Saluting Hospice Volunteers

The days leading up to Thanksgiving formed an appropriate time for the staff of St. Joseph’s Hospice of London to pay tribute to their generous volunteers in a method that has become popular during the pandemic months.  On a sunny Wednesday morning, staff invited volunteers to a drive-by in front of the hospice area. 

As the volunteers approached the circular driveway, they were greeted by vivacious young staff members dressed as cheerleaders in bright green, waving green pom poms and displaying placards of praise and support.  They surrounded the cars and delivered words of praise and appreciation to the volunteers.  From their brightly colored stands, they offered special coffee and refreshments. The expressions of gratitude were graciously received by those who came to be acknowledged for their generous assistance.

The hospice organization and staff recognize that volunteers are crucial to the ongoing operation of underfunded hospices. They work at the reception desk and help in the kitchen area. They give direct support in the hospice wing and in the wider community.  They also take part in fundraising initiatives. Even the enclosed garden and grounds are thriving under the capable hands of volunteers. In fact, some volunteers are giving back to hospice in appreciation for the care given to a family member who spent his/her final days in hospice.

Volunteer appreciation day was a beautiful occasion for staff to reach out and recognize people who see how they can make a difference. They put their plans into action.  Volunteers make a city a strong, vibrant, caring place to live.

Thank you for bringing your generous spirit to St. Joseph’s Hospice of London!

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

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St. Joseph’s Hospice of London is our neighbour here in London, Ontario. To find out more about the incredible work they do, you can visit their website here.

A Fine Fall Fair

Ilderton’s Fine Fall Fair

Who can resist attending a fall fair on a sunny October Saturday?  Apparently, not Sister Florian and me as we found ourselves driving a short distance north of London to attend Ilderton’s Fall Fair.  Although I didn’t meet the town’s famed Scott Moir of ice dancing fame at the little gas station as I did several years ago, I did see his, and dancing partner, Tessa Virtue’s names emblazoned on the large arena wall as we neared the fair venue.

Already, at 10:30am, the entrance lineup was forming as excited children were eager to run and take part in the day’s events.  Florian and I headed to the large agricultural building where we were welcomed by happy volunteers. Looking around the venue, we met a couple of interested llamas, an Angus cow and her calf as well as several other animals.  One large wall featured a display of quilting patterns alongside information booths and huge implements.  Upon leaving the building, we jumped to attention with the loud, formidable bray of a nearby donkey.

The enticing aroma of grilled hotdogs and hamburgers whetted our appetites to partake of traditional fall food fare.  As we sat at picnic tables alongside the food pavilion, we were awed by the obvious fact that fair day is family day.  Happy, enthralled children sat with their loving, attentive parents. Many were infants and toddlers. I know that Ilderton is a growing community and so many young families assure me of its continued growth.

Our final walk was through the busy Midway.  For a small-town fair, the number of vendors was considerable and the diversity of rides, amazing. A huge Ferris wheel and the stomach-churning, whirling, dipping octopus rides kept the young crowd in screaming hilarity.  Meanwhile, adoring grandparents took their tiny charges on a carefully turning teacup ride.  Since neither my companion nor I were brave enough to spend time in the air and our feet were tired, we decided to head for home.

Looking back, I marvel that after many decades, rural country fairs continue to survive even in the face of constant societal change.  Fall fairs speak to the strength of community ties and the resilience of local people who keep it alive.  They are a testament to the hard work and solidarity of rural neighbors and the timeless values of sharing and caring that are crucial for every age and time.

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj 

From a Grateful Heart

Thanksgiving is a special time of gratitude: vibrant fall colours, cool fresh days and nights, thoughts of family gatherings, and abundant fresh harvest. Rumi writes, ‘Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.’

Stop for a moment and say thank you for two gifts in your life right now. Life is full of opportunities, of gifts, it happens that sometimes we have the experience but miss the meaning.  This summer a group of meditators met each Thursday for prayer and community sharing.  Recently we commented on the peace and harmony we are experiencing during this time together.  One said, if only the whole world were praying like this how different life would be. Another commented, it feels like we know the secret for peace.

