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Christmas truly begins now!
The Christmas season is over. Some homes still have their outside decorative lights on to help us with these long dark winter evenings. Even the Churches have their Nativity sets stored for another year. Yet the Incarnation of Christ belongs more in our ordinary everyday lives than on just one day in December. It takes a lifetime to unwrap the gift of Christ himself which he gives to us.
News from Visitation Province (Canada)
Feast Day Celebration
Sr. Eileen McQuaid delivered the homily at Marguerite Bourgeoys parish church in Tantallon, NS on Tuesday January 8th. She spoke of Marguerite as an immigrant and newcomer to Canada and Mother of the Colony.
Prayer Service for the Feast of Marguerite Bourgeoys
Leader: St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, was a woman of great love, faith, and courage. She trusted in God with all of her heart. As we gather in great joy to celebrate her Feast Day, let us draw inspiration from the life and example of our foundress.
Mass for the Feast of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys
Presided by Guy Chapdelaine
Mass in French with some English texts / hymns
Sunday January 13, 2019 at 10:30 A.M.
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel
400 rue Saint-Paul Est Montréal, H2Y 1H4
514 282-8670
Métro Champ-de-Mars
The Story of the People’s Pastoral from the Catholic Community of Appalachia
An exploration (from a Catholic perspective) of the social and environmental challenges facing the Appalachian region; the grassroots work of women religious in Appalachia and the advocacy work of women religious in Washington, DC; the story of acommunity that took the initiative to listen to both the cries of the poor andthe earth, without waiting for the approval of the bishops of the Appalachian region; a community that has been vindicated by the words and actions of Pope Francis, especially his encyclical letter Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.
Associate Coordinators Visit PEI Groups to Provide Visitation Assembly Presentations
Associate groups from Charlottetown and Rustico, PEI, met at Andrews Lodge, Charlottetown, on Tuesday 27 November, 2018, to enjoy a two-hour presentation by Associate Coordinators Marjorie Allison - Ross and Anna Rowley. They gave an excellent summary of the results and agreements found at the Visitation Province Associates Assembly held in Montreal, QC, May 18-21, 2018.
Sydney and Area Sisters and Associates Attend Mass for Shut Ins
On Sunday, November 25th, Sisters and Associates of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame gathered at the ATV Studio on George Street in Sydney to celebrate Mass For Shut-ins with celebrant Fr. Albert Maroun. Angela McKinnon was the altar server and Lorette Campbell and choir provided the music.
News from our Sisters in the US
Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame celebrate with Sister Pat Jamele her induction into the Holy Cross Crusader Hall of Honor.
From Our Leadership Team
Led by Associate Co-coordinator Donna Wuhrer, in the province offices we prayed to Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day, in solidarity with our sisters and brothers seeking to cross our southern border. Afterwards we feasted Mexican-style!
In addition, we signed as a Leadership Team a call to end the practice of housing people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Kankakee County.
News from our Sisters in Canada
Conversations of the Heart
On Sunday, December 16th, we put our hearts into a Christmas feast of prayer and food and friendship. We were delighted to be able to share our feast with Sisters Rebecca and Catherine who just "happened" to be in the area. What a special visitation happening that was! We, of course, missed the presence of Sisters Noreen H., Bernadette and Della but I was able to bring back to Andrews a taste of the feast for them. We weren't expecting Santa but, imagine our surprise when we found, not one, but two gift bags for each of us under the coffee table. After much feasting and fun, we made plans for our next gathering and went our separate ways, looking forward to continuing to celebrate the Christmas Season with family and friends. We reminded ourselves that we were still, however, in the season of waiting, of preparing, of anticipating the coming of the "God of Surprises" who will make all things new.
Praying for Peace for Honduras in the New Year
A session was held at the mother house on the Migrants' Caravan coming from Honduras with Honduran journalist Felix Molina. The room was full of Congrégation de Notre-Dame Sisters and staff and guests from many collaborating organizations. It was an excellent session. The most significant stat for me was that if the doors were opened 70% of Hondurans say they would leave.
Congrégation de Notre-Dame legacy as first educators in Bourbonnais and Kankakee
On Saturday, October 20, 2018, visitors of the Kankakee French Heritage Museum, located in an historic stone barn in Kankakee, Illinois, were treated to a dramatic presentation on the history of early education in the Bourbonnais and Kankakee area.
