June Article for The Rhode Island Catholic
“No family drops from heaven perfectly formed; families need constantly to grow and mature in the ability to love.” Pope Francis writes these words near the end of his document on family. Francis has a keen sense of the ordinary way of God in each of us and in our lives together. He knows we live in a world where we often do less than the perfect and seem to make more bad choices than good ones. Yet we continue to stay the course and try to keep on being hopeful people, loving parents and faithful spouses.
Visit to the Beaton Institute
Recently, Sister Simone Abbass, Sister Rita Clare and Ms. Marie-Josée Morin, archivist of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, visited the archives of the Beaton Institute, named in honor of Sister Margaret Beaton (St. Margaret of Scotland). This regional archives centre stores documents which bear witness to the Congrégation de Notre-Dame’s contribution to the development of Cape Breton. Available for consultation are, for instance, records of the Cape Breton Chorale, directed for many years by Sister Rita Clare, and documents relating to the Mad Potters, a project began by Sister Catherine Rooney (Saint Philip). There are also thousands of photos of the Abbass Studio documenting the life of the entire region, including the daily life of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame schools.
News from Visitation Province
Retreat Weekend
On the weekend of June 3rd - 5th, Sister Alma MacLellan and Sister Florence MacKenzie of Port Felix, put on their annual retreat at St. Joseph’s Retreat Centre in Mabou, NS, for the ladies of Guysborough County and their friends. Although the group was small this year, because of various circumstances, it was very powerful and productive. Each year this Spiritual Retreat has a theme and this year’s theme was “Opening Doors.” Individuals have lots of quiet time by themselves to reflect in silence and later come back to the group to share their experience if they feel comfortable to do so. The group shares lots of tears, laughs and lots of reminiscing from the past. This retreat has been happening for 16 years so the ladies have become part of a Very Special Family and look forward to spending the weekend together. The home cooked meals are provided by the ladies at the centre and are very delicious. It is a great weekend enjoyed by all and we look forward to next year’s event!
Pearl Whitaker
