrote at her passing: “When I entered the first grade at Guardian Angels, she was there to greet me at the door with a smile and hug…She made everyone feel special…She was charged not only with teaching us reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also right from wrong.”
Guardian Angels Parish, founded in 1892 and now comprising more than 2500 families, has begun a capital campaign to construct a building that can be used for meetings, assemblies, and other activities and events. Because of S. Dolores’s important and long-lasting influence on the parish’s children, it’s especially fitting that the new center will carry her name.
Social Ministry on the Bayou
by Celeste Cotter, CSJ
In September 2001 I came to the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese in Louisiana as Associate Director for Parish Social Ministry, hired by Catholic Social Services. I had not planned to look for employment at the diocesan level, but I was intrigued by the opportunity to work with parishes in justice and social ministry.
To carry out my work, I had to do some quick learning about the geography and the culture of this diocese. In the southern part, five bayous extend like fingers from Houma to the Gulf of Mexico. These were the highways of earlier times, before roads and bridges were built. Most of the land is to be found on either side of these bayous; everything else is marsh or water. The northern part of the diocese is a combination of cane fields and swamp. The residents are primarily of Cajun heritage (displaced Acadians from Canada), but now many other cultures are present as well. The diocese celebrated its 25th anniversary last year by highlighting the Cajun, African-American, Vietnamese, European, Hispanic, and Native American cultures that give spice to our gumbo.
It is my responsibility to facilitate parishesŐ understanding of Catholic social teaching and to connect them with the social mission called for by the Gospel. In a given week I might meet with a pastor, a parish council, or a confirmation group. I might address a congregation at mass, or speak with the Catholic Daughters or members of various ministries. After the tropical storm and hurricane in October, I had a lot of contact with the parishes that were affected by flooding or winds. I assist pastors and directors of religious education by providing resources for social service or justice activities, and by facilitating steps for carrying out national programs sponsored by our bishops, such as the Catholic Campaign for Human Development or Operation Rice Bowl.
It was at my first staff meeting, held on September 11, that we had word of the plane crashes in New York. There was no way to understand this horrific act, so we turned to prayer. Several diocesan staff members and I collaborated in creating a reflection group to ponder those events in light of the Gospel. As the anniversary of that date approached, I shared prayers of healing and prayers for peace with all the parishes for the liturgies and activities that were planned in commemoration
.Each day at work I draw on the CSJ spirit to meet the needs of the people and the Gospel call. Our congregationŐs foundation as a eucharistic community and our mandate to Ňhelp the dear neighborÓ are central to the way I communicate the social aspect of parish social ministry. As a CSJ, I always try to Ňcreate my own replacementÓ by training, collaborating with, and empowering others. There are many opportunities to strive toward unity and reconciliation when working with parishes or fielding phone calls from people seeking help.
Our spirit calls me to serve humbly, and to help the people discern how the Spirit is leading by sharing the skills of being a Ňcontemplative in action.Ó In turn, the bayou people share their strong faith and love of life, while teaching me a little French as well. Being Ňdown on the bayouÓ has been a real gift, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in this ministry.
S. Lucille Cadieux, CSJ (S. Marie Blandine)
January 20, 1907-December 18, 2002
S. Lucille Cadieux, a native of Crookston and a member of the Congregation since 1922, died on December 18 at the Marywood Residence.
In a memoir written in 1999 (see Journey, fall 1999), S. Lucille reminisced about her years in teaching and her other ministries: After teaching in Argyle, MN and then in Somerset, WI, I was invited with three other sisters to prepare for a mission in Canada. Two months in Crookston helped us brush up on French, and we spent the 1939-1940 school year at the Ottawa Normal School in Canada. Teaching was nothing new to us, but singing in French was delightful and exhilarating.
Another sister and I were to teach in Rainy River, Ontario....I taught grades 5 through 8. This was a new challenge, as we now taught in bilingual schools. Many other missions followed after my nine years in Rainy River: Kilkenny, Park Rapids, Argyle, and Crookston, where I taught history in high school.
In 1967 I went to teach at Brady High School in West St. Paul, first classes in social science and American history, and later home economics. One of (these) classes was a new course called the BoysŐ Chef Class. I had nine senior boys (and was known as Sister Cookie)....
