Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius is one of my favorite saints and I felt very close to him during the years when I was giving directed retreats in Chile and when making several 30 day retreats myself as well as giving both the complete exercises in 30 days and The Exercises as the 19th annotation retreat over thirty weeks. I think I will have a group doing that again this year as several of the mothers in my spirituality group seem to be ready for this grace.
I am happy to be in retreat myself on this feast day. A retreat is always a time of grace and, even if it is a one day away from our usual work, it can be a time of grace. We need to stop and reflect on our lives with God and see how He sees us. Just find some time for quiet and sit before Him and let Him love you!

When you pray...

Today I am sharing the next verse of "Silence" by St. Seraphim of Sarov:
When you pray, be like the flower
reaching up to the sun;
straight stemmed like a column.
Be open ready to accept all things without fear
and you will not lack light on your way.

I think being open before God, transparent, is so important. I have been thinking that the three words that call me into a deeper prayer are: openness, transparency, and surrender.

Prayer and retreat

This picture was taken at the Dominican House in Santa Cruz where I have gone for my guided imagery retreats. I will be across the street at Villa Maria del Mar today until Friday. My friend, Patrick, has come from Miami and we will have four days of retreat together. We usually pray together in the afternoon and then share and talk at dinner. He will also have a few nights at Oakwood both before and after our time at Villa Maria del Mar. Please pray for this retreat which is such a grace for both of us.

Someone gave me some things to share on my blog. Here is one of them: (It is the first verse of five verses by St. Seraphim of Sarov and is entitled "Silence")

When you pray, be like the mountain

in stillness, in silence;

thoughts rooted in eternity.

Do nothing, just sit, just be;

and you will harvest the fruit of your prayer.

I shall share the rest of the verses tomorrow.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The entrance antiphon for today's liturgy is "God is in his holy place. God who unites those who dwell in his house; he himself gives might and strength to his people."

God is in his holy place. Where God is, is a holy place and God is in each of us. That is Good News and we need to believe it!

The Responsorial Psalm is "Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." The verses are taken from Psalm 138 and I will only copy a few lines here for reflection:

"I will give thanks to you. O Lord, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise..."

The Gospel is from Luke 11:1-13 where Jesus gives us some excellent advice about how to pray after giving the disciples the words of the Our Father. He tells us to persevere.
"Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Friends are such a gift!

A good friend from Miami is here visiting me and that gives me great joy. One of the talks that influenced me during our retreat was the one on friendship and the gratitude we owe our apostolic friends. It made me want to write to some just to tell them how grateful I am for their friendship. Many are now my friends in Heaven. I will be going to Villa Maria del Mar from Monday to Friday for a few days of retreat. However, I will schedule my blogs ahead as I intend to share with you some of the development of my own prayer life that I shared with the community. I mentioned the Letter of Reverend Mother de Lescure that she wrote about seven months before I entered to prepare the Society for the 150 years since our founding. In that letter she first asks us to spend time with St. Madeleine Sophie everyday and we are to have "little words" with her. Then she talks about the name of the Society giving us the right to enter and dwell in the Heart of Jesus. I will take up the part that made the most impact on me and has stayed with me for nearly 70 years, next week so stay tuned. And do pray for our four days of retreat.

Feast of St. Joachim and Anne

Today we celebrate the parents of Mary who was destined to be the mother of Jesus. Since Jesus is God, the Second Person in the Blessed Trinity, Mary is called now the Mother of God. I wonder what Joachim and Anne thought of their little girl when they saw her betrothed to Joseph, but going with haste to visit Elizabeth and, on her return, her parents would have known she was expecting a baby herself. We really know nothing about her parents but can imagine two very holy people chosen by God to raise Mary in her Jewish faith. 
It is a day to thank for our own parents and be grateful for all we have received from them.

Feast of the Asumption

Today is such a beautiful feast as we know that Mary is in heaven, body and soul. She is Queen of Heaven and of all the angels and the Communion of Saints. We owe her so much and she is always watching over us and telling her Son what is lacking as she did at the marriage feast of Cana. She also tells me, "Do whatsoever He tells you."  That requires discernment to know what Jesus wants.

