If you were anywhere near Sylvania, Ohio last week, you may have sensed a great deal of energy – especially on the campus of the Sisters of St. Francis. About ninety members of our congregation gathered for our once-every-four-years General Chapter (a week-long meeting during which we talked about the issues that we want to focus on during the next four years and we elected our leadership team). Okay, it’s not quite on the same scale as the gatherings that are taking place this week to greet Pope Benedict, but for those of us who were part of the Chapter meeting it was a remarkable, energizing, and spirit-filled week.

People often ask if I’m worried about the fact that there are fewer women choosing to become Sisters. The honest answer to that? Yes and no. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers and the uncertainty about the future. You start to wonder who’s going to be here in 50 years and what will happen to our ministries. And then you find yourself in a room with 90+ women who are joyful, committed, and passionate about what they do and why they do it. You are reminded that you’re part of a bigger whole and that God is really the one who is in charge of all this. The founding Sisters who lived in this community 90 years ago never imagined what our life would be like today. We certainly can’t imagine what the face of this community will look like 90 years into the future.

So you move forward in hope and you trust that in the grand scheme of things, the message of the Gospel – the message of love and of hope – continues to touch people’s lives.

Thursday, April 17, 2008 6:22:04 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

I just finished watching a video of Benedict XVI on YouTube. The Pope on YouTube – how the world is changing! It must be humbling to be in Benedict’s spot – to know that the world is watching you. And it must be frustrating – to know that everything you say gets re-hashed and re-interpreted.

In this video and in the news articles before his arrival in the U.S., the Pope has said that he comes to bring a message of hope. In this whirlwind visit, the stops seem so appropriate. Ground Zero and the United Nations…places that speak of the need for a change of heart. Catholic University of America and a gathering of college presidents…a reminder that education can open the door to that change.

I’m not fond of crowds and I don’t like long lines, but listening to all the news around this brief visit takes me back to John Paul II’s visit to Detroit in the 1980’s. I was one those folks in Hart Plaza back then trying to get a better glimpse of him through the zoom lens on my camera. The energy in that sea of people made the jostling and the waiting all worth it.

What are your feelings about this visit?

Thursday, April 17, 2008 5:56:26 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Last week while preparing for a prayer service motivated by the recent tragedies at NIU and other campuses, I googled “Campus Shootings” to find any updated information. The results were saddening. The list of incidences - too long to really process - included numerous shootings that I had heard nothing about. In fact, as the news broke about NIU, so many people seemed to be hearing about the tragedies at Louisiana Tech, Mitchell HS (Memphis), and Green Jr High (CA) for the first time.

Remember Columbine? We were shocked, stunned, and glued to radio or TV wondering what could have motivated such a violent act. I’m not sure which is the greater tragedy – that children and young adults are shooting one another or that we’ve become so numb to the idea that we don’t even find these events “newsworthy”.

Why do children (why does anyone!) have access to these weapons? When did we decide that disagreements should be solved by shooting each other? Where have we failed in treating and caring for those with mental illnesses? How does anyone end up feeling this isolated?

I know there is no ONE answer, but when will we at least begin to address the issues?

Thursday, February 28, 2008 4:45:02 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2] | 

     When you get up in the morning, you never really know how the day is going to play out. A few weeks ago I was heading to Brenham, TX (yes, Brenham…a small town about 45 minutes from College Station…Aggie Land!) for a presentation. All was going smoothly until I was waiting for the last leg of the journey – a plane ride from Dallas to College Station. We were delayed about 45 minutes while we heard about 2 other flights having mechanical issues. Then they finally let us board the plane. They started the engines…then they stopped the engines…then they started the engines…then they stopped the engines (Are you ready to get off the plane now?)  After the third try the pilot announced that the generator wasn’t working. (Details! Details!) Well, needless to say, since there had just been TWO other flights that were having mechanical issues, the airline didn’t have any spare planes waiting in the wings – and it was the last flight of the day.

      After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, people began to disperse, head toward hotels, or find other ways to arrive at their destination. That’s how 6 total strangers (ok…two of the folks were married to each other, so I suppose they weren’t ‘total strangers’) suddenly decided that they would try to rent a vehicle and drive 3 hours to College Station. If you can believe it, it was a delightful experience! Throw together a graduate student from Texas A&M and her husband, a staff member at Texas A&M, an A&M professor of Latin American studies (who had just returned from delivering a paper at a conference in Macedonia), a professor of atmospheric sciences from Reno, and a campus minister from Sylvania and you can be sure that we found a great deal to talk about on the ride. (Ok, it was a bit frustrating trying to find a vehicle…everyone else had already hit the car rental counters…but once we got on the road all went well.)

      It was a fascinating experience in group dynamics. One member of the crew had managed to pull us all together. Another was well acquainted with the route to College Station. Two others handled the rental details. And all contributed to the general good spirits of the group. In the midst of the adventure, we took turns at various times reflecting on how blessed we had been. We were warm and safe, and we had the resources to finish this last leg of our journey.

      We arrived at our destination before midnight, found the lone security guard at the College Station airport who let us in to return the van keys, and headed on our way. Since my presentation the next day was entitled, ‘Franciscan Living: Celebrating What’s Right with the World’, I was fortunate enough to have an opening anecdote!

      We have occasionally connected since that evening since I am still trying to collect the promised reimbursement for the van rental from the airline (If you would like to speak to a customer representative, please press 3…) Will we ever see each other again? Probably not. But the experience remains with me as part of life’s little lessons. You find people of good will everywhere. It’s amazing how we can all connect and make it a bit easier to smooth out the unexpected bumps in life. A positive attitude and a grateful heart will turn an unpleasant experience into a delightful adventure…just be willing to ‘reframe’ the situation. Oh…and last of all…once in a while, it’s ok to go with strangers.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:43:14 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

      It’s always interesting…the conversations that you get into when your name begins with “Sister”. Well, mine does, so this past weekend I was in several conversations that started off with, “Did you read that article about Mother Teresa?”

