Community of Franciscan Sisters of the RenewalSummer 2015

“He who has so greatly loved us is greatly to be loved…” –St. Francis

Dearest Friends,

The Holy Father has dedicated this year as the “Year of Consecrated Life” which gives me the opportunity to reflect on the great gift that we, religious, have been given in our holy call. So many times people go through their days without being aware of the God Who loves them. But, He does! He loves each person individually!

God has a particular plan for each one of us. For us, as religious, we have been given the role of proclaiming God’s presence by our witness wherever we go. It’s like we are living billboards exclaiming, “God exists!” We are meant to be like neon signs saying, “God is here and He loves you!”

Because we have experienced His transforming love in our own lives we want everyone to know that Jesus is alive and seeking to reveal Himself to every person. Jesus is the One we desire to bring into the darkness, the dangerous neighborhoods, the places where hope has been lost.

Many years ago, as I was walking through a rough section of the Bronx, a young woman came running up to me, obviously afraid and fleeing from someone. She saw me in my habit and said, “Sis-ter, can you bless me? Can you pray for me? I’m in trouble.” God was making His presence felt – He was reminding her that He has not abandoned His people. God exists and He is looking for each one of us. He especially reveals His love to little ones. How many times we hear the voices of the school children next to our novitiate whisper to their parents, “Mommy, look, there’s Mary,” or as children from “the projects” point in our direction they excitedly shout out to one another—“Look, here come the Sisters from Jesus!”

Everywhere we go, God is searching for each beloved soul He has created. On airplanes, at gas stations, on street corners and everywhere in between, He wants to tell us of His love. And it’s our pleasure as religious to be His signpost, and even sometimes His voice, telling the world about the God Who loves us and has shown us the way to love one another on earth and to look forward to one day living together with Him for all eternity.

It is our prayer that each one of us come to know the merciful love of God more deeply in this special year of grace. In all things, may He be praised!

Sr. Lucille and All Your Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal

It was Palm Sun-day in the year 1212 when Saint Clare as a young and determined 18 year-old left home in the secrecy of night to begin her unique religious life as the first woman follower of Saint Francis.Every year we look forward to the Palm Sunday procession

through the familiar streets of the South Bronx where the community of friars and the community of sisters had their beginnings. St. Adalbert’s church, school, rectory and convent on 156th Street between Melrose and Elton were closing down right around the time our communities began (in the late 1980’s) and thanks to the generosity of John Cardinal O’Connor (the Archbishop of New York at the time) they became “home base” for us and remain so today.

On December 8th, the day the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, we had a particularly beautiful celebra-tion of First Pro-fession of Vows! Perhaps it was the added splendor provided by Our Lady’s special day, traditionally

a favorite of Franciscans. Sr. Josephine and Sr. Gemma are pictured here with their beloved mothers (l to r: Sr. Josephine, Gail Schuler, Linda Corso, Sr. Gemma).

Holy Thursday is a joyful and solemn interlude between the long desert stretch of Lent and the sacred days of the Triduum. On this day we celebrate the Priesthood. Saint Francis bequeathed to his followers a profound love

for priests. Priests, and only priests, give us the Eucharist. Without priests we would be without the Bread of Life.Sr. Josephine, Sr. Jacinta, Fr. Christopher and Br. John Ogilvie are pictured preparing for the Holy Thursday dinner to be celebrated at St. Pio Friary: Bradford, England. The sisters from St. Colette’s in Ireland had a joyful reunion with the sisters and friars from England for Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

When holy days or profession of vows or travel for evangelization efforts bring our two families – natural family and our religious family – together, it is a joy beyond measure! Sr. Lucille and the sisters from the Convent of San Damiano are pictured here with Sr. Lucille’s sister, Marie, and her grandniece, Avery. How grateful we are for the loving support of all our families!

Art class gives the children an opportunity to try their hand at being creative. Saint Paul tells us that we ourselves are a work of art: God’s masterpiece! All the little masterpieces

under Sr. Elizabeth’s loving gaze surely feel something of their special good-ness and worth. “Art and Adoration” has been the new youth ministry of the sisters of St. Clare Convent in England this year.

