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Photo: Marie-Claire Dugas
The Nuclear Age is seventy-five years old this summer – an anniversary not to be celebrated with anything but sorrow, regret and penance. There is much to be considered in our look at history. Usually the date for the start of the Nuclear Age is July 16, 1945 when the first atomic bomb was detonated at White Sands Missile Range. However the dawn of the disaster began earlier with the eviction of 110 farm families from their ranches in New Mexico in 1942.
Photo: Marie-Claire Dugas
Read: The Visitation: Lk 1:39-56
Mary, as Servant of the Lord, influenced by the Spirit, hastens to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. Saint Ambrose of Milan says that Mary went with haste because inspirations of the Holy Spirit cannot be delayed.[i] Luke shows in his Visitation narrative then that God’s visitation to Mary and God’s Word planted within her womb are experiences to be communicated and shared with another person.
[i] https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/saints/Marysvisitationofelizabeth/. Accessed November, 2015.
Did You Know?
Meyomessala
That the CND opened the first Catholic kindergarten and primary school in the parish of Sangmélima?
This third “Did you know” is about the experiences of three former missionaries: Sister Pauline Asselin (15 years), Sister Sarah Leboeuf (21 years) and Sister Monique Daigle (15 years). For this total of 51 years of service, let us give them a big round of applause and let us give thanks to the Lord for supporting them in their beautiful mission.
Read Luke 1:26-38
St. Maximus the Confessor wrote, “The Incarnation is the model of what God wants to achieve in us. By the power of the Spirit, Christ is always born mysteriously and willingly, becoming incarnate in us.[i] Being steeped in this mystery is an invitation to reflect on the Annunciation in Luke’s gospel. In so doing, may we become more conscious of this wondrous mystery unfolding within us.
[i] St. Maximus the Confessor, “Mystical Conception, The Annunciation to the Theotokos”. The Word Magazine (March 25, 2005) www.antiochan.org/wordarticles. Accessed, June, 2010.
During this time of Covid-19, one of the technology that we have had to learn is to ZOOM. As members of many groups we have zoomed with Development and Peace, with our Laudato Si Group, with the other boards we are on, as well as friends and family. We have Zoomed with the associates and sisters in the Maritimes with Anna Rowley’s presentation of the Garden Retreat. One of us has even zoomed a few times a week to participate in her daughter’s yoga classes!
Did you know that…?
24 CNDs who were missionaries in Cameroon or who were responsible for missionaries, have entered the house of the FATHER:
60th Anniversary Celebration
On Monday, June 22nd, the sisters of de Sève residence celebrated Monica Branchaud’s Diamond Jubilee of Religious Life. The festivities began with a Prayer Service and a presentation of our gift. Following this, we had a bit of a “Happy Hour” and an evening meal. The honoree chose the menu which all of us enjoyed. Afterwards, we returned to the community room for some fun which included a PowerPoint presentation illustrating different events in Monica’s life and a melody of hits from the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Most of us are of an age that we could actually remember the lyrics and sing along with the music! We thanked Monica for her dedicated life of service within our Congregation. May she continue to follow the path which God presents to her daily.
Donna Rose, CND with de Sève residence sisters
Photo: Sister Saint-Alfred (Délia Clément) during the Spanish Flu epidemic, [Montreal, Quebec], [1918?]. Archives Congrégation de Notre-Dame – Montreal (200.100.018)
Spanish Influenza: Excerpt from Histoire de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame, Volume XI, book 1: 1900-1950, 1972, p. 35-37.
In 1918, throughout the world, and particularly in Canada, an influenza epidemic known as the Spanish Flu, brought grief to thousands of families and decimated the population. Because hospitals, doctors and nurses could not help all the afflicted, the Archbishop of Montreal asked the religious communities to organize free volunteer services for the poor and all who could not get help. A Circular letter from the Superior General called on the sisters in Montreal:
These months of COVID-19 and racial unrest have invited us to witness a new awakening to the systemic injustices in our society and to act consciously as Christ would want us to. We, CND sisters in White Plains, Cathy Molloy, Peggy Doyle, and Maco Cassetta, have responded to the cries of our neighbourhood by feeding the poor, connecting with parishioners who have been in isolation, and marching with our neighbours for equality because black lives matter. We stand in solidarity with the many who respond to the current call to care for our common home. On this 400thanniversary of the birth of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, we are propelled to go to the peripheries and respond in hope to the cries of our wounded world.
