Wisdom, Age and Grace

Our most senior Sisters are amazing!  Last week, as I was walking down our care centre hallway, I met Sr. Mary Eunice, 94, pushing her rollator toward me at full speed.  She slowed down enough to inform me that Prime Minister Trudeau would be giving a speech in a few minutes and she didn’t want to miss a word of it.  I knew that she would listen to his address and decide whether he should be admonished, advised or just in need of prayers.

Sisters Eileen & Michaela

A few days earlier, I was taking a copy of America Magazine to the Sisters’ rooms to see if they wanted to continue to be on the list for reading it.  I went to Sr. Theresa Marie’s room where I found this soon-to-be 90-year-old busy on Facetime. She indicated that of course, she would like to receive America as it’s a publication where one can find the most recent updates and current events analysis from a scholarly Jesuit perspective.  Next, I spied Sr. Eileen, 95, a blogger on our website and companion Sr. Michaela who is healing gracefully from hip replacement surgery.  They were enjoying dinner in the little country kitchen.  Yes, they agreed that America was a most worthwhile magazine to continue receiving and by the way, did I know where the September issue of MacLean’s was.  “Yes, Sisters, coming right up”, I replied.

Sisters Theresa Marie, Mary Eunice and Veronica in the Chapel

Sr. Veronica is 94 and now deprived of eyesight.  She enjoys when I visit and read to her from the latest edition of the Catholic Register.  Our reading time is interspersed with our own editorial comments, smart remarks and even chuckles as we add our views and recommendations on the various articles.

Sr. St. Bride, now 95, arrived from Edmonton several years ago suffering, as she put it, “from too many birthdays”. She has little sight but is not one to miss the games of her cherished Edmonton Oilers or Eskimos (soon to receive a new name). They are no doubt included in her prayers along with many others. In fact, Sister has a telephone ministry that reaches all the way to the West.

Sister Paulette celebrates her 90th!

Sr. Paulette, our latest 90-year-old, was a Windsor school principal and later child and family counsellor for fifty years. Coming to London meant a switch from her 250ccs motorcycle to larger wheels for transportation. Now she enjoys busy days serving as receptionist relief at our residence entrance.  Being a Windsorite, she follows everything American from current events to sports and politics. 

Sister Marie Celine preparing sandwiches for the Hospitality Centre in London

Sr. Marie Celine, 91, a talented artist who spent over a decade in Peru, recently moved to the care centre. She helps to make sandwiches for the hungry who visit our downtown hospitality centre during these troubled times.

Our beloved senior Sisters live deep spiritual lives, filled with serenity, even in suffering.

Theirs is work well done in the Creator’s vineyard.  They hold the wisdom of the years with gentleness, peace and joy.

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

The Gift of Labour

Well, well, well, here we are again, hopefully somewhat rested after an unusual five months of dealing with the coronavirus forces that have intruded into our lives.  One glance at the calendar shows us that we are staring Labour Day in the face. This year, we are eager more than ever to embrace our place in the workforce.  However, this September, many people are searching for employment opportunities that help fire the economy and give personal satisfaction and monetary rewards.

If we’ve been fortunate enough to have had steady work at our job sites or home office during this pandemic, we’ve been the lucky ones. On the other hand, if we’re among the many who have suffered job losses that may never return, we feel sad, blue and even depressed.

Around me, I hear comments from people such as, “I’ve worked all my life and never been unemployed,” or “I’ve never missed a day of work in thirty years”.  Others wonder, “When will the world return to normal? I just want to feed my family”.

Suddenly, we no longer yearn for the weekend or a couple of days respite. We realize what a gift it is to have satisfying work. Work gives life dignity and provides motivation to get up in the morning. Honest labour is a boon to the economy, to others and to further the development of the world.

Yes, I sometimes begrudgingly drag my body out of bed and off to work but I usually return home tired but aware that my work has meaning for myself, my family, and all those whom my life touches. 

This Labour Day, let’s not forget to pause and reflect on the gift of work.  

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

Learning NOT to Lead

Maybe it comes from being the oldest in my family. Maybe it is because of being an extrovert. Or it just may be a habit of taking “charge” and being allowed to do that and being appreciated in doing so.

Whatever the reason, I have recently become aware that sometimes, one is best NOT to take the lead on a project that is birthed from within a group, but to listen to the source of the verbalized vibrant energy from within the group, to pull in the reigns, hold back and let what will be, be.

This requires great trust in others, in the unknown, and in allowing oneself to BE led by other leaders in the group.

Is this not what happens when a group adopts a new form of leadership to replace the “familiar” and comfortable ways of being and ministering together?

In my relationship with the Indigenous Knowledge keepers and elders with whom I have been privileged to work in presenting the Kairos Blanket Exercise, the evolution that has happened because of the pandemic is the urgency to continue to share the TRUTH of our Canadian history in another venue until the KBE becomes virtual.

What is being birthed by three Indigenous knowledge keepers is the teaching/sharing circles that are totally led by an indigenous person.  The focus is to educate we non-Indigenous allies who want to know and live the truth.

A sharing Circle session is 2 hours by Zoom and consists of a land acknowledgement and tobacco presentation by an ally, and then the Indigenous leader does the rest by focusing on a 20-30 minute teaching and inviting the group then to share how they feel about what was heard.  Then there is a checkout and closing.

My biggest learning is to HOLD BACK and BE led as one who also needs to learn.

Does this not seem to be the journey of the ripening process as we age, hopefully gracefully, and encourage the leadership that is present among us to flourish?

-Sister Kathleen Lichti, csj