Vol. 4, No. 2
3/22/2005

U. S. Province
Religious of Jesus and Mary March 2005

ST. TIMOTHY’S ALIVE AND WELL
By: Sr. Claudette Lapointe, R.J.M.

Welcome to St. Timothy’s Mission Center. Home of the most active retired sisters in the USA. Did I say retired? Although two of the community members go out to work, the remaining seven are certainly kept busy with a variety of very interesting activities. Let’s visit with each of them.

Sr. Lillian Guy, our doyenne, keeps the sacristy spotless and makes sure that our chapel is well lit for prayer. Sister stays abreast of the news and maintains a very vibrant communication with her family via e-mail. In her seventy years of religious life, she certainly has seen many changes in our way of living; but has managed to adapt to each one as only she can.

Our next, “retiree” is Sr. Irene Castonguay who can hardly be considered retired! Irene continues to oversee our cook, prepares menus, shops weekly for food. Not one to let the grass grow under her feet, Irene maintains an active correspondence via e-mail and if you have a special card to send, she is the expert computer card generator. Irene is also a very vibrant contributor to the Task Force on discernment and has lead us through the recent community and regional meetings with all the aplomb of her experience in government.

Roseline Marcoux manages to keep herself quite busy straightening our library, or putting order in a number of areas. Sister is always available to render a service in-house and in the parish.

Although she lives in Exeter, Sister Antoinette Jacques is a very special member of our community and we look forward to her presence every Sunday. She is always ready with an interesting story concerning her residents who keep her on her toes. She also keeps our sisters honest when she takes her place at the table whether for a game of cards or whatever is the order of the day.

Agnes Bell sees to transportation for doctor’s appointments, errands to the store and the bank. With Sister Irene, our pantry is never empty and Agnes is always available to fill-in whenever help is needed.

Margaret Mary Doucet in her own gentle way, keeps us and our home in an ambiance of peace and calm. Margaret Mary is often the gracious hostess when visitors drop in and her warm smile invites many to return often.

Alice Ouimette says she is retired; but, she manages to be very active either helping friends, visiting parishioners or mentoring a prisoner at the local prison. Sister is also active as a Eucharistic Minister and as a Mass server during the week. For this Lent, sister prepared a number of containers and posters highlighting our mission in Haiti and has been collecting the funds daily following the liturgy. It’s very encouraging to see how her enthusiasm has been caught by the parishioners who have been very generous so far. Thanks to Alice, we never go without bread and milk even in the snow storms which have been frequent this winter.
Many of you have seen all that Sister Estelle Gravel has been contributing to our web site. Estelle’s enthusiasm for life and her exuberance help to keep us abreast on many issues. Her latest project, to maintain the Haiti fund, will surely be very well organized and cared for.

Sister Margaret Theresa Guinan is very busy with her work as chaplain at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in Providence. Sister manages to keep our house well decorated for holidays. She too is involved in task force work to help Bethany Retreat House to examine it’s role in the future of our Province.

Our last member, Claudette Lapointe has a full schedule as Pastoral Minister at St. Gregory the Great Parish. She manages to do her share in the community. She enjoys preparing the monthly meetings of the Family of Jesus and Mary which is well attended by a faithful number of our friends from Warwick and Providence and the members of the community. These meetings are a true sign of our witness to all because all the sisters help to prepare and host our guests.

The sisters are also called upon to minister in the parish and wider community. Our receptionists can testify to the many phone calls received requesting prayers. In some cases people have heard that the sisters are always ready to listen and to pray for whoever is lonely or needs our prayers.

Now that you’ve met our whole community, you must admit that retirement has many different meanings for each one. As one sister put it “In this community, I feel free to do things when I can and as I am able. BUT I also am allowed to just BE!”

We do know how to relax. You’ll have to come and see. Come in the early afternoon and you can have a lively game of Oklahoma or Rummikub or whatever with our players. There is always room for one more at the table.
AND – VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!


A DAY WITH SISTER IRENE
By: Sr. Irene Rheaume, RJM

It is 6:00 a.m., time to rise and praise the Lord; from my window I can see the magnificent sunrise with fast-changing shades and tints of red, pink and purple. What a wonderful way to begin a day! It seems fitting that the first activity be my meditation, my daily meeting with Jesus.

Then follows the usual routine: shower, dressing and breakfast where we meet with smiles and greetings from other early risers. It is a very pleasant part of the day, sometimes prolonged by the great choices given by a “surprise” menu to celebrate a special feast or event such as the victories of the Patriots and the Red Sox.

