National Sons and Daughters Day

We Are All One Drum

National Sons and Daughters Day traces its origins all the way back to 1930s Missouri, where a gentleman of the town of St. Joseph took up a young boy’s cause when the boy complained that his mom and dad each had a “Day,” so why shouldn’t he? (https://nationaltoday.com/national-son-daughter-day).  It was designed as a day for families to spend time with each other, to look at and celebrate the differences and similarities of each member. 

While it is a wonderful idea, it originated in a time where family members lived close to each other and were not scattered across the globe as many are today.  Those of us who are aging may not have living ancestors or children to celebrate with; others have chosen lifestyles or vocations that preclude parenthood entirely.  Some also say that though not biologically connected, we have been mentored or ‘parented’ by special people in our soul family or see those we meet as soul siblings. Life and definitions change with the passage of time though perhaps we simply forget old interpretations; after all, St. Francis of Assisi spoke of “Brother Sky and Sister Moon” all those years ago.

Hillary Clinton brought back the African proverb “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” into 21st Century thinking and brought us renewed awareness that when the concept of family reaches beyond the personal to embrace a sense of the ‘human family’, only then do we care and love at our best. The spark that leads us to this grace-filled understanding may be individual but when we turn it into contemplative action the way forward takes on a Spirit-filled communal impact. 

I spent part of this morning savoring Richard Wagamese’s last book, “One Drum[1].”  His words take a willing reader to the centres of our simultaneously looped human and sacred circle of experience where there is no thought, but connection with the One.  Wagamese teaches that “…we are all one song, one family, one energy and one soul.  For when [his] people say “all my relations” at the end of a ceremony or a prayer, it is in recognition of that truth… We are all one drum” (p.24). 

[1] Richard Wagamese. (2019). One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet. Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre.

-Susan Hendricks, Associate, Sisters of St. Joseph

Our Statement on Truth and Reconciliation

MOVING BEYOND WORDS

We are heartened by the healing felt by so many in response to the Pope’s apology to Indigenous peoples on their land (Truth and Reconciliation Call # 58).

While there were many different perspectives on the apology, there was much more consensus on the need for the apology to be followed by actions to transform the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons in Canada.  There can be no reconciliation without social, cultural, environmental, and economic justice for Indigenous communities. And we recognize this calls for deep change on our part, personally, communally, and as a society.

At the most fundamental level of action, we heard the call for truth-telling about the role of the institutional church in colonialism and the residential school tragedy.  Senator Murray Sinclair, the chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, cut to the crux of the issue when he insisted, “It is important to underscore that the church was not just an agent of the state, nor simply a participant in government policy, but was a lead co-author of the darkest chapters in the history of this land.”

These words urge us forward into the “search for truth” of which the Pope spoke and have the capacity to free us for restorative action as we co-create a new future. We value such dialogue as critical to the evolution of consciousness at the heart of reconciliation.

In addition, as Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, our actions for reconciliation prioritize support for Indigenous-led projects for change such as:

• Water First - a certificate program that trains Indigenous youth in the maintenance of water treatment plants which contributes a solution to the crisis of clean drinking water and provides skilled employment.

• Reducing Youth Justice Involvement - an Indigenous-led pilot process in Manitoba whose aim is to reduce Indigenous youth time spent in prison. The process is a year-long live-in experience that uses the best of Indigenous wisdom and time on the land as well the best of Western science to treat addiction.

As we look to next steps, we are attentive to priorities for action identified by a variety of Indigenous voices in Canada.  Some examples include:   

·         Governor General Mary Simon’s suggestion that the church’s actions following the papal apology might start with financing of mental health resources for Indigenous communities.

·         Journalist Tanya Talaga’s recommendation that a good place for the Canadian Catholic church to start is to financially support the recovery of Indigenous children in the unmarked graves.

It is our desire to bring a culture of encounter to our next steps toward reconciliation; a culture characterized by deep listening and a contemplative heart in our dialogue and action. 

Reflection on Generativity

Reflection on Generativity

generativity noun gen·​er·​a·​tiv·​i·​ty | \ ˌjen-(ə-)rə-ˈtiv-ət-ē \

: a concern for people besides self and family that usually develops during middle age especially : a need to nurture and guide younger people and contribute to the next generation —used in the psychology of Erik Erikson

Recently, we, the Sisters of St. Joseph, collectively generated words to describe our current and evolutionary view of our CSJ community? The word “generative” stood out. This quality typically is assigned to people who have passed through stages of development and maturation.

Recently as I was reading an article in the series on Integral Christianity online, I came across a section named, “Why Old People Will Save the World”. Here I need to put the article in some context and say that it addresses the role older people can play in this stage of life in the human community, not save “the Whole” of existence.

A particular piece that caught my attention came from Maggie Kuhn, the founding person of the Grey Panthers. She lists five M’s as suitable roles for elders able to function cognitively as follows:

1. Mentors: teaching the young

2. Mediators:  help resolve civil, racial and intergenerational conflicts

3. Monitors:  of public bodies, be watchdogs of City Hall/government

4. Mobilizers:  of social change

5. Motivators: who urge people away from self-interest only toward public good

These possible generative roles don’t exclude younger generations from being effective in their roles nor can they replace the importance of spiritual practices/contemplation among us and pushing its boundaries for the sake of the world. Engaging in spiritual practices with partners it seems to me can be even more influential as the Spirit within knows how to lead each and all of us in this time.

I continue to feel gratitude for our CSJ charism given to all of us for the sake of the world where I find great support in the “ALL OF US” part. There may come a time when generativity can’t be expressed in roles anymore and turns increasingly into dependence on others, due to a weakening of body or other limitations.  We make way for Presence—to others, to events, to reality as it appears. Putting this in terms of evolutionary spirituality, this is the phase when becoming and moving towards Wholeness in Jesus Christ is being realized. Is this process of letting go and becoming Whole through these phases not the most generative for the good of all?

-Sister Mary Vandersteen, csj