The folks at de Sève residence have weathered these past months of COVID-19 together… here we are! The occasion was the Feast of the Visitation and Pentecost, following the Mass we viewed from St. Monica's Parish in Montreal. We enjoyed lunch prepared by our weekend cook, Jeanne D'Arc. We have truly enjoyed some leisurely communal meals and meaningful prayer times these past weeks. Are we not fortunate? We keep each other in mind and heart as we ponder what our loving God is saying to us through all of this. Are we listening? Be well!
Kay Duffin, CND
To mark World Refugee Day, provide food for thought and inspire our prayers, sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame share their experiences with refugee families.
Starting June 22, the Marguerite Bourgeoys Historic Site will once again be offering an experience to delight visitors from Montréal and across Quebec.
Every precaution has been taken to ensure employees’ and visitors’ health and safety, and the new permanent exhibition, Meet Marguerite!, is ready in time for summer. Executive Director Jean-François Royal noted that he and his team had a good example to follow. “I have to say that we had an excellent model of perseverance to inspire us. Marguerite Bourgeoy’s life and work are an invaluable and inspiring legacy for Quebeckers.”
Visitation Encounter!
On May 31st, the Feast of Visitation and Feast of Pentecost, Associates and Sisters of Blessed Sacrament and Visitation Provinces came together on Zoom to celebrate this special Feast Day during the 400th Anniversary year of St Marguerite Bourgeoys’s birth.
400th Anniversary Retreat
Woodstock, NB Hosted a “Silent No More” March
Mabou Associate Celebrates Marguerite’s 400th Anniversary
In the wake of the death of George Floyd and the worldwide protest that followed, a CND Sister reached out to her niece, a mother of grown biracial children. She shares the response from her niece – a powerful testimony that will nourish our reflection and prayer. She writes:
So I’ve given your request a lot of thought because I don’t want to come off as a crazy person. But this is a subject that I feel very passionate about and it boils my blood.
I can’t speak on how it feels to be a black person, but I can speak on being the parent of a black man (3 of them, as you know). I’ve experienced racism on a different level, than they have.
I’ve had to witness them be targeted by other people, police, and yes even at their jobs. And it hurts.
FACQs ~ June 12, 2020
KINGSTON UPDATE
In 2012 our CND sisters in Kingston moved to Providence Motherhouse and other residences. At last, 8 years later, an affordable housing project has finally begun!
DID YOU KNOW?
This year, as the Congregation de Notre-Dame celebrates the 400th anniversary of the birth of Marguerite Bourgeoys, the Congregation in Cameroon is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of its foundation.
On September 1, 1970 the missionary adventure in Cameroon began. Six valiant daughters of Marguerite Bourgeoys arrived in Makak...
Sisters Monica McKenna and Violet Belair were visiting the Mother House when the Covid-19 restrictions around travel came into effect. Consequently, their visit was extended ... for a few months! May 31st was not only the Feast of the Visitation and Pentecost, but it was also Sister Violet's 90th birthday...
This article was first published in the Rhode Island Catholic
The priest was a former business man who had owned and operated a construction company with his brother. During the unrest following the murder of George Floyd last week, work was being done on the large inner city church of which the priest was pastor. His brother had to bring in a crane with a lift for the work. Since the equipment was already on site, both brothers, with hard hats and strapped in for safety, went up ninety feet to the top of the church. From that viewpoint they were immediately in front of the statue of Mary, to whom the church is dedicated. Their view of the city was all-encompassing. They began praying the rosary for the city suffering from the pandemic of the coronavirus in bodies and the pandemic of racism in souls. They filmed it life stream on Facebook. 2400 others joined them. At the end of the Rosary, the priest blessed the city with Holy Water praying for peace and justice for all.