“We are called to know and show that God is able to fill our hearts to the brim with happiness; that we need not seek our happiness elsewhere.” - Pope Francis

As a college student, I allowed my imagination to tiptoe cautiously into the foreign, sacred land of Religious Life – every now and then. What if God was calling me to be a sister? Could I do it? Would I do it? And if I did do it, would there be happiness waiting there for me? This question about happiness was a stum-bling block for me. Could poverty, chastity and obedience be the ingredients of a happy life? The idea that Almighty God had an interest and a plan for my life – a will for me, was dawning on me like the rising sun during my college years. In a way, this was an unsettling idea. What if His plans did not correspond to my own ideas for my life? On the other hand, there was a light and warmth to this dawning idea too. His will (whatever it was) was the right thing to do. But the hang-up for me was the question of happiness, of joy. Will this “right thing” bring fulfillment? Would the thing my head was telling me was “right” be able to convince my heart? True discernment must flow out of a trusting relationship with God. Trust is what was missing for me. But as my prayer life was growing throughout my college years by daily Mass, daily prayer times and regular Eucharistic Adoration, I got in touch with some of my deepest desires and my deepest fears. These desires seemed to be in conflict. I really wanted to get married and I really wanted to belong totally to God.

The wrestling match within, the swirl and whirl of conflicting desires, hopes and dreams mixed with fears and uncertainties finally settled into tranquil peace. Total credit for the resolution to my discernment dilemma must be given to Our Lady. When I finally turned to her for help, when I finally had the humility to realize that I could not figure this out on my own, nor did I have to, the answer came. It was at Mass on Pentecost Sunday in 1998, the year dedicated to the Holy Spirit. At the elevation of the Blessed Sacrament I looked up at our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and I knew (I am describing the indescribable now). I knew with clarity and with certainty that Jesus Himself was the only One who would satisfy my heart. Further, I somehow now knew that He could and He would fulfill all the desires of my heart. It was the answer to my perennial question, it was a promise and it was an invitation all at once. This filled me with a joy beyond anything I had yet to experience. I knew He wanted me for Himself and there was nothing I could want more than to be His as a Religious Sister. Three months later I entered the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal and my heart is “filled to the brim with happiness” and I can only be grateful and pray for the grace to be able to show it to all who still search for the Source of this happiness.

-Sr. Clare, CFR

Convent of San Damiano 718-829-9466 1661 Haight Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461

Our Lady of Guadalupe Convent 718-547-9840 3537 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467

Our Lady Queen of Angels Convent 212-831-3334 232 East 113 Street, New York, NY 10029

St. Clare Convent 011-44-113-235-0573 19 Neville Road, Osmondthorpe, Leeds, LS9 0HD, UK

St. Colette Convent 011-353-4198-30441 26 James Street, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland

Vocation Hotline: 718-828-4104 www.franciscansisterscfr.com

The “Year of Consecrated Life” has inspired many wonderful initiatives including a new film on Religious Life. Our good friends at Grassroots Films along with the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) have produced a beautiful work of art in the form of an 18-minute documentary film

entitled FOR LOVE ALONE. Sr. Clare was able to serve the CMSWR as a liaison between the film crew and the different communities featured in the film, traveling from convent to convent across the country for this unique project. Of all the adventures of months of filming, this moment with Sr. Dorothy, MC in the South Bronx was a highlight! Sr. Dorothy knew Mother Teresa from the time she was a little girl and was proud to be “number 5” in the Missionaries of Charity. Sr. Dorothy went on to her eternal reward in November 2014, on the last day of filming. May she intercede for all of us, that we may be faithful to the end as she was!

“Making the poor happy, this is everything!” St. Jeanne Jugan, foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor, said this, but it is easy to imagine St. Francis saying it too; he certainly

lived it! Sr. Ann Kateri is pictured here during our Easter St. Joseph Food Pantry at Our Lady Queen of Angels Convent in East Harlem. Along with the groceries, and plenty of Easter candy, the children are receiving a gift-wrapped statue of the boy Jesus carrying a lamb over His shoulders. Hopefully these children will identify with the little lamb and let Jesus carry them through life!

Each year we re-live the mysteries of Christ’s life throughout our litur-gical cycle. We do this because the mysteries of His life give meaning to the mysteries of our life. As we ever search for ways to bring the Gospel to life for the people we serve, the Living Stations of the Cross has become a beautiful tradition for us. Sr. John Paul, who heads up our youth program, is pictured here backstage gathering the sisters for prayer and some last minute instructions before the dress rehearsal with the students of Our Lady Queen of Angels School.

CFR Sisters Convents

“What do sisters do for fun?” This is a frequently asked question. With no television and no internet it is difficult for many

to imagine how we spend our time. Certainly much of our time is spent in prayer- liturgical, communal, and personal prayer. Much time is spent serving others through our various apostolates, as well as the time spent cooking, cleaning and all the many household tasks which occupy the lives of all people. And then there is leisure time: time to sing, time to share stories, time to walk in the park - and even to run on the beach! Some of the Sisters’ Schola are pictured here enjoying time to sing praises to the Risen Lord!