My brother and sister-in-law arrived yesterday so I will be taking a few days of vacation while they are here.

Feast of St. James

I love the entrance antiphon for today's feast: "As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw James, the son of Zebdee, and John, his brother, mending their nets and he called them."

These brothers must have been close. Both respond without hesitation to the call of Jesus. Both also have a mother who wanted both of her sons to sit on either side of Jesus when he came into his kingdom. When Jesus asks John and James if they can drink the chalice that he is going to drink, the reply, "We can." 
When the other ten apostles find out about the request, they are indignant. But Jesus uses the occasion to tell them that "whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus has given us so many lessons in humility. Am I humble? We are to learn from him who is meek and humble of heart.











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The sower and the seed

Today's Gospel is that of the sower who went out to sow. Some seed fell on the path, some on rocky ground, some seed feel among thorns, and some seed fell on rich ground and produced fruit. Jesus told this parable and then said, "Whoever has ears ought to hear."

I guess we can find ourselves in all the places and I once heard a very holy priest in Chile say that to bear fruit we should be able to recognize ourselves in all four places where the seed fell. 

St. Bridget of Sweden

Saint Bridget of Sweden was a mystic and prophet in the 14th century. She married a prince named Ulf, bore him eight children, then, fed up with the life at court, she and her husband went on a long pilgrimage all the way to Compostela in Spain. Her husband died and she had a vision instructing her to found a new monastery in Sweden. She did this and then went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land before going to Rome for the last twenty years of her life. I remember reading her life when I was in Chile and she skied all over Europe and spoke out against slavery and injustice and she even denounced the Pope but he approved the rule of her new order, the Brigittines. She died on July 23, 1373 and a triumphal procession accompanied her body back to Sweden.

I always remember her as a really valiant woman, but wish I knew more about her eight children.

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

The Gospel is John 20: 1-2, 11-18 where we have Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb on that first Easter morning, seeing the stone removed from the tomb and running to Simon Peter and to the "other disciple whom Jesus loved". She told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."

"Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been."

Imagine how great her grief must have been as she does not seem at all startled to see the two angels and only wants to know where Jesus had been taken. Even when she turns around and sees Jesus there, she does not know it is Jesus. He asks her why she is weeping and whom she is looking for and she, thinking it was the gardener, just says to him: "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him." Then Jesus calls her by name and she recognizes him but then he tells her to stop holding on to him but go tell the others that he is "going to His Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

"Then Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and then reported what he told her."

It is only recently that we are calling Mary Magdalene the "Apostle to the Apostles. She may be the influence the Church needs now to admit women to greater roles in the Church. 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday's Gospel shows us Martha, who welcomed Jesus into the village, complaining about her sister, Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus listening to him. Martha wants Mary to help her and says: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." But Jesus tells her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." (Luke 10: 38-42)

The reflection by Gregory the Great tells us to note carefully that the part of Martha was not blamed, that that of Mary was praised. He didn't say that Mary had chosen the good part: he said it was the best, in order to show that Martha's part was still good. He made it clear what he meant by the 'best 'part of Mary when he specified that it would not be taken away form her. For the active life comes to an end with the death of the body....The contemplative life, by contrast, begins here, but always directed towards its perfection in our heavenly homeland. For when the fire of love which begins to burn here, sees him whom it loves, it will burst out in much more ardent flames for love of him....
On the other hand, we must realize that although it is normal and good for the active life to pass over into the contemplative life, often the soul is driven from contemplation to active works of charity. Precisely the contemplative vision calls us back to activity, for it understands that the labor of good works must never be abandoned while we are in this life."
This homily of Gregory the Great is the Reflection given for this Sunday in Give Us This Day.

Our vocation calls me to be both contemplative and active.

Reflection on our own journey is valuable

Here is a helpful quote: 

Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think that you’ve lost time.

