from the desk of

Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R.o f Pe n a n c e o f t h e S o r r o w f u l M o t h e r

Mother Mary Ann

Easter 2018

Rejoicing Always

Dear Friends,s I was reflecting on what to write in this letter, I sat with a friend whose father lay critically ill in an intensive care unit. It was difficult to see the suffering of her father, and the pain and helplessness of my friend and her family. Then I thought how

much harder it would be if we didn’t have the light of faith.

In a movie I watched recently, The Shack, the character who represents the Holy Spirit tells Mack, the main character, that as long as man has a free will to choose evil, there will be suffering in the world. We may not have chosen evil ourselves, but as long as we live in this broken human world, suffering will come to us in some form. I can’t imagine how anyone copes with it without the light of faith.

One of my sisters shared with me the story of a woman who had just lost her mother. This woman entered the Samaritan House Thrift Store that we manage. She seemed so sad, so this sister approached her and began a conversation. The woman said she was an atheist. The sister replied, “Then you have no hope of life hereafter?” The woman somberly said, “That’s right. I have no hope.”

As I continued to reflect on my friend, the movie, and this despairing woman, I pondered how if Jesus had not died and risen from the dead, if we had not received from him the promise of a better life hereafter, our suffering would be filled with despair and would have no meaning. However, the resurrection of Christ gives us hope, not only for eternal beatitude, but also in the here and now. Jesus takes our mess and transforms it for good. St. Paul writes in Romans 8:28, “We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him…”

I’ve been reading a book on vulnerability by a secular researcher. I was surprised that she was “startled” (to use her word) that the results of all her interviews consistently showed that happiness was an emotion connected to circumstances and that joy was a spiritual belief and engagement with one another and a “power greater than us.” I thought to myself, ‘She must have been interviewing Christians!’ She came to discover that these people maintained their joy even in the midst of the greatest losses and trauma. Joy was enduring despite the external circumstances.

To Glorify God and Make Known His Merciful Love

A

I have seen this myself over the years while I nursed in the hospital and in patients’ homes. I remember one patient in particular. His name was Max. Max battled with bone cancer—the worst kind of cancer. Yet every time I went to see him, he always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He would share how blessed he was and what the Lord had shared with him that day. Max knew the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.

St. Paul lists his sufferings: “…with many more labors and imprisonments, with far worse beatings and frequent brushes with death. Five times […] I received forty lashes less one; three times I was beaten with rods; I was stoned once, shipwrecked three times…” (2 Cor. 11-28). Yet St. Paul, like Max, could say, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again rejoice! [...] Then God’s own peace which is beyond all understanding will stand guard over your hearts…” (Phil. 4:4-7). St. Paul wished “to know Christ and the power flowing from his resurrection” (Phil.3:10).How can we, like St. Paul and Max, rejoice always, especially in the midst of trials? We can rejoice always because joy, peace, and hope are rooted in our personal relationship with the risen Jesus.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says, “I am with you always.” In Jesus’ last discourse, he says, “[…] all this I tell you that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” and “In the same way, you are sad for a time…then your hearts will rejoice with a joy no one can take from you” (John 15:11, 16:22). Hope, joy, and peace are fruits of Christ’s resurrection. They are the power that carries us through our trials.

My prayer for you this Easter season is from the words of St. Paul: “So may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that through the power of the Holy Spirit you may have hope in abundance” (Romans 15:13). Thank you for all your loving support through your time, talent, and treasure. We could not do our part to build Christ’s kingdom without you.

Fraternally in Christ,

Mother Mary Ann Kessler, T.O.R.Reverend Mother

was recently blessed to take part in a trip to Jamaica as part of the Franciscan University mission team. Any time I spend that

much time with the poor and see how little people are living with, it is life-changing. The trials of having no running water (except rainwater); limited toilet usage; no paper towels to clean up with; being really dirty all the time; eating curried goat, cow head soup, and chicken foot soup were balanced out with beautiful, generous people; amazing weather; mountains and ocean; and fried chicken and fresh fruit off the trees in excess! When I saw the poverty that these people lived in, it renewed me in my own poverty and made me realize what I don’t need and all of the walls of security I put around myself. On top of all this, the students were amazing. I was able to teach them many things without having to push it on them—the Holy Spirit did all of the leading.

I believe one reason I was there was to help a student who sprained his ankle playing soccer with the kids. It was really bad; he could barely walk on it and it was very swollen. I asked him if anyone had prayed over his ankle. He said no, so I did (not really expecting anything to happen, I just felt like I was supposed to pray over it). Well, he came running up to me the last day at Mass at the cathedral, telling me he hated to admit it, because he never believed in people praying over people for healing, but his ankle stopped hurting right after I prayed over it (an ankle sprain like that usually hurts for six weeks). He carried the gifts up at Mass, walking normally, and I could not tell which ankle it was because there was no swelling. I wasn’t expecting to heal him but the Lord did it for an increase in faith for that young man.

