“Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you've been through the tough times and you discover they aren't so tough after all.”
― Malcolm Gladwell
Celebrating a Courageous Woman
Mother St. John Fontbonne
As we celebrate the anniversary of the death of Mother St. John Fontbonne on November 22nd may her courage and flexibility inspire us during these trying times.
Covid-19 is certainly not the first set of circumstances to threaten the lives of the Sisters of St. Joseph. We can recall the effects of the French Revolution when our Sisters, and Mother St. John, our Foundress, were imprisoned and facing the possibility of execution on the guillotine when the fall of Robespierre (1794) resulted in the release of the prisoners and the end of the Revolution. Mother St. John left few writings, what has endured are the actions and the traditions she established.
May we embrace the change that these times beckon for the good of all humanity and creation.
““From the first days of her religious life, Mother Saint John had learned to adjust her plans and dreams to respond to the needs that surrounded her. In Salesian terms, she embraced the need to continually adapt herself, ceding her personal desire, and following God’s will as it became manifest through the signs of the times. (page 67)
Instead of conceiving a plan and making it happen, she opened herself so that the plan of God could take flesh and become history - in her and in her neighbour. (page 68)”
-taken from Anything of which Woman is Capable, Volume I, by Mary M. McGlone, CSJ. 2017. Permission granted for reprint.”
View the History of Mother St. John Fontbonne: Part I & II:
12 Steps to a Compassionate Life - A Book Review
Reviewed by Barbara Stanbridge, IHM, Detroit, MI.
Karen Armstrong, prolific author and religion historian, won a TED grant in 2008 to create a process for reinfusing our global society with compassion. Scholars from six major world religions created a “Charter of Compassion” and have been working ever since with nations and groups to sign on.
In this brief but inspiring book, Armstrong shows how compassion is fundamental to all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions and using the scaffolding of 12 steps, lays out a process for individuals and groups to build their compassion competencies.
Each step is examined and illustrated by way of practices: learning about compassion; looking at our world; compassion for yourself; empathy; mindfulness; action; how little we know; how we should speak to one another; concern for everybody; knowledge; recognition; and love your enemies. This is not another self-help, new age book, but rather a deeply spiritual book for the spiritual seeker with the capacity for reflection. It is in the best tradition of Confucius, Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, the Dalai Lama, Etty Hillesum, Dorothy Day, Florence Nightingale and Nelson Mandela.
Perhaps there is nothing more important for us to get a grasp of in these days of polarization than compassion. Karen Armstrong lays out a path.
-Barbara Stanbridge, IHM, Used with kind permission.
Weekly Pause and Ponder
Requiescet in Pace
The loss of a loved one is painful and deep. Recently I experienced this, again for the first time, when Ted, Leanne’s husband, phoned. That he took the time to call me personally, to tell me the circumstances of her passing, was an honour since Leanne comes from a large family which could have taken up all Ted’s time. Leanne and I had a special relationship – I can hear many others who had known Leanne much longer say so did we. Leanne and I partnered in introducing Christian Meditation into the Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board beginning in 2011. It was a friendship of like minds and hearts. I used to say to her ‘Leanne, we are tied at the hip’ as we trotted off to school with brown bag lunches and high hope of engaging with the students and teachers. Leanne had just retired after 40 years teaching and was 20 years my junior and she used to say, ‘Sister, you make me feel young’.
For Christians, November is the month dedicated in a special way to remembering our beloved dead. It is also the month the world honours those who made the ultimate sacrifice for country and freedom. So I could say that Leanne’s passing was appropriately timed even though she has left a huge crater in the lives and hearts of her family and friends still on this side of the veil. I thought this evening as I prayed my evening prayers (Night Office), now Leanne you know the answer to all those questions we used to ask each other:
what does living your faith look like;
how does prayer work for you;
how do you forgive deeply and authentically unforgivable hurts?
Rest in peace my friend
- Sister Ann, csj.