Asha Tyson

I find that it is helpful to review our journey and see how the Lord has been acting in our lives; we remember both the good and the difficult times and thank God for making us what we are today. None of us is perfect; God does not expect us to be perfect humans but to strive to be persons of love. I think that is what Jesus really meant when he told us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. 
My point today is that reflecting back on our lives is valuable. I was asked to share something about my prayer for reunion and found that I was able to trace a definite development in my own prayer life and that it has made me more grateful so I suggest you do the same kind of reflection on your life.

Where am I?

I have forgotten where this picture was taken, but I did read that there was an elevator inside the rock that allowed access. I love the picture!
Last Monday, I was asked to speak at reunion about my prayer. I guess I will share some of that now in my blog. Before I entered, I loved to make visits at the back of the Chapel, both at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles and at Maryville. I had the desire to make up to the Lord for all those who did not even think of Him or thank Him. This later would also be connected with my love of Eucharistic Adoration.
I entered for the Feast of the Sacred Heart in June of 1950 just after my 19th birthday. The entire Society of the Sacred Heart was preparing for the 150 year celebration of our founding. Our Mother General was Reverend Mother de Lescure and she wrote a letter to all the Society in November of 1949 that had a great impact on my own prayer and some parts of that letter are still with me 70 years later. I shall share more after I give the presentation which was postponed because of a guest speaker so it will be July 22. 

Mary's heart overflowed with joy

Again I am quoting Pope Francis in Chapter 2 of Christus Vivit":

"Mary was a young woman whose heart overflowed with joy, whose eyes, reflecting the light of the Holy Spirit, looked at life with faith and treasured all things in her youthful heart. She was energetic, ready to set out immediately once she knew her cousin needed her. She did not think about her own plans, but went 'with haste' to the hill country."

Again we find matter for reflection. I have often prayed over Mary's visit to Elizabeth and tried to imagine what it was like. She could not have gone alone; the conditions were very primitive. No roads, dusty paths that had to climb the hills probably going up and then down and up again as it was hill country. Elizabeth was elderly and perhaps Mary had only met her once or just heard about her. Yet here she is setting out with haste to visit this cousin who may need help as she is six months pregnant. I am thinking especially about what the Pope said about Mary not thinking about her own plans. How often, when faced with a chance to serve someone else, do I not consider my own plans before deciding? 

Mary shines forth ...

In Chapter Two of Christus Vivet, Pope Francis speaks first about Jesus's youth and reminds us to realize that Jesus was a young person. "He gave his life when he was, in today's terms, a young adult. He began his public mission in the prime of life..."

I will no doubt go back to Jesus's life, but today I want to continue with what I said yesterday about Mary as the words of Pope Francis continue to call to all of us. He says: "We are always struck by the strength of the young Mary's 'yes', the strength in those words, 'be it done,' that she spoke to the angel. This was no merely passive or resigned acceptance, or a faint 'yes'. as if to say, 'Well, let's give it a try and see what happens.' Mary did not know the words, 'Let's see what happens". She was determined; she knew what was at stake and she said 'yes' without thinking twice. Hers was the 'yes' of someone prepared to be committed, someone willing to take a risk, ready to stake everything she had, with no more security than the certainty of knowing that she was the bearer of a promise."

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Today is the Patron Feast of Chile where the people have such great devotion to Our Lady. It made me go back to Chapter Two in Christus Vivit where Pope Francis is speaking of Mary shining forth in the heart of the Church. He says: "She is the supreme model for a youthful Church that seeks to follow Christ with enthusiasm and docility. While still very young, she accepted the message of the angel, yet she was not afraid to ask questions. With open heart and soul, she replied, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord'."

I also have been thinking of what the youth today are going through and I copied this for our reflection and perhaps we should be asking Mary's help for the many youth who are suffering.


Today, according to the Synod, many young people live in war zones and experience violence in countless different forms: kidnapping, extortion, organized crime, human trafficking, slavery and sexual exploitation, wartime rape, and many other kinds of evil. Other young people suffer from marginalization and social exclusion for religious, ethnic, or economic reasons.

What am I called to do about this? 

