Reflections from a New Canadian for Canada Day 2020

Reflections of a New Canadian, July 1, 2020

Recently, Sister Ann had the opportunity to interview a young woman from Ethiopia, who immigrated to Canada from Egypt.

After her arrival in 2015, she settled in southwestern Ontario in the home of her sponsoring family. Since that time she has gained her grade 12 certificate.  After graduation, she secured steady employment. She became a Canadian Citizen on Valentine’s Day 2020.

With Canada Day approaching I asked this new Canadian a few questions.

Q    What inspired you to come to Canada?

Coming to Canada was not my choice. While living in Egypt, I applied through the UN to immigrate to a country where I could live in freedom and peace and get an education.  The UN directed my application to Canada. Thankfully, God chose Canada for me, and I had the opportunity to continue my education. Canada is my home and the home of many other newcomers like me.

Q   What did you have to learn about Canada prior to your arrival?

Before coming to Canada, during orientation, I had to learn about the two official languages: English and French, about rights and responsibilities, customs and traditions, etc.

Q   What are the challenges you faced as a newcomer to Canada?

My biggest challenge was the language and since Canada is a multicultural country I had to accept/accommodate people from many different countries.

Q   What do you love about Canada?

I love everything about Canada especially, for example, equality of women and men, religious freedom.  I especially love how polite, respectful people are and how the dignity of everyone is respected.  Canadians welcome everyone and make a home for them. I’m inspired by how hard Canadians work in order to be successful. I love the way the Government works, I especially like the opportunity everyone has to education and healthcare.  I see taxes as a gift that protects the people when they are in need.  I love Prime Minister Justin Trudeau because he believes in family and supports family reunification.

Q   What are your future hopes and dreams?

My hopes and aspirations for the future are to complete my education, to pay forward what Canada and Canadians have done for me unconditionally. I want to help newcomers understand that Canada is their new home; I want to be of help to newcomers.  I hope someday to bring my family to this great country!  If I am successful, I will fulfill my mission to raise orphans around the world.  Moreover, I want to live a better and healthy life. I thank God for my faith which I know supported me through the difficulties I experienced the first few years as a refugee.    Thank you, Canada.

-An Interview with a new Canadian by Sister Ann Marshall, csj

Praying Our Way Through Covid-19

Praying Our Way Through COVID-19

I sit in our darkened chapel as rain softly pelts the windows and waters the thirsty leaves of trees that kiss the windowpane. My spirit is quiet, yet a deep ennui niggles at my soul.  “Are we near the end of this COVID pandemic”? my burdened heart asks. Deep within, I hear, “Wait and see”.

For months now, we have longed as a group of 70 Sisters, to sit in solidarity in this beautiful place of worship to pray together, sing in chorus, and worship at Eucharist.  However, “Not yet”, I hear, “Not yet”.  Only five are allowed in the chapel and today we’re up to ten. 

During COVID time, rules change daily but not quickly. Nonetheless, we’ve managed quite well, thank you, due to the creativity and ingenuity that we’ve always used to solve a host of problems during our 160-plus years in Canada.

No doubt, most people are aware of television’s Lobby Watch Channel.  Well, we just happen to have it on every tv in our residence.  Every Sister from her room can link to our chapel services. 

No matter where we are in the house, coronavirus has not stopped us from carrying out our spiritual practices and prayer for the world.  Usually, at 11:30 am we tune in to the chapel channel to view and take part in the liturgy’s readings of the Word of God.  Due to Sr. Loretta Manzara’s vast experience and ministry as a liturgist, we have daily scripture readings, responses, meditation, and singing, all led from our technically-equipped chapel.

Evening prayer? No problem.  We know this ritual by heart and participate on Channel 988 with our well-worn psalm books.  We don’t worry that no one can hear us singing alone, yet together, in our rooms.  Sunday liturgies consist of the Word of God with uplifting reflections, intercessions, and prayers given by our Sisters from the chapel lectern.  Yes, it’s all woman power!

Stained Glass in the chapel, Sisters of St. Joseph, London, ON [Artist: Ted Goodden]

Now, as we wait along with the rest of the world for lifted restrictions and better days ahead of us, we join our hearts, hands, and voices in solidarity, waiting, and praying, as promised for these days to end.

As Adrienne Arsenault says, concluding the National, “These days will end, and when they end, we’ll still be here,” faithful to our prayer and good works, ready to embrace the future with hope and resilience.

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

Virtual Prayer

Multiple voices are weighing in on the experience of Covid-19 – what we are learning, examples of resilience and kindness, hopes for a changed social fabric in the future. I too long for systemic change that brings us to a more humane living of universal acceptance and care of one another and creation.

Sisters of St. Joseph Chapel in London, Ontario

Since my life has been very confined these days, I share a minute experience from the reality of our residence. In our community of women religious, like many parishes and faith gatherings, we have not been able to assemble for communal prayer, although our prayer patterns continue privately, in our rooms.

The action of gathering, as an assembly to praise and encounter God, is just as essential as gathering together at the table to enjoy a meal. It is in our DNA. The Jewish community gathers at the synagogue, the Muslim community at the mosque, the various denominations of Christianity strive to assemble in meeting houses, churches, chapels, and outdoor venues. The gathering is the action that says I intentionally want to participate, to engage with others in offering praise and worship. It is a response in relationship with our ever creating God.

So for the past few months, we have tried to continue a sense of gathering in creative but safe ways.

We can’t celebrate Eucharist, but we can celebrate the Word of God, and we can praise in song, and offer lament and intercessory prayer for the sake of our fragile world. And we can do this communally through closed-circuit TV that was planned in the design of our 2007 residence.  This functions like the lobby channel in an apartment building that allows you to see who is at the main entrance ringing your bell. Each individual person is united to the whole community as we intentionally listen to the Word proclaimed over closed-circuit TV, and join in singing and prayer from our rooms.

One day, as I waited alone in the chapel, to start to pray at the appointed time, I  awakened to a new sense of how the many years of song and prayer, joy, and sorrow that had been offered here, somehow continued to resonate in the space. The chapel is the heart space of our life together. It pulses with the rhythm of daily prayer, Eucharist, funerals, Jubilees, special services of gratitude for the gift of creation, feast days of foundresses, etc.

This accumulated wealth of ritual activity and silent contemplative prayer is the foundation of our prayer together while apart. Although separated by walls and floors, each of us at the appointed time intentionally turn our thoughts and mind to the prayer at hand.

Perhaps for the first time, I realized in concrete time and space the church’s phrase the Mystical Body of Christ. Each of us has been baptized into the one Body of Christ. Being one body is obvious to me when we are all gathered around the Eucharistic table and singing our favorite hymn. But there are other times that it is lost on me. That day while leading prayer in the empty chapel I was assured that Christ has drawn us together in great Love.

Covid has challenged us to experience a whole new approach to intentionally praying together. Gratitude is the primary expression that fuels our days. I wonder what else we can learn from this experience . . .

- Sister Loretta Manzara, csj