Another reason I believe I was there was for a senior on my team. He was very holy and mature and told me that he had never been open to charismatic prayer before coming to Franciscan and that he still kept his distance from it. However, when he heard me praying over one of the Jamaicans, his prejudices were blown out of the water, and he thinks it’s beautiful now. Most of the students on my team had never prayed over others before, so the growth in them was amazing to see.

A final reason I felt God called me to this mission trip was for two of my students who were asked to lead a Bible study. They had never done one before, so after three hours of trying to figure it out, they finally asked me for help (I was not going to force

On Mission in Jamaicaby Sr. Rita Clare Yoches, T.O.R.

I

A Jamaican man roasting cow heads over the fire during Sr. Rita Clare’s mission trip in January.

myself on them; I figured if they wanted my help, they would ask, and the Lord was teaching me not to try to control the situation). I taught them how to do a Bible study (they had never heard of a scripture commentary before). It ended up being SUCH a powerful Bible study. It was so neat to see them try things they were uncomfortable with and do well.

Name: Sr. Miriam O’Callaghan City, State: Dublin, IrelandHome Parish: St. Anne’s parish, Shankill, DublinYears in the Community: 10.5 years

What is your job in the community?I am the Vocations Coordinator which means that I organize vocation retreats here at the convent, and I walk alongside women who are at various stages of discerning religious life.

How did you choose your sister name? My two great loves are the Eucharist and Our Lady. When I started thinking about changing my name, the thought crossed my mind that Our Lady was the most Eucharistic of all. She loved her son in the Eucharist with the purest heart, and she would be best placed to help me learn how to love him more. The name “Miriam” kept coming to me, the Hebrew form of Mary. One day, I was out for a walk, and all of a sudden it struck me that the last three letters of Miriam are “I AM,” the Lord’s name. His name is hidden within my name like he is hidden in the Eucharist. Every time someone says my name, they also say his name without even realizing it. So I requested and received the name Sr. Miriam, which is both Marian and Eucharistic.

What is your family like?I am the oldest of three. My brother Paul is one and a half years younger than me. He still talks to me even though I bit his head when we were young. Paul and his wife Hannah have one son, Joe, and a daughter who is due in April. Paul and his family live in Saudi Arabia. My sister Clare is five years younger than me, and she and her husband Diarmuid have two boys – Daniel and John Paul. My sister lives about 5 miles away from my mum in Dublin, Ireland, which is a good thing as Paul and I both live about 4,000 miles away in opposite directions!

What has your formation been like? How do you feel about making your final vows soon?My transformation has not been quite as dramatic as I had hoped! (Just ask the sisters who live with me!!) I have had quite an adventurous journey to this point with many twists and turns along the way. I am grateful for the “scenic route” that I have taken, as I believe it has helped me to more clearly see my own limitations and consequently my need to depend on Christ and on my sisters. I am very excited to profess final vows this year and surrender my life completely to the one who gave his life for me.

Describe a recent “God-incident” in your life: A couple of years ago, I got a call to say that my dad was on the brink of death. I rushed to Vienna airport in Austria where I was based at the time, wondering if I would see him alive again.

As I made my way to the airport gate, fighting tears and hoping, quite honestly, that nobody would talk to me, I heard a man’s voice behind me say, with no preliminaries, “Where is God?”

I turned around, thinking that maybe I had misheard him. But he was serious, and he repeated his question, “Where is God?”

I was taken aback by his question and responded somewhat haltingly, “Well, he’s present around us

and within us, within our hearts.”

The man said: “So he’s not in heaven?”

I responded and said, “Yes, yes, he is in heaven, but he’s also right here, right among us, alive within our hearts. He is everywhere.”

The man, who later told me that he was from Iraq, was stunned. He turned to his friend and said, “Can you believe this? She is saying that God is alive! That he’s within us!”

I turned to him again and said, “Yes, and not only is he alive, but we can talk to him. In fact he loves when we talk with him and share what’s on our heart with him.”

The man again exclaimed with great surprise and excitement that he had never heard this before. He seemed to be really moved. He then asked me where I was going. I told him about my situation, and he was so kind. He didn’t say a lot, but what he did say communicated a genuine warmth and compassion. It was a powerful encounter for me.

Sr. Miriam with her mum, Jean, at our 2016 Benefit Banquet.

Sister Spotlight: Sr. Miriam O’Callaghan, T.O.R.

...Hoping, quite honestly, that nobody would talk to me, I heard a man’s voice behind

me say...“Where is God?”

Mission trips are so life-changing as they pull us out of our regular comforts (yes, there are comforts even in a convent) and drop us into the uncertainty of the Creator of unexpected things. I learned so much from the Jamaicans and from Fr. Luke, the Polish priest in the village, and I really enjoyed being with the students and watching them grow.

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