Feast of St. Bonaventure

Bonaventure was a Franciscan theologian who is also a Doctor of the Church. He lived in the thirteenth century and was known as the "Second Founder" of the Franciscans for his role as minister-general of the Franciscans. Pope Gregory X ordered him to accept the title of cardinal-bishop of Albano. It seems that when the Papal Legates arrived to present him with his red hat and insignia of office, he kept them waiting while he finished washing the dishes! He was canonized in 1482.

I want to tell you about a marvelous invention for those who are hard of hearing. It is a free Google app called Live Transcribe but only works on Android machines. I read about it and went to Best Buy and bought their cheapest phone for $59.99, downloaded the free app and have enjoyed it for eight days now and really find it is helpful. It is very good about picking up speech and transcribing it more accurately than most captioning devices. I can get the homilies in the Chapel, hear people who often are difficult for me to lip read, use it in our dining room, if not too much background noise and, since my phone's captions have not been working, I put this new app next to the speaker phone and read everything my brother wanted to tell me.

I did not activate the phone as I have my I-phone which I do not really use unless driving myself or when out by myself. This new phone will not cost me anything but works on wi-fi with the new, free app. I think I am getting another Sister here to try it as it is very helpful and the transcriptions will remain for three days unless you want to delete them before that. I think I can even read out loud a quote I want to keep and copy it later without having to keep the book or article. I am sure this is going to be very useful for me and want to spread the good news!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel is Luke 10:25-37 and it we have the wonderful story of the Good Samaritan. Actually, the one who asks Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"is a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus. Then Jesus tells us how a man fell victim to robbers; a priest and a Levite saw him but do not stop. It is when a Samaritan comes and sees him and is moved with compassion and approaches the victim, treated his wounds, lifted him up on his own animal and takes him to an inn to be cared for and gave the innkeeper money with the promise that he would pay more on his return if the man needed to stay longer to recover. After telling the story, Jesus asks: "Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" There is, of course, only one answer - the one who treated him with mercy. Then Jesus tells us, "Go and do likewise."

I fear that I am often like the priest who avoids helping; even when I stop to aid someone, I am not as generous as the Samaritan. This is a story that we all need to reflect on often!

You are the "Now" of God

I will be sharing more on Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation:
Christus Vivit: to Young People and to the Entire People of God as there are some good thoughts for us to reflect on next week. The third chapter's title is "You are the 'Now' of God and the Pope says:
"...we cannot just say that young people are the future of our world. They are its present; even now, they are helping to enrich it. Young people are no longer children. They are at a time of life when they begin to assume a number of responsibilities, sharing alongside adults in the growth of the family, society and the Church."

Then he asks what are today's young people really like? What is going on in their lives?

These are good questions for all of us to use for reflection.

Summer goes so quick;y

Summer is half over and I am still waiting to tackle a "to do" list that I made for these days, which I thought might be quieter since we do not have the school in session. We do hear children's voices as there is a summer program for different ages, I think, and the pool is being used. 
I have done some good reading and also have spent time just reading for fun. One older book that I had never read before and that needs to be read slowly in Cynthia Bourgeault's The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity. This book is giving me much to think about as I go through the chapters slowly. The book has three parts and I am still on the second. The parts are: Mary Magdalene as Apostle; Mary Magdalene as Beloved; Mary Magdalene as Unitive Wisdom. 
There are about 30 pages of notes on the 17 Chapters, but I am finding some new ideas that lead to reflection. I no doubt will be sharing some when I have managed to digest this book.

Earthquakes are no fun

On the 4th of July Southern California was hit by a 6.4 quake. The pictures showed all sorts of damage and people trying to get away. It, of course, brought back memories of the earthquakes I lived through in Chile. Our convent in Vina del Mar was completely destroyed except for the very back kitchen wing and children's dining room. It was a 6.5 quake and the aftermath was the worst for me as there was no water, no electricity, and sixteen of us slept in the children's dining room for weeks after that quake. One adapts, but I am so glad this one was not worse. California is due, so they tell us, for another bigger one but we can only wait and pray that it will not take lives.
After I wrote this, (I try to schedule ahead) there was another 7.1 quake that has done much damage and I am sure that many people are living in fear in Southern California. The fact is that we are due for large quakes and no one can predict when they will happen. I think it is a call to put all in God's hands, but we also need to help those who have suffered now during these last two quakes in the South.