A visit to chapel follows for the private recitation of Morning Prayer, and then to the third floor to tidy my room before I spend time reading the “Boston Globe” to be informed about the world and its complexities. I spend more time on the Sports Section when the Champion Patriots are playing.

If you would like to keep fit, follow me to Madonna Hall on Monday at 9:00 a.m. for 40 minutes of real exercise with an expert teacher. This is a good preparation for our Wednesday afternoon sessions at “Easy Motion Life Center” where we use different equipment: treadmill, cable, rowing, Nustep, etc., all designed for physical fitness.

Now we come to the best hour of the day, at 11:00 a.m. – Mass with our chaplain, Father Murphy, who never fails to give us very meaningful insights on the daily Readings.

After receiving the Bread of Angels, we march to the dining room for dinner prepared by our excellent cooks and enjoyed in pleasant exchange with other sisters.

I am now in good form to start the afternoon – rarely without interruptions, but first a 15 or 30 minute walk on our extensive grounds. At 2:00 p.m. or later, I might decide to attend a conference, a concert, a bingo or a party … whatever is scheduled for the day. On some days it might be an outing: one of our leaders enjoys planning “Mystery rides”. A sign-up sheet follows and a van for 12 is provided. “A Mystery ride”? Where to? But that is the mystery!! It could be for breakfast, for lunch or “gouter”. Some other day, the outing might be a sleigh ride, since snow abounds. And so it happened; was it a fancy carriage as we had anticipated? NO, it was an adventure ride sitting on bales of hay in an open wagon drawn by two big and old horses!!!

God must have laughed with the seven of us, for He sent us real Spring temperature for that day…

Then, too, I must not forget the Tuesday computer lessons, making it possible for me to receive and print messages (Bridges, Update, etc.) from the Provincialate to pass on to my seven companions.

Daily, there is usually a visit to our Sister Lucienne Paulhus, transferred last October to ESR (Elizabeth Seton Residence), our health care facility, for needed care and attention. It is a joy and a relief to witness the recovery she has made from her attack of Parkinson. She is now the Lucienne we always knew and loved.

At 5:00 p.m., I join the others in chapel for Evening Prayer to give thanks to our generous Lord for the day’s blessings; then follows supper and a free evening to spend as we wish – television for the news in our community room, then in my own room for my favorite programs usually on EWTN on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m. where I am constantly presented with the best interpretations on current issues or on stories of converts who took the Journey Home and much more that EWTN offers.

My days are usually full and very well spent in a variety of ways (too long to enumerate). Finally it is time to say:

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray to God my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake,
I pray my God my soul to take.
Anonymous


A Day in the life of Dina Marie
By: Sr. Dina Marie Garcia, RJM

Life is full of surprises and that's how I best describe myself. I've had many wonderful experiences, made new friends, and continue to be surprised at how the ordinary and mundane events can be transformed to exciting and beautiful events.

I am describing my life at St Rita's where I am the Pastoral Assistant. St Rita's is located at the southeastern part of San Diego, which at one time was infested with criminal activity. Thanks to the many great leaders that emerged from this area, who cleaned up and are still working to making this a safe and livable community.

The Parish is multicultural which adds excitement, color and acceptance. We are a Parish that celebrates each culture and once a year we celebrate all the cultures with Liturgy, banners, music, food, dancing and entertainment. For me it is the most beautiful day of the year, because we are all one, regardless of who we are or where we come from.

My ministry varies each day, depending on what my Pastor has planned for me. If there is no plan, I help out in our Religious Education program. I do all the Parent Sacramental Meetings in English and Spanish.

On Thursdays I visit the sick of the Parish and take them Holy Communion, pray with them and listen to them. Often, I have been with them as they near the time of departure from this life to the next.

On Tuesday I have the RCIA. On the First Sunday of Lent Our Diocese had the Rite of Election, where each parish brings their catechumens and Candidates and presents them to the Bishop. There was a sense of awe and excitement throughout the hall, where the Rite of Election took place. These Candidates and Catechumens knew the joy of being Catholic. They know their Savior and are determined to follow Him the rest of their lives.

I have been here at St. Rita's for the last four years and hope to continue serving this wonderful God-filled community.

A New Ministry
By: Sr. Mary Vanasse, RJM

In June of 2003, having completed ten years of educational ministry at St. John’s School in the Bronx, Sister Mary Vanasse thought it was time to consider taking on a new retirement path. She had worked most of these years as librarian, developing state-of-the-art automated library, funded by a special grant under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New York. Although she was very fond of the little folks at St. John’s, being with them on a daily basis became a strenuous task for an octogenarian.