In 1974, while still at Brady, I celebrated my golden jubilee, a joy-filled event that concluded my 53 years as a schoolteacher....That summer I took several courses in preparation for a new career in pastoral ministry. At the end of one year in Greenbush, MN, I continued this work in Crookston. In the summer of 1978 I was invited to New Orleans to the People Program, to teach a course in macrame....I so enjoyed the (experience) that when I returned to Crookston at the end of the summer, I began the People Program there.
On September 15, 1987 I decided that it was time to move to our provincial house outside Crookston. This was difficult for me because it meant leaving active ministry for a retired life. Although officially retired, S. Lucille remained active in volunteer work in Crookston. She continued her involvement with senior citizen groups in the area, serving as vice-president of the Polk County Committee on Aging and as secretary for the Crookston Senior Leisure Board. In March 1990 the City of Crookston honored her as Experienced American of the Month. S. Lucille is survived by her sister, Doris Sherburne, of East Glacier City, Montana.
S. Anne Martina Ganser, CSJ
March 23, 1913-October 20, 2002
S. Anne Martina Ganser, a member of the Congregation since 1931, died on October 20 at the Marywood Residence in Crookston.
A native of Cleveland, ND, she attended grade school in her hometown and then went to Crookston to attend St. JosephŐs Academy. She joined the Congregation in September 1931, only months after graduation.
Even in her earliest years as a CSJ, S. Anne Martina showed her gifts for leadership and teaching. In 1933, after pronouncing her first vows, she was appointed sub-directress of the novitiate in Crookston. She was equally capable of instructing young women new to religious life and teaching kindergartners at the Academy. Then, from 1935 to 1937, she taught grades 3, 4, and 5 at St. Boniface School in Stewart, MN.
In 1940, after earning a BA in history from the College of St. Catherine, S. Anne Martina began her long years of service to St. JosephŐs Academy. For the next 15 years she served at various times as a high school teacher, principal, librarian, and community coordinator.
In 1955 S. Anne Martina was named the second Provincial Superior of the Crookston Province. During her tenure she headed a committee devoted to planning for a central house and novitiate. These plans were fulfilled in 1958, when St. JosephŐs Provincial House was completed near Crookston to house administrative staff, novices, and postulants. At that time, too, S. Ann Martina was appointed to a second term as Provincial Superior.
After her years in administration, S. Anne Martina returned to her ministry as an educator, even while she remained a member of the provincial council. She served as supervisor of schools for her community, as co-supervisor of diocesan schools, and as a teacher at Corbett College and Minnesota Technical College. From 1972 to 1974 she taught at St. Rose of Lima School in Argyle. In her last mission, extending from 1974 to 1992, she filled various positions at St. AnnŐs School in Somerset, WI: school administrator, principal, religious education coordinator, and coordinator for her religious community in Somerset.
After retiring to Marywood in 1992, S. Anne Martina became involved in community and civic activities, and shared the experiences of her years in active ministry.
Fr. Robert Schreiner, who presided at S. Anne MartinaŐs funeral mass, made the following remarks:
“She taught us to the end. Educators do that. They have it in their bones to clarify, to parse, and to distinguish; to identify the unknown and to lead others to a deeper knowledge of that which is. But not in the manner of a master to a slave, this teacher to her pupilsŃbut precisely as the Lord to his beloved. For in every lesson of excellence she taughtÉSr. Anne Martina saw something of her Lord to be revealed in each teaching. Thus did she inhabit in her educational methodology much of the high priestly prayer of Jesus in our gospel today.”
S. Anne Martina is survived by several nephews, nieces, and cousins.
What’s In A Call?
by Marie Schwan, CSJ
“Chapter calls.” If you were to spend some time in any local community of the Sisters of St. Joseph, or if you were to attend any of their meetings, you might well hear this phrase.
Although the word chapter dates from medieval monastic life, it is simply another term for the regular, periodic assembly of sisters to assess the community, its life, and its direction, and to make decisions that will carry forward the mission of the Congregation. New leaders also are elected during a chapter. The Latin root word of chapter is caput (head), indicating the significance of a meeting designated as a chapter.
