A gift to the people of God

"I do not believe in death without Resurrection.  If they kill me, I will rise again in the people of El Salvador."  - Saint Oscar Romero

St. Oscar Romero - What a gift to the people of God!!

Ever since I heard of the canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero of EL Salvador, I knew that I wanted to write a blog about him.  And, as I puzzled over what aspect I would choose, I was fortunate enough to meet a man from El Salvador, now living in Canada, who had worked along with “Monsenor Romero,” and was in his presence the day before he died and attended his funeral.  This man, let me call him Pedro, is very familiar with the economic and political struggles of his country, with the constant tensions between left and right wing politics not only in the government, but also powerfully dividing the Catholic Church.  Moreover, my embryonic friendship with Pedro afforded me a glimpse into his eye witness accounts of the life of Oscar Romero.      

Initially, Pedro’s sharing focused on the continuous, intense struggles of the Salvadoran people of God against the powerful forces of oppression in the government, in the armed forces and in the media which resulted in appalling fear, increasing poverty and escalating targeted deaths.  Pedro was associated with the church groups that formed under Romero’s courageous leadership and contributed to the possibility of hope and positive change.   Eventually, in our short conversation, Pedro moved from the big picture to the presence of Romero amidst his country’s suffering yet hope filled people.  He focused on Romero’s courageous Gospel based words spoken and broadcasted throughout the country, which brought hope and courage to thousands, as well as on the simplicity of his life style and his humility. 

I was particularly touched when Pedro recounted the attentiveness Romero showed towards others. He gave the example of being at a meeting where an older woman arrived, and the only empty chair was designated for the mayor of the town who had not yet arrived. Pedro described how Romero encouraged this woman to sit in the chair while another one was brought for the mayor.  This is one small example of why Romero was revered not only for his courage and deep faith, but especially for his constant love of the poor.

At his last retreat, St. Oscar Romero made this note in his journal: “it is not easy to accept a violent death, which is very possible in these circumstances, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Costa Rica warned me of imminent danger just this past week ... my attitude should be to hand my life over to God regardless of the end to which that life might come … I shall feel God very close as I draw my last breath; but that more valiant than surrender in death is the surrender of one’s whole life – a life lived for God.” 

St. Oscar Romero Presente!!

 - Mabel St. Louis, csj

Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador will be proclaimed Saint this Sunday, October 14, 2018.

Sharing Inspiration

Reading Nan Merrill’s website   Friends of Silence   one is able to reclaim in a fresh way, hope, peace and compassion. There, poetry and prayer heal, unravel confusion, pain and darkness. Great quotes from current authors add   further inspirations and is a rich resource to turn to again and again.

Nan Merrill has also written Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness    an inspiring contemporary   rendition of the Psalms for our times.  

I hope you will find these resources as inspirational as I have. 

- Sister Patricia St. Louis

Water... FIRST

The Sisters of St. Joseph congratulate Water First   for its concrete action in addressing water issues in Indigenous communities.

As one of the growing number of Blue Communities we are thrilled to be a part of the work that Water First is doing.

We have financially supported Water First to continue its training program leading towards achieving government certification. Last month, CBC Radio Morning North host Markus Schwabe interviewed Kendra Driscoll, a Water Quality Specialist with Water First, about the Internship Program on Manitoulin Island. You can    listen   to the interview here, on cbc.ca. In addition, they shared a story about it online. You can   read the article here, on cbc.ca. Water First is training Indigenous students to be prepared to fill the employment gap in water treatment plants.

Visit our Federation website   to see other things we are discovering about the many issues surrounding water.

The Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada are committed to clean drinking water as a human right. We are the first group of religious communities to be designated a Blue Community and urge others to join us.

Water ...for profit?

Recently, I found myself disturbed by a 46 second commercial by Nestlé. What prompted my unease was the skillful combination, might I say manipulation, of visuals and messaging.  The first image that greets us is the Nestlé Pure Life logo which stands out as it is centred on a white background. The scene shifts to a close-up of a blue-eyed girl that immediately transforms to a side view of the same young girl enjoying a drink of Nestlé bottled water. Simultaneously, we see the words and hear voiced, “THIS IS WHERE EVERYTHING STARTS”. Next our attention is captured by the young girl diving into a water-filled magical world.  The messaging continues, “THE FUTURE IS BUILT EVERY DAY”, “THERE ARE NO LIMITS”, followed by “EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE”. The last lines make the exaggerated claim, “A future of possibilities starts by drinking pure quality water now”.  The video ends as it begins centred on the company’s logo which becomes the featured product, Nestlé Pure Life surrounded with the parting message - “pure life begins now”. I was left feeling cheated as childhood images of innocence, trips to magical lands, skipping rocks and blowing bubbles aligned and had been co-opted by product messaging.

The disturbing pitch is the product of ‘bottled’ water…when we know what bottles are doing to the very same future they are selling us. Our commitment at the Sisters of St. Joseph to be a Blue Community and that access to free   potable water is a human right and the ever growing importance of protecting our water made this commercial - and "water for profit",  all the more disturbing.  I invite you to view the commercial here and offer your comments.

Here are some compelling articles and a deeper look at the "water industry":

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-21/nestl-makes-billions-bottling-water-it-pays-nearly-nothing-for

For more information about the Sisters of St. Joseph's Blue Community please visit, https://bluecommunitiesnow.wixsite.com/water/blog/water-as-a-human-right

Take action to protect Ontario's water

When you no longer drink disposable bottled water you save money, live healthier, and join in the movement for global sustainability.  And yes, water is PURE LIFE what it doesn’t need is to come in a bottle, or with a label… - Sr. Nancy Wales, csj.

SELFie

The growing social media craze, the “Selfie”, piqued my interest. My search of “selfies” yielded a staggering 961,000,000 google entries. In fact,  I discovered that Oxford Dictionaries selected, “Selfie”, as its “2013 International Word of the Year” because the frequency of the word’s use had increased 17,000 percent over the previous 12 months.[i]

I presume, like most of us, we believe photographic self-portraits to have made their debut in our lifetime. My first experience of taking a picture of myself came in my earlier life after I acquired a camera with a delay timer during the 60’s. However, taking pictures of oneself was routinely employed in the early 1800’s as inventors used themselves as their most available model.

The first ever “Selfie” is attributed to Robert Cornelius. The Guardian newspaper notes:

“The image in question was taken in 1839 by an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia named Robert Cornelius. Setting up his camera at the back of the family store in Philadelphia, Cornelius took the image by removing the lens cap and then running into frame where he sat for a minute before covering up the lens again. On the back of the image he wrote, “The first light Picture ever taken 1839.”[ii]

For most of us, the selfie fad is harmless. However, negative results have occurred for a growing number of selfie enthusiasts whose pursuit of the dramatic shot have resulted in lethal consequences.[iii] For example, James Crowlett died after his selfie with a shark. How foolish is that? In the same vein, recent studies have examined the negative effects on mood and behavior of selfie-taking. [iv]

Meanwhile, my own curiosity about the phenomenon of “selfies” leaves me with deeper wonderings about the pluses and minuses of such emphasis on self...   - Sr. Nancy Wales, csj

[i] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/selfie-australian-slang-term-named-international-word-of-the-year

[ii]  https://publicdomainreview.org/.../robert-cornelius-self-portrait-the-first-ever-selfie-18...

[iii] https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/dangerous-selfies/

[iv] https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/.../research-looks-at-selfies-and-their-impact-on-...