God gave us this beautiful earth out of love for our happiness.  Everyone desires happiness, and happy people are grateful people.  We live gratefully by becoming aware that every moment in our day is valuable, even those difficult and challenging.  Those times are an invitation to transcend self in the interest of the other and live a more mature and productive life. We know by faith that this is only possible with grace.  Jesus says, ‘apart from me you can do nothing’.  -John 15:5

Gratitude is a heart muscle that grows through use, and Meister Eckhart says,’If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that is enough.’

Guaranteed. Happy Thanksgiving!

-Sister Ann Marshall, csj

No News but Bad News

This has been a summer like none other. The world is full of doom, destruction, and agony given to us in living color, compliments of the media.  Most evenings, as I tiptoe to the tv and gingerly tune in to CBC’s The National, I ask myself, “Why am I doing this”?  As much as I want to learn what’s happening in our world, usually, I shield my eyes from the plethora of horrors unfolding on the screen.  By now, we know the routine by heart.  Hundreds of forest fires are blazing across Canada, the United States, and parts of Europe.  Floods rampage through cities and towns. Haiti is torn apart by earthquakes. Tornados blitz the Florida coast.  The fourth wave of the global pandemic is rearing its destructive head.  To add insult to injury, Prime Minister Trudeau has called a federal election for September 20th, seemingly oblivious to the fact that neither disgruntled Canadians nor screaming opposition parties want to go to the polls.

Lately, to save my sanity, I’ve been turning off the nightly litany of a world falling apart at its seams.  I hear myself sighing, “Where are you, God”?  In the silence, the answer appears.  “I’m right here beside you; I am with you always”. Always?  Yes, God always is living in us, beside us, and among us, even amidst the devastation we humans have created.  My faith tells me that this is true, and I believe it, but the road ahead looks ominous.

“God always is living in us, beside us, and among us, even amidst the devastation we humans have created”

We don’t need to spend our time looking back to why the world has arrived at this juncture.  What we need is for the governments of the world and rich countries to lay down their arms and stop the proliferation of weapons. Furthermore, we need people to live simply in harmony with Mother Nature to counteract climate change.  Until then, we’ll muddle along until we learn to subdue our great big egos which urge us to be something, to know something, and to have everything.

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

Sending a Birthday Card? Kick it up a Notch!

““If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment.  Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”    ”

—    - Thich Nhat Hahn

This quote by Thich Nhat Hahn, reminds me of the story of evolution, especially on a birthday!  I like reflecting on the Big Bang, and enclosing it into a birthday card, a handwritten note, with some of the following content: “13.7 billion years ago our Universe Story began.  Next came the creation of stars, galaxies, and supernovas, our sun, to 4.45 billion years ago with the creation of Earth, planets and the Solar System, etc. right to the creation of modern humans, and the development of language some 40,000 years ago.  These are a few facts that are cited before the creation of “our human ancestors” some 2.5 million years ago.  Imagine the magnitude of this. We humans are not long on this planet, and not very old when looking at the big picture of things.

Take a moment yourself, to do as Nhat Hanh suggests, “Look deeply into the palm of your hand, see your parents and generations of your ancestors. All of them alive in you at this moment.  Each is present in your body, alive in this moment” as you write your birthday card, as you walk and breath, moment by moment, “You are the continuation of each of these people,” generation after generation of ancestors.   More than that, it has been determined that we are evolved from stardust. Put that on your next job application!

““Our ancestry stretches back through the life forms and into the stars, back into the beginnings of the primeval fireball. This universe is a single multiform energetic unfolding of matter, mind, intelligence, and life.” ”

— Brian Swimme.

Yes, a birthday greeting can convey thoughts that open the viewer to an expansive perspective of BIRTH and the story of the Universe, our home.  Judy Cannato author of Radical Amazement writes, “our work is to integrate the new universe story, to take it in and live it out”, to “intertwine it with our own, and nurturing the most significant relationship we have, relationship with life itself.”

Taking all that into consideration, I think the occasion of sending a birthday card creates an ideal opportunity to connect with a deeper meaning - of life.  

by Sister Patricia St. Louis, csj