What a secular corporate body would speak of as decisions, a religious community recognizes and refers to as calls.
When the sisters come together for chapter, as we did last February, they already have spent months in reflection, prayer, and discussion, often in the form of faith sharing among themselves. They have listened deeply to the world in which they live, to the people they serve, to their own hearts, to the Gospel, which is the taproot of their lives. They have been in touch with what has been fruitful; they are aware of what seems no longer to be effective, and where the need for their human and material resources is greatest. All of this is brought to the gathering of the sisters who meet in chapter.
Each sister comes in a posture of listening deeply and reverently, to hear where and how the Spirit is moving in the assembly. The word or direction may be voiced in ways that one least expects. As the direction or movement toward a decision is recognized, the sisters hear it, in faith, as God’s own call to the Congregation at this moment in history.
During our most recent chapter, we Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille found ourselves called
...to reclaiming with a new passion the mission that is at the heart of our existence, “that all may be one”;
...to a continuing revitalization of the Congregation for the sake of the mission;
...to evaluating regularly the quality of our lives together;
...to a deepening of contemplation and prayer that leads to conversion and transformation for the sake of the mission.
And finally, the sisters felt impelled to call our leadership team to explore external reconfiguration (a way of sharing resources and life with other CSJ congregations) for the sake of the mission.
The process that brings us together in chapter is one way of discerning GodŐs will for the community. Thus, what are designated as “chapter calls” are understood as GodŐs will, GodŐs own desire for us, GodŐs call to us here and now. It is with trust in God, with deep seriousness, and in a spirit of obedience that the sisters set about implementing these calls.
From the President
A Greeting for the New Year
by Phyllis Manda, CSJ
In her book May I Have This Dance?, Joyce Rupp offers the idea that our life is a journey. She writes, ŇWe are always on the road. Each time another January greets us, we have an opportunity to pause, to see where we have been, to notice how far we have come, and to ponder how that journey has been for us.Ó
Each New Year is also a time to refresh our dreams and refocus our visionŃto repack our rolling suitcases, so to speak, and to set out once more on the journey that is ours. Traditionally we have greeted the New Year with good intentions of making and keeping “New Year’s resolutions.”
This year feels somewhat different for me. I find myself focusing on a phrase I heard on the third Sunday of Advent in a homily delivered in Bellarmine Chapel on Cincinnati’s Xavier University campus: “Jesus became human so that we could become divine” Suddenly it was clear to me that this is the journey on which I need to focus. Joseph and Mary followed a dream and set out with no Map Quest software or Internet reservations. The Magi embarked on a journey made in the dark of night. They were led through the darkness by the light of a star. Indeed, they were in the midst of an unknown passage. They were ready and willing to risk this “sacred journey” to reverence the Christ Child and to offer gifts.
How is God asking us at the coming of this New Year to prepare for this journey of becoming divine? What are the essentials that need our attention? What are the prejudices, the cultural consumerism, or the selfish acts of pride that block GodŐs divine action of grace in us? Becoming divine will be no easy journey. We will each encounter rough roads, mountainous terrain, inclement weather, and many other obstacles along the way. But I am convinced that God will send us our dream, our star, our friend to guide us and to encourage us when the journey is wearisome and long.
So, as we welcome this New Year of opportunity and possibility, let us greet its coming in a different way. Let us celebrate with deep gratitude the gift of Jesus among us, the many blessings of health and friendship that have been ours this past year. And let us do everything in our power, on this journey of our lives, to be bearers of peace and joy to a world longing for these gifts.
The Sisters of St. Joseph join me in sending you joyous greetings for a blessed New Year. It is through your association with us that we are brought nearer to the God in our midst. Thank you for sharing our lives.
Reflections on Our 25th Anniversary
by Marie Schwan, CSJ
Editor’s note: On November 30, the Congregation celebrated its 25th anniversary as an independent group with a prayer service held in New Orleans at 1200 Mirabeau and also in Ohio and Minnesota. S. Marie, the Congregation’s director of novices and pre-novices, made these remarks in closing.