For all parents and anyone in contact with young people

"Anyone called to be a parent, a pastor or guide to young people must have the farsightedness to appreciate the little flame that continues to burn, the fragile reed that is shaken but not broken...  The ability to discern pathways where others see only walls, to recognize potential where others see only peril. That is how God the Father sees things; he knows how to cherish and nurture the seeds of goodness sown in the hearts of the young. Each young person's heart should thus be considered 'holy ground', a bearer of seeds of divine life, before which we must 'take off our shoes' in order to draw near and enter more deeply into the Mystery."
Pope Francis in Christus Vivit.

I wonder if this passage will really be of help to parents with teen-agers. I suspect it could be, but in the moment of finding coke cans stashed under the couch, (my mother told me how that tried her patience with my younger brother) one might not be remembering those seeds of goodness in the hearts of the young. 
But the Pope also calls us to contemplate the plight of so many young people today "who suffer forms of marginalization and social exclusion for religious, ethnic or economic reasons." And he asks if we can weep before the tragedies of our young.  I hope you will read the entire Exhortation which was published last March 25. It can be found online.

"For whom am I?"

What I want to share today is from the last chapter of Pope Francis' Exhortation, Christus Vivit which is on discernment. This is the passage that has stayed with me:

“So often in life, we waste time asking ourselves: ’Who am I?’ You can keep asking ‘Who am I?’ for the rest of your lives. But the real question is: ‘For whom am I?’ Of course, you are for God. But he has given you many qualities, inclinations, gifts and charisms that are not for you, but for you to share with those around you.”

It might be good to make a list of our qualities, inclinations, gifts and charisms to see how I am sharing them with those around me.

Remembering last February in Tahoe

If the summer heat is bothering you, this picture should help cool you; it was taken after we had been snowed in by a blizzard and it was so beautiful. We loved having the extra days and it was such a peaceful time. I needed to look at this picture again to feel that deep peace and the silent beauty of the snow. 

I forgot to mention that one important reading is from Heart Magazine; actually, the entire issue is well worth reading and can be found on our Province webpage, but the first article by Sister Suzanne Cooke is really exciting for me. I hope you will find it and read it and all of Heart !

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel from Luke 10 has Jesus appointing 72 others whom he sends ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He tells them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on you way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one alone the way...."
Jesus continues to give instructions, but even this first part of the Gospel for today gives us much to think about. I just realized how organized Jesus was for the Kingdom of God and how many places he intended to visit. The Kingdom of God was to be announced to all and that was what was important and still is important for us today. How are we being sent to announce the Kingdom. One of the priests who comes for Mass always tells us after the last blessing: 
"Go now and announce the Gospel by your love." I think that is every one did that, the world would be changed!

Overwhelmed by all I want to read and reflect on these days of July

These last two weeks I have felt overwhelmed with all the good things to read. First, there is the Barb's Dawson's Letter addressed to all the Sisters and the Family of the Sacred Heart; then the document, " Being Artisans of Hope in our Blessed and Broken World." Now we have a letter from the Provincial Team and so much to ponder as well as the invitation to read White Fragility; that comes with helps for facilitators and discussion questions for each of the 12 Chapters. I am also trying to finish the Pope's Exhortation, Christus Vivit, to be able to share some on my blog. In the meantime, I am still praying over my retreat and have the desire to share more of it. I just need to take time to reflect on each of the above readings plus the wonderful issue of The Occasional Papers from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious on "Our Search for Meaning". And then there are the fascinating articles in the latest issue of Heart magazine that helps me to know how we are keeping the spirit of Sacred Heart education in so many ways and places. 
Really, we have a wealth of rich reading all coming at once. I need to slow down and find time to read all of this slowly. I am also reading the new volumes of Philippine's Writings; this is mostly a reread, but very fruitful for me and I hope all Philippine Duchesne's admirers will be able to read the two volume work that has just been published.
On my desk, there is another pile of magazines waiting to be read as I did not read during the retreat and see that even America is piling up. I did manage to finish the book that has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 41 weeks in order to pass it on as some of us want to discuss it. 
Perhaps summer is a time to read and reflect and you can make your own list. Children are often given a list of books to read. I remember one mother who posted her children's names on the refrigerator and pasted a tiny book next to a child's name when the child had finished a book. I forget how many books were to be read but remember the prize was a trip to a shoe store and each could pick out a brand new pair of sneakers at the end of the summer. I thought that was a wise mother and certainly helped her children find time to read.
Now I need to find some time to read!