Just before leaving the school ministry, Sister Mary and Sister Patricia Brito were invited to dinner by Monsignor William Foley, former pastor at St. John’s Parish, and Deacon Donald Quigley, who had served the parish in former years and had been a student at the parish school when he grew up, is now Coordinator for the Retired Priests of the Archdiocese. At the time of this meeting, he was overseeing the development of a new facility for thirty of the priests of the Archdiocese. He needed help! Knowing that Sister Mary would soon be free from the school ministry, he asked her if she would consider volunteering some time as receptionist at the new facility.

After praying and giving it some thought and encouraged by her local community, Sister Mary accepted to serve two days a week. And so began a new ministry on July 28, 2003.

It has been a very interesting and rewarding experience for her. Observing the “comings and goings” of those priests who in the past had faithfully served the Church and now continue to volunteer much of their time in services to local parishes, schools, religious communities, civic and social programs, as well as their prayerful activities and the camaraderie that create an atmosphere of happiness and contentment.

At the dedication of the new facility by His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan on September 8, 2003, a hymn sung by this congregation at the Mass touched the staff members, workers and volunteers. “THIS IS HOLY GROUND.” May we all find holy ground in ministry, whether it be in prayer or in some form of service to which we may be called.


Health Care for the Homeless
By: Sr. Eileen Reid, RJM

Each day my ministry takes me to a basement clinic of Unity Health Care, Inc., housed in the largest homeless shelter in the USA. (CCNV) We begin each day at 8:00AM and provide primary medical care to homeless adult men and women. Monday thru Friday our hours are 8-4PM, however on Monday and Wednesday we stay open until 8:30PM and on Saturdays from 8-12noon to provide care for the working homeless.

On a typical day we may treat patients suffering from hypertension, bronchitis, asthma, heart/kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, fractures, diabetes, etc…Often we treat patients with severe cellulitis stemming from IV drug use.

For many the root cause of homelessness stems from mental illness, drug addictions and alcoholism. We have many patients, who having succumbed to drug abuse find themselves sick, unemployed and lacking the capacity to mend their fractured families.

Twenty years ago homelessness was a male problem. Today, not only are there many women and children homeless but we are witnessing the “graying of homelessness”. Elderly men and women who have no extended families and no place to go are seeking respite in shelters, too.

Each day holds its many challenges. We have social workers who try to assist patients to obtain food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, Disability etc…We network with other agencies to find adequate placement for some of our patients. Many are referred to drug rehab programs and others seem to drift from clinic to clinic or slip away to other cities/states only to return in a year or two.

Our Mission at Unity is to provide the best possible primary care to the homeless uninsured and underinsured in Washington, DC. I am truly blessed to work with a staff of committed persons who live this Mission day in and day out. Together we “look at our world with new eyes discovering Christ in the disfigured face of our brothers and sisters.”


A Day in the life of Kathleen
By: Sr. Kathleen Scanlon, RJM

As dawn breaks in the Bronx, NY, the St. Claudine Community welcomes the day in prayer at 6:30 a.m. This time, personal prayer, the celebration of Eucharist set the stage for travel and for the day’s ministry at Resurrection Parish in Rye, NY.

What does a day as a DRE look like? Well, for me, it begins with a journey by car. Travel time varies from 25 to 50 minutes depending on the hour of departure! It’s only 17 miles door to door from the Bronx to Rye but traffic between 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. can be unpredictable and tough. On most days this travel time is appreciated and I love to listen to quiet, reflective music on the morning trip. However, on the way home, I often need the liveliness of FM 101.1 or 106.7 for the last phase of the day’s journey!

An average day as DRE at Resurrection could easily be described as that of “Welcoming.” Yes, there is planning time for prayer services, registration, communication, meetings etc. but the day also includes the “ministry of interruption” with catechists/parents stopping by with questions and/or concerns, with phone calls made and received for information, reflection, and communication, and sundry other unexpected surprises. I have a wonderful administrative assistant and, along with many laughs and stories, Liz and I work together to welcome these “interruptions” integral to our ministry.

On 3 days during the week, I leave my office about 2:45 p.m. to go to Resurrection’s Middle School to prepare for the several sessions of children (grades 1-8) who come through our front doors. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we run three sessions between 3:45 and 8:15 p.m. and welcome close to 400 children each day. On Thursday there are about 120 children and on Sunday close to the same. On these 4 days I am grateful for the help of Emilia, who also coordinates the Junior High. (Once a month on Sunday, we welcome 17 families as part of a pilot Home Family program.)