As I listened to (S.) Jane (Aucoin) recall for us the array of events in the past 25 years, I had a vision of the concentric circles of people touched by the presence and ministry of our sisters, people who in turn have been empowered by love to serve and influence others.
Dayenu! A Jewish word of praise and thanksgiving: DayenuŃit would have been enough. It would have been enough if only one of these moments had happened, one of these eventsŃdayenu.
Only in retrospect can we see the patterns of life, the movements, like waves, that have gained momentum and shaped who we are today and who we may yet be. In so many ways we are what Fr. Medaille intended, the shadow of an institution, instruments in the hands of God, disappearing in and before the Mystery of the Triune God, creating, redeeming, sanctifying the worldŃthat is, reconciling all things in Christ, in and through people of faith, people of goodwill.
From my perspective, the gift of these past years is this: we have discovered that we are more than a stable institution offering security and assurance of salvation to its members. We are a community, a living organism that stands on tiptoe, stretching to see, to hear, to enjoy, to enter into life. On the threshold of what might be seen as the most challenging moments of our congregation or even of religious life itself, we may have our finest hour. It is only as we let go of life that we are worthy of the new life that is struggling to be born in us and through us, to be all we can be, individually yet as a community. Where there is pain and oppression, there is a Sister of St. Joseph. Where life is emerging, there is a Sister of St. Joseph “midwifing’ that new life. Where one Sister is, we all are. The Congregation exists in the heart of each Sister. The quality of each one’s consciousness is the consciousness of the planet. The rootedness of each heart in the Gospel continues and deepens the mystery of the incarnation of God, who continues to be revealed in the unfolding prayer and ministry, in the laughter and tears, in the pain and in the joy of each Sister of St. Joseph.
Twenty-five years ago, who would have dreamed where we would be today? If we had existed only to the moment of becoming an American congregation, dayenu. It would have been enough. If we had had only 25 years to live our dreams, dayenu.
We go into the future and send our love, our blessing, to those women, Sisters of St. Joseph and their associates, who will be here to celebrate 25 years and 75 years and a hundred years from now. Amen.
Viewpoint on Spirituality
Hope Is a Decision
by Caroline Benken, CSJ
Leaning hard into the depth of winter, we trudge out, attempting all those necessary steps that we hope will lead to springtime. This is true whether we are speaking of our natural surroundings, as they appear at this time of year, or of matters of the spirit, which might occur at any season.
During a recent radio show, the speaker recalled a saying that had spurred her on through the years: “Hope is not a feeling. It is a decision.” Those two little sentences have given me much food for thought. Hope really is a decision. It is the decision to plant a seed in barren soil with the hope of flowers. It is the act of sending a card with the hope of cheering another person. It is putting in another day of work with the hope that what I do makes life better. It is giving my hard-won dollars to a cause for justice with the hope of alleviating someoneŐs pain. It is opening the present of life with the hope of loving the gifts God has put into my life.
Without hope we lie dormant, and all those avenues for loving and being loved remain closed.
It was in the decision of Mary that her womb opened to the life that became Jesus, the hope of the world. Her hope was rooted in God; so solid was her faith and trust that she could decide to step into many of the uncertainties of life with great confidence. This was not confidence in success as the world would measure it, but confidence that she pleased God through her fidelity.
From the writings of Fr. Jean-Pierre Medaille, we are reminded that the Sisters of St. Joseph are called to work for unity in all areas of life. Where is our hope for success? The tensions in our own spheres of life or those looming over us through our global awareness could cause us to wonder: Is there reason to hope? Is there reason to decide to try again today and tomorrow and on and on?
Yes, if our hope is rooted solidly in faith, as was MaryŐs and JosephŐs. Our hope is in believing that God measures success by our fidelity to his desires. The outcome is GodŐs to achieve. Certainly this awareness is possible only through the humble acknowledgment of our limitations. Humility is not an excuse for not doing our best to achieve our goals; rather, our hope is based on doing our best to fill the loving heart of God with joy in our love for him.
So, then, hope calls us to decide to step with great confidence into any darkness or division. By carrying the light of GodŐs love that abides in us, we believe that God will transform that darkness into light. May the hope of God settle in our souls.
S. Caroline is a member of the Congregation’s General Council.