Local theater actress and French teacher at Kankakee High School Bonnie Brewer appeared as Soeur Marie de la Victoire, one of the three original Congregation de Notre Dame Sisters who arrived in Bourbonnais in 1860 to start a school for the local children at the request of the pastor from MBVM Parish.
Reflecting on the Constitutions
Gathering with the Sisters in Norwalk, CT, to share on the Constitutions of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame with our Novice Libby Osgood.
News from our Sisters in Canada
Conversations of the Heart
On Sunday, December 16th, we put our hearts into a Christmas feast of prayer and food and friendship. We were delighted to be able to share our feast with Sisters Rebecca and Catherine who just "happened" to be in the area. What a special visitation happening that was! We, of course, missed the presence of Sisters Noreen H., Bernadette and Della but I was able to bring back to Andrews a taste of the feast for them. We weren't expecting Santa but, imagine our surprise when we found, not one, but two gift bags for each of us under the coffee table. After much feasting and fun, we made plans for our next gathering and went our separate ways, looking forward to continuing to celebrate the Christmas Season with family and friends. We reminded ourselves that we were still, however, in the season of waiting, of preparing, of anticipating the coming of the "God of Surprises" who will make all things new.
News from our Sisters in the US
Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame celebrate with Sister Pat Jamele her induction into the Holy Cross Crusader Hall of Honor.
From Our Leadership Team:
Led by Associate Co-coordinator Donna Wuhrer, in the province offices we prayed to Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day, in solidarity with our sisters and brothers seeking to cross our southern border. Afterwards we feasted Mexican-style!
In addition, we signed as a Leadership Team a call to end the practice of housing people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Kankakee County.
Fourth Sunday of Advent 2018
As we draw near to the Christmas season, we are invited to reflect on the PROMISES of God.
I invite you to begin by reflecting on someone in your life whom you trust because that person always does what she/he promises. A person who is known to keep promises is reliable. We trust such a person. When we live with trustworthy persons, it helps us to feel secure.
What is COP 24?
This is on the Global Catholic Climate Movement website.
Every year for 24 years, the nations of the world have gathered in the UN-convened “Conference of the Parties” (COP) to discuss solutions to the climate crisis. A peak in this process was achieved at COP21, which was held in Paris in 2015 and saw the creation of the Paris climate agreement to limit green-house gas emissions.
Reading for Christmas
Tonight at midnight, God initiates the community of the dispossessed. He creates it by becoming one with it. He sustains it by remaining within it. He gives it meaning by making there a gradual revelation of himself.
Bethlehem is Africa, where children are killed for pretensions of power; it is Latin America, where people starve through the indifference of others; it is every city street, every unholy slum, every fireless room.
It has other facets too: the loveless electric tree, the token giving, the glamour with joy – the signs without the signified. And so the Lord Christ lies between the beasts.
150th Celebration in Summerside
A large number of sisters and friends gathered for a liturgy of Thanksgiving on November 4th, 2018, to recognize the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame in Summerside, PEI. The presider at the liturgy was Bishop Richard Grecco accompanied by pastor Father Chris Sherren and associate pastor Father Ignatius Sabastian. Father Eddie Cormier was present in the sanctuary. Sister Regina McQuaid spoke on behalf of the Congregation to express our thanks for the past, joy of the present and hope for the future. The lengthy applause and standing ovation following her presentation was witness to the appreciation and respect of the Parish community for the 150 years of service. The whole congregation joined in the joyful recessional hymn “Sing out her Glory” accompanied on the piano by former choir director, Sister Simone Abbass.
Spirituality Committee
The Spirituality committee invited sisters to take part in Jan Richardson’s online Advent retreat Journey into the Heart of Christmas. This experience is providing an opportunity to travel through Advent and Christmas in contemplation, helping to find spaces for reflection that draw us deep into this season that shimmers with mystery and possibility.
Many of us will relate with Jan as she shares on living with the story of Mary and Elizabeth, drawn to the sanctuary they found with each other, the hidden space that provided sustenance for the path ahead.
Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee
The JPIC committee met November 23-25 at the mother house in Montreal. A discussion with the Province Leadership Team took place on Saturday afternoon. Sister Becky McKenna was at the table, and Sisters Eileen McQuaid and Maureen MacIsaac joined by conference call from Bedford