We greet the children as they enter the main lobby to wait for their catechists who come so faithfully each week. In total we have 102 catechists (most of whom are parents) and dozens of other parents who assist as aides, hall/traffic monitors, child-sitters, and receptionists. The generosity of these parents and parishioners is truly a gift, and we couldn’t run the program without them!

A week rarely goes by without an evening meeting of some sort…Parish Council, Sacramental Meetings, Safe Environment training, or a RENEW session . A day rarely goes by without something different occurring…Confessions for grades 6, a Church visit for grade 2, a Lenten prayer service, or a guest speaker for Confirmation. Yes, one could never describe the work of a DRE as boring! And then there are those rare moments when I simply stand in awe, deeply grateful to be in a ministry with such faithful and faith-filled companions. Indeed I often feel tired, but blessed, at day’s end!

A Day in Jean Rabel
By: Sr. Nazareth Ybarra, RJM

I am going to tell you how my life goes, what its rhythm is, what gives me energy and what takes my energy away. Normally at 5:00 AM Vivian and I are in Chapel, she has already lit the candles, providing light and an ambience that helps to center me. Relationship with God is so profound and you see yourself as such a small thing, so powerless before such great needs, before the unknowns born from different culture and the sense that your money may be all they want. Prayer here needs a scream and is at times the only way you can feel the Invisible Presence.

Mass, morning prayer, breakfast, all very rich and shared in light of the day awaiting us. Madame Cabrit arrives, or so we call her, the lady that brings the small goat for us to eat. She brings a leg which we prepare, chopping some up to make hamburgers or dividing it into pieces. This takes time and doing manual labor helps one to be humble, which is not always very pleasant.

The mornings we spend with the group of women, about 22, who come to sew and make necklaces to paint. This year we have with us a Spanish volunteer, Begona Alario, who works so well and effectively with the women. These women have been coming for three years, and we make table napkins with Haitian borders and scenes of the country. When they first came they were neither good at sewing or painting. Now they finish well what they make, there is a good spirit, and they help one another. We are devoting one or two days now to learn how to manage a small business, and later eight sessions will be given to money, credit and how to continue to fund the business. In the Summer this group had an intense workshop with volunteers from Spain on sewing, and painting necklaces, rings and earrings. These volunteers have remained bonded to the women and helped with sales and other things to assist the women. Yesterday I received an e-mail from one of them, Cheles Ingelmo, who had come for two Summers. She is going to be married in September and she told me that she is going to donate the amount of her wedding dress to helping these Haitian women in their work. She will wear the wedding dress of a friend. Knowing what a bridal gown means for a girl, and especially one that I know so well, and that the dress is so important, this touched me so much. God truly makes miracles!

The presence of these volunteers brings so much joy and caring. They come for one or two months and are something marvelous in their generosity, their service, their love of the people and their companionship with these women. My experience with them is so gratifying and I am very grateful to God for them

At 11:30 AM we finish to prepare the food for lunch. We eat at 1:00 PM, a time when Vivian returns from the Montfort School. The food is simple – it’s what is available at the local market – but we have good appetites, and talk about the morning and what has occurred in the different places of ministry.

Two days a week in the afternoon there are a group of boys and girls who are already advanced in painting and are decorating the patio behind the house and the toilets and showers. They are about 20 in number and divided into three groups. They also make things that they will be paid for at the end of the month in order to help with school.

This year we have a dining room for the children that take classes in the building where we live. There are 500 children, and tables and benches have been arranged behind the classrooms where they receive lessons from their teachers. It is so precious to see their little reddish-brown heads contrasted with the white benches decorated by their companions. But what really impresses me is to see them eat! No one has to tell them to eat because before you know it the plate is empty and so fast! On Day One they eat rice and beans; Day Two, spaghetti; and two days corn with fish. On Friday they receive bread and fruit juice because they leave early. Each week we give a woman that we trust the money for food for five days ($250 American – that is $1000 per month) to buy the food for the children. There are no great quantities of anything here – everything is just a little! In this dining room I am in charge of the large cistern which has a manual pump where we can drink water, cook and easily wash the dishes. Three ladies help with the cooking.

In the afternoon/evening, shower, prepare supper, readings, prayers, on Saturday we prepare the readings for Sunday, Internet, write letters, play Sequence, and we go to bed at 9:00 PM.

Life is woven together of insignificant and very significant experiences that transform your feelings. Sometimes you are not as strong, energy stolen from you, not trusting, not understanding what else to do for the Haitian people, seeing that things aren’t changing, aren’t better, and that perhaps the opposite is true.