First Friday of July

When I think of First Friday, I remember our hours before the Blessed Sacrament. To be truthful, I also remember when I had the experience of 7th and 8th grade in a parochial school, the breakfasts after Mass in the Church basement. We would be served hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls and that seemed to make First Fridays special. I knew, because of my many years at the Academy of the Visitation, that the First Friday devotion began with Jesus asking this of Saint Margaret Mary. It was only when I went to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles that I learned about the idea of reparation. Now, some Catholic churches have perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; I am sure this has been a source of strength for many and has led to many good works. 
I have found that one only needs to sit in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament and let Jesus love us and a gradual transformation takes place. 

Happy Independence Day

Our country needs so much prayer today when we still have so much racism and our prisons are full, there are many homeless, hungry people in our land which is so full of riches and resources. We must change so that freedom from want is achieved instead of so much wealth going to few while many suffer.

Called to "set sail" in new ways

I am still out there in a boat as one of the calls of our last General Chapter was that of "setting sail" to reach new frontiers. To go back to sharing from my retreat, I connect this with our vocation to be prophets. This does not mean that I am called to announce the future, but it does mean that I am called to announce the good news of salvation and denounce the things that keep us from loving one another as Jesus has asked us to do.
I guess the plight of the refugees and the thousand of children who have been detained at our own borders is what I am trying to change but mostly by prayer and supporting petitions and those who are out there trying to do something positive to get the children out of these horrible conditions. 

One of my favorite Gospel passages

Today the Gospel is Matthew 8:23-27 where Jesus gets into the boat and goes sound to sleep. A violent storm started to swamp the boat, but Jesus continues to sleep. The disciples wake him, saying: "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" Jesus said to them, "Why are you terrified, O ye of little faith" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Now, I have been advocating among my large community here that we share some of the Gospel passages that have a story in our own life. This is one that I love as I often have had the image of being in a boat with Jesus but sometimes he seemed so relaxed that he went to sleep and left me feeling helpless, especially if the waves were rough and the wind strong. I felt this especially when I was sent to Chile straight from Rome without knowing a word of Spanish. Now, I still feel that I am in a boat with Jesus, but he is the pilot and knows our destination and I am relaxed and just happy to be a passenger without having to do anything, but just be there with the Lord.

Jesus is the Lamb of God as well as our Good Shepherd

John the Baptist pointed out Jesus to his disciples telling them to behold the Lamb of God. We use this title for Jesus in every Mass before Communion. And the pray says, "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb."
I was thinking how inclusive Jesus was and wondering why the Church excludes so many who would love to come to the "supper of the Lamb." We do need to pray for change and the Pope has said that theology can and does change.

I meant to start with a few thoughts from the Letter to the Society of the Sacred Heart. Barb Dawson begins by addressing it to the "Sisters and Family of the Sacred Heart" so I am sure we would be happy for me to quote some of the letter in my blog as the letter is also including a gift and a challenge with the enclosed document , Being Artisans of Hope in our Blessed and Broken World." She then adds that she hopes that "wherever we are and however we expend our time and energy for mission and life that we take the calls of the document 'to heart'- to our own hearts and to God's Heart."
The document is long, but we will be looking, I think, at the four imperatives, if the Holy Spirit inspires me how to share these with you this week.