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To celebrate our 40th Anniversary and respond to the call to live interculturality and collaboration, the Associates of Toronto and Beyond collected funds from Central Visitation Province which were sent to Kumbo, Cameroon. Today we are pleased to share these pictures showing how the $1,750 donation is being used to support the work of the Rural Transformation Centre in planting indigenous trees which protect water levels. The OK Clean Water Project worked with the RTC before its closure and so it is wonderful to see our Congrégation de Notre-Dame legacy living on in another way.
Sister Marie Clarkin and Sister Paula Maher, at Marguerite Bourgeoys School in Innisfail, Alberta (Jan. 16, 2023, The Albertan, newspaper owned by Mountain View Publishing by staff writer Johnnie Bachusky. Photo by Johnnie Bachusky. With permission. See link below for entire article.)
Celebration! It was in the spirit of love, compassion and service that the Sisters at the CND Health Center, on the Feast Day of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, gathered to remember, pray, celebrate and give thanks.
Arlene Rutledge, coordinator CND Health Care Centre
Permanent, full-time position, 28 to 35 hours per week
Les Soeurs de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame is a Catholic religious congregation founded in Ville-Marie (Montréal) in the 17th century by Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys. The Congregation has 600 sisters in Canada, the United States, Japan, Honduras, Guatemala, Salvador and Cameroon. Women of faith and commitment, the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame are well known in Quebec for their exceptional contribution to the education of girls and boys and for the creation of the first schools of higher education for girls. In addition, they are present in the places where there is need and come to the aid of those who are struggling and marginalized.
Permanent, full-time position, 28 to 35 hours per week
Les Soeurs de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame is a Catholic religious congregation founded in Ville-Marie (Montréal) in the 17th century by Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys. The Congregation has 600 sisters in Canada, the United States, Japan, Honduras, Guatemala, Salvador and Cameroon. Women of faith and commitment, the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame are well known in Quebec for their exceptional contribution to the education of girls and boys and for the creation of the first schools of higher education for girls. In addition, they are present in the places where there is need and come to the aid of those who are struggling and marginalized.
Peace, health and joy to each and every one!
As the Christmas season comes to an end and we commemorate Marguerite Bourgeoys's entry into heaven, we entrust ourselves to your prayers for the General Conference that will be held from January 16 to 20, by Zoom video conference. May the Holy Spirit be with us and journey with us throughout this work.
With all our gratitude,
The members of the General Conference
Ottawa Associates and Sisters Celebrate Marguerite’s Feast Day
Seven associates and two sisters gathered on Sunday afternoon, January 8th, via Zoom for a celebration of Marguerite’s Feast Day. Patricia and Kathy created a process for us to experience winter with Marguerite.
We were invited to don snowshoes and come walk in Marguerite’s footsteps through the harsh winters. We heard the furious winds swirl around us as we tried to find firewood buried beneath the snow. Our imaginary journey was guided with excerpts from Ann Deignan’s book “The Love of a Lover – The Mystical Journey of Marguerite Bourgeoys.”
Dorothy Day was an intellectual and a reformer, a Catholic and a peace activist, a refuge for the homeless and a challenger to the status-quo. She died in 1980 at the age of 83. Her cause for canonization has been introduced in Rome by Cardinal Dolan of New York where she spent most of her life. On May 1, 1933 Dorothy along with Peter Maurin published the first edition of The Catholic Worker paper and sold it for a penny a copy. The paper is still being printed and it still costs a penny a copy.
1. Listening is the art of communicating by listening attentively to the other person's words with both ears and heart.
Listening is a form of communication in which one listens attentive to the other person's story.
Reader 1: Marguerite, a woman of great love, faith and courage, trusted in God with all her heart. As we joyfully gather to celebrate St. Marguerite’s Feast Day, may her life and example inspire us to live our lives in the same way…with great love, faith, courage, and trust in God
On Jan. 12, Roman Catholics remember Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, who not only founded a religious congregation, but
was also instrumental in establishing the Canadian city of Montreal. She is the patron saint of: poverty, loss of parents and people rejected by religious orders. The educative and apostolic efforts of Marguerite Bourgeoys continue through the commitment of the members of the CND community that she founded.
Coming right up! January 12, 2023. Happy Feast Day to us!
Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, Pray for us!
During the months since the 400th Anniversary, I have noticed how often Sisters and Associates make use of the song written by Robert Lebel, Let Us Hurry on the Way.
The Chorus seems to speak to where we are in these times, and how we are called “to be living signs of God’s own Visitation… for someone awaits our presence and our joy!”
Today, and any day, who might be awaiting a visit? Today, and any day, maybe I am open to being visited?
The Zoom gatherings have given us many Visitation opportunities. Sisters and Associates and special guests! We have visited, gifting joy among ourselves in our prayer, in our personal sharing and in our taking advantage of new learning.
With gratitude for all we have, we step confidently into 2023!
Eleanor McCloskey, CND
Sister Kinuyo Anzai celebrated her 100th birthday on December 3, and a Mass was held at Palais Luce with Father Charles Aime Bolduc, SME, as the Eucharistic celebrant, and Sister Kyoko Terashima, Sister Kiyoko Kurihara, Sister Yumiko Furuyama and Sister Akiko Matsukawa from the convent also attended the celebration. Sister Anzai was happy to be able to celebrate Mass for the first time in a long time, and she was also grateful for the visit of the Hanazono sisters.
On Monday, December 5, the new meeting place for the associates was organized in a different but very significant way. A globe and flags from different countries were placed on a table covered with a nice white tablecloth and the Bible was open on the lectern next to the display.
We have spent these weeks of Advent in preparation, with joy, and with our gaze fixed on the One who is to come, the glorious coming of Christ. Our life is a reflection of this expectation, with concrete experiences and events that have helped us experience this time of conversion with intensity. We have prepared ourselves to live it in prayer, in vigil, in preparation, and in reconciliation, within ourselves and with our brothers and sisters.
Joseph Street. On December 12, 2022, the annual Christmas bags were delivered to Joseph Street residents, part of Home Based Housing Kingston. Thank you to sisters and associates for their wonderful contributions and Barb and Eileen for shopping.
Mary Myers, Associate
Change is essential in our lives.
A few years ago, Visitation Province Vocation Committee reached out to Sisters in Marguerite Bourgeoys Province with a proposal to collaborate on vocation initiatives. The leaders of both provinces spoke, and the Canadian CND Vocation Committee came to be.