Joyful Sisters

Today I had the pleasure of accompanying His Excellency Bishop Paprocki to the Motherhouse in Alton of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George (my favorite group of Sisters).  Mother Regina Pacis invited Bishop Paprocki to celebrate Mass and have lunch with seven women visiting the convent for a vocation retreat.

In addition to praying and eating with the Sisters I was able to visit a few of them whom I get to see only too rarely.

During lunch, Bishop Paprocki asked the visiting women what surprises they had during their visit (the retreat began on Thursday).

One of the women answered that she was surprised at how joyful each of the Sisters are.  In just a few days time with them she could easily tell that the Sisters found great joy in their vows of poverty and obedience and the joy she found infectious.

Please pray for these women as they discern their vocations and join me in asking the Lord to raise up many vocations for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.

Come, follow me, and give me everything

At a recent Steubenville Youth Conference, Sister M. Consolata, F.S.G.M. addressed the gathered youth and spoke of discerning a religious vocation (you can hear the youth from our Diocese cheer when she mentions Alton, Illinois).

I can't post the video here for you, but you can see it on the blog of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.

Springfield native makes final profession

The Catholic Times this week carries the brief story of Sister Faustina, a native of the See City, who recently made her final profession in the the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis:

PEORIA — OSF, has professed perpetual vows as a member of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.  The profession of perpetual vows is an expression of ultimate commitment to God, to live more and more for Christ and for his Body, the church.  Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, presided at the Mass of Perpetual Profession at the East Peoria Motherhouse of the sisters on Feb. 11.  Sister Judith Ann Duvall, OSF, major superior, received the vows in the name of the church.

Sister Faustina is the daughter of Nelson R. Chesnut and the late Violet Spencer.  She was a member of Christ the King Parish in Springfield. She has served in the nursing department at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford and at OSF St. Clare Nursing Home in Peoria Heights. She is currently serving as an outpatient medical office assistant in the occupational health department at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

I should like to see such stories receive greater attention in the Diocesan paper. I know space is limited and the profession did not take place in the Diocese, but, even so, it is an important story and an easy way to help promote the consecrated life and to encourage it with a front page - or back page - story.

Pope speaks to parents of seminarians

The Holy Father visited the Roman Major Seminary Friday, 1 February 2008. In his homily at Vespers, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the parents of the seminarians, showing his usual pastoral sensitivity and genuine concern:

Dear parents, you are probably the most surprised of all at what is
happening in your sons. You probably imagined a different career for them than
the mission for which they are now preparing. Who knows how often you find
yourselves thinking about them: you think back to when they were children, then
boys; to the times when they showed the first signs of their vocation or, in
some cases on the contrary, to the years in which your son's life seemed remote
from the Church. What happened? What meetings influenced their decisions? What
inner enlightenment guided their footsteps? How could they then give up even
promising prospects of life in order to choose to enter the Seminary? Let us
look to Mary! The Gospel gives us to understand that she also asked herself many
questions about her Son Jesus and pondered on him at length (cf. Lk 2: 19,
51).

It is inevitable that in a certain manner, the vocations of children
become the vocations of their parents too. In seeking to understand your
children and following them on their way, you too, dear fathers and dear
mothers, very often find yourselves involved in a journey in which your faith is
strengthened and renewed. You find yourselves sharing in the marvellous
adventure of your sons. Indeed, even though it may seem that the priest's life
does not attract most people's interest, it is in fact the most interesting and
necessary adventure for the world, the adventure of showing, of making present,
the fullness of life to which we all aspire. It is a very demanding adventure;
and it could not be otherwise since the priest is called to imitate Jesus, who
"came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"
(Mt 20: 28).

These are beautiful and true words and ought to be given to the parents of every seminarian, and even to the parents of men and women in formation for the consecrated life. Pass them on!