      After the first time that someone mentioned the article to me, I went home and read it. Yes, it was unexpected to hear of her struggles, but certainly not shocking. Many great saints wrote of experiencing similar periods of darkness and doubt (including great mystics like Teresa of Avila and, of course, John of the Cross, who wrote of this experience in Dark Night of the Soul). Perhaps the most surprising – and admirable – fact is that Mother Teresa seems to have lived for so long in this ‘dark night’. Why admirable? Because despite the questions she persisted in her chosen life and ministry. She was open to letting God continue to work through her despite her doubts and uncertainties. There certainly had to have been a kernel (and probably much more!) of faith or she would have totally abandoned the way of life.

      A friend once asked me, “Is it enough for you to know the presence of God, or do you need to FEEL his presence?” I suppose that must have been some of Mother Teresa’s struggle. She didn’t always feel that presence. There wasn’t a physical voice, a pat on the back, an embrace…just an overwhelming, daily dose of human suffering and pain.

      We have an amazing way of putting people on pedestals and turning them into something super-human…especially when it comes to saints and heroes. We forget that they were/are human beings, just like us. We don’t want to hear that they have feet of clay. We forget that their lives are set before us as something to imitate. Of course, if I put someone like Mother Teresa or Francis of Assisi on a pedestal, then I’m excused from the challenge that they set before me. I can easily say, “Oh, they could do that because they were special! I could never be expected to live up to that standard.”

      Maybe it’s helpful to hear that someone like a Mother Teresa had doubts as well. It’s encouraging to know that my questions and frustrations are perfectly ‘normal’. It’s often the people who have a more intimate relationship with God that have the most ‘blunt’ conversations with God. After all, don’t we tend to be more willing to challenge and question those that we are closest to? Many years ago, I stumbled across the prayer below by Thomas Merton – it got me started on year-long Merton-reading binge. It rang true then and I still often go back to it.

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think I am following Your will

does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You

does in fact please You

and I hope that I have that desire

in all that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this,

You will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always

though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death,

I will not fear, for You are ever with me

and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

– from Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton

Monday, August 27, 2007 4:33:13 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2] | 

Each year I find myself struck by the dichotomy that is called to mind on August 6^th.

On the calendar of Catholic celebrations, August 6 is the feast of the Transfiguration: the day when we reflect on the Gospel account in which Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain (Mount Tabor?). There he is transfigured before their eyes. The three disciples see Jesus in a blaze of glory and for a brief moment in time they catch a glimpse of his divinity. An awesome blaze of light...a glimpse of the divine…a memory to sustain them in the troubled times that lie ahead.

And then there’s August 6, 1945. Here, again, we have another blaze of light, but this one doesn’t carry any glimpse of divinity. Rather, it will forever be linked with terror and destruction. A stunning event that hastened the end of a terrible war, but that ushered in another era of violence and destruction. The scene is repeated again a mere three days later.

I’ve read that Dorothy Day called this event “the anti-transfiguration”. It’s a brutal reminder of the depths to which the human person can sink. And it makes the end of the Gospel account all the more compelling and challenging.

The disciples wanted to stay at the top of the mountain; they wanted to stay with the experience of goodness and glory. Jesus won’t let them. This brief moment of awe is to serve as a reminder of what can be, of what will be. Hopefully, it will serve to inspire them and carry them through the days that lie ahead. But the call is to come down from the mountain. The challenge is to see the face of God in the midst of the pain (and the joy) of human experience. The mountain-top experience should fuel the passion that drives them (and us!) to be messengers of peace, even in the face of unspeakable violence.

Merciful God, we pray that you open our eyes to the needs of all; inspire us with words and deeds to comfort those who labor and are burdened; keep our service of others faithful to the example and command of Christ. Let your people be a living witness to truth and freedom, to justice and peace, that all people may be lifted up by the hope of a world made new.

-- adapted from the Eucharistic Prayer entitled: Jesus, the Compassion of God.

Monday, August 06, 2007 10:26:57 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

When I was in college, I always found it difficult to write the introduction to a paper…where on earth should I begin? Of course, this was before the days of word processors so you couldn’t just jump into the middle and worry about the intro later.

So while I’m waiting for some feedback from people (or for some inspiration), I suppose that I could introduce myself. I’m Sister Barb – a Sylvania Franciscan and the Campus Minister here at Lourdes College.

A funny thing happened on my way to becoming a Campus Minister…I started off as a math instructor (Ok…this is where you either cheer or make one of those ‘oh, yuck’ faces.) In fact, I was a math instructor long before I ever became a Sister of St. Francis (that’s right…I wasn’t born a Sister). But life takes a few unexpected turns here and there, and God is full of surprises.

Probably one of the most difficult parts about leaving the classroom and becoming a campus minister is that I actually see FEWER students. Think about it, when I was in a classroom I had a captive audience several days each week…and the faces changed every semester! Now I have to go out in search of people. That’s a big change when you consider that a huge part of what we Franciscans are all about is building relationships. So now you know my challenge for the coming year...get to know more students!

Hopefully, this blog will give more people a chance to hear about all of the opportunities that are available to Lourdes students through campus ministry. Join the conversation!

Enough for now…and in the spirit of Francis of Assisi, I wish you pax et bonum, pace e bene, peace and all good!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 6:09:45 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] |