But all of this brings you to live deeply your faith and to leave things in the hands of God, living the mystery of each day.

Something picturesque in this life is telephone calls. Since we have no coverage area, we must climb the mountain and there, seated on a rock among the precious vistas, wait for pre-planned calls.

Translated by Sr. Joan Faraone, RJM


‘ALL GUESTS WHO PRESENT THEMSELVES ARE TO BE WELCOMED AS CHRIST.’ (Rule of St. Benedict)
By: Sr. Laura Dulude, RJM

I have celebrated hospitality, rituals, prayer, solitude and silence many times with all of you in the RJM spirit , however, in January I was privileged to experience all this within the hospitality of a Benedictine Monastery at Mt. Angel, Oregon. Perhaps our very supportive experience with the Benedictine monks at St. Anselm was one of the factors that attracted me to be with the Sisters for a period of time. Or was it the pioneering Spirit of Lewis and Clark calling me closer to their territory?

While having a room in a separate building from the Monastery I needed to walk but a few feet to the Monastery where I was invited to share in the life of the Sisters in prayer, meals and various activities. I readily admit that a 6:30 a.m. chanting of the office followed by a Liturgy is not a 5 star attraction in my life at that hour of the day. I soon fell into the rhythm of the life style. Office is chanted 4 times a day in a relatively new chapel designed to permit as much light as possible to enter. Glass panes from floor to ceiling offer a beautiful view of sunrises, sunsets and a 111 year old Giant Sequoia. (fog not interfering, of course) The Lectio Divina is expressed daily in many meaningful ways and someone is always helpful in directing guests to the correct page and antiphon in the office book.

As we sit in silence in the dining room awaiting the evening meal, a candle is lit in front of St. Joseph. Herbal tea is also being brewed. The readings vary: poetry, biblical or a contemporary document. The speech of Martin Luther King was read during the week of the holiday. Guests are then recognized and welcomed.

Meals are served cafeteria style and the presence of 30 or more sisters plus guests offers many occasions for sharing. The monastery has fruit orchards, vines with different berries. The Sisters are also the recipient of many gifts of fresh seasonal fruit. Therefore, fresh applesauce, preserved peaches, dried figs, apples and prunes were always available. The monastery, located in the Willamette Valley, seems to be rich in farmland.

There was no sabbatical program as such taking place at the Retreat Center at this time. While free to join retreats or workshops, I benefited from much time of quiet and solitude. Music, poetry, quality spiritual readings were my companions neglected during my time in active ministry. To my delight a Jesuit from Gloucester, MA was there to share the sabbatical time. While I found his ability to easily complete the N.Y. Times crossword puzzle a bit intimidating we had many occasions to share on all things Ignatius.

The library of the Prayer Center contains many contemporary spiritual books as well as the well known classics. (cozy like our H.M. library) In addition I was able to use the Monastery library which also has a very good selection and a welcoming librarian. I must mention the presence of a book store with an excellent selection. I now have my own copy of the Rule of St. Benedict for Beginners.

Although I did not watch TV, I did choose to watch the Super Bowl. How could a native of New England not be part of it! I must admit that the Sisters in general did not seem to follow the sports activities, but I did find a couple of kindred souls. Of course the Jesuit known as JJ was also watching the game.

I know that we all remember our Chapter with Sr. Barbara Valukas – I was very surprised to hear her name come out as she was coming to facilitate a week end with a group of sisters and had also facilitated a process with the Benedictines…Do we remember the feeling wheel????

This grace filled experience brought my Golden Jubilee of celebrating 50 years of active ministry to closure preparing me for a new life style of retirement. As a companion for my time of reflection/prayer I had a Benedictine Sister as a spiritual director. (aren’t you all happy about that?) Sr. Joan is a former Junior High teacher and a collector of rocks, fossils, etc. our sharing included movements of the earth as well as the soul.

Upon my return (Feb. 14) I was surprised by a retirement party which Sr. Rosie had prepared with the women at the Residence. This was also part of a Valentine Day party. Now with the picture of a cake, gifts and much happy sharing I have proof that I am entering the retirement stage of my life. Together we can celebrate the golden years, or are they the white hair years?

I daily brought to prayer the needs of the Province, the request of so many for prayers and in turn I benefited from your prayerful support during this time in my life.

After a couple of weeks in Maryland and New England I will return to San Diego. The summer months will once again provide me with the occasion to share moments of life with you, vacation time, Jubilee celebrations and yes, the Province Meeting at the end of August.