Be Cheerful

A quote from Catherine McAuley:

Be cheerful animating all around you.

There is a saying, "Smile; it makes people wonder what you are up to!" There is also another, "If you see someone with out a smile, give them one of yours."

I think both of them would have been Catherine's to say if she had known about them. To be cheerful in the midst of suffering and poverty all around you, lifts the spirits of those whose lives you touch. if you are cheerful, you lift all those around you. Recall your workplace, your classmates, your friends and acquaintances. Who are the ones you want to be around? At whom do you groan when you see them come into the room? Who leave you energized and who drains you?

Today let us be the one who bring joy to others, who give the smile where there is none and who say a kind word to lift someone up. Today, "Be cheerful animating all those around you."

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Turn or Trials to Advantage

A quote from M. Catherine Maher:

May we have the grace to turn our trials to advantage.

I have a friend who is often moaning and groaning about her misfortunes and stress. I, on the other hand, do not do that very often. It's like the glass that is looked as either half empty or half filled. We can look at our misfortunes as the world being against us or we can look at the misfortunes as way to re-evaluate our actions and priorities and try a different path. And, if put God into the mix, we can turn it into discernment. It begins with listening and looking with a different set of eyes and ears.

So today, take stock of your life. Do you moan and groan or do you look on the bright side of things? Do you have to go with "plan A" or are you open to "plan B"? Let us ask for the grace to be able to be flexible and look to another source for our way to go in this life.

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A Banquet of Intimacy

A quote today from Madeline Duckett (contemporary Sister of Mercy);


Each of us is invited to a banquet of intimacy with our God.

This morning in our morning prayer we were doing faith sharing about how the Risen Lord has helped us to live our call and to call others. It was a rich and varied sharing. We come to our God from all directions. There is no one common experience. I was so amazed at the openness as well as the richness in sharing those intimate moments with God and how they shaped each person.

Yes, each of us can have that same richness if only we open ourselves to God and discipline ourselves to be aware and open to God's working in our life. May you feast at this banquet!

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imperfections

A quote from Catherine,
We must not be discouraged at our imperfections.

The other day I was reading a reflection about being perfect. I wrote a poem about it that I shall share today.

Perfection,
not that never-make-a-mistake
kind, no, the kind
that acknowledges
imperfection and
goes beyond its limits
to greater gifts.

A paradox; to be
human is to be
imperfect;
the best of the human condition,
a perfection that
cannot stand alone.
Only with others can
perfect humanness
become possible.

So don't stress out trying to be perfect. Instead try to be totally human and you will become perfect.

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The Most Important of These is Charity

A quote from Catherine:

Remember, if there were a hundred regulations to be observed, the most important of these is charity.

This sounds a lot like St. Paul. And who could go wrong with Paul? I think sometime we hide behind the "rules" so we don't have to expend ourselves to be of service or of charity to others.

I think that is what Catherine was trying to say. The rules are there to govern our lives, but charity goes beyond rules and supersedes the rules at times.
For me, I need to see how the rules hinder me from risking, from trying something new and from getting out of my comfort zone. How about you?

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Recreation is a duty

A quote from Catherine:

Recreation is a duty; but as soon as anything gives pain it ceases to be a jest.

In Catherine's day (as in my early days) recreation was a scheduled time on the weekly horarium. We had it whether we wanted it or not. The days without it probably were days with silence. Luckily for me we had formal recreation at least five days a week and the other two were more informal. Some days i did not like it since we were mending or sewing something. The ones I liked were the days we played volleyball. We put our whole hearts (and bodies) into it.

I think that in Catherine's time it was a time to sit back and have good conversation while mending, writing letters, or doing some hand sewing. Today it would be as a community when we watch Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy and talk during the commercials or answer the puzzle as we figure it out. Sometime we have some pieces of homework to do that we glance at during commercials.

I think that fun and good conversation have a great place in our lives because we are so busy most of the time and do not take time to re-create! This is about re-creating ourselves, our lives and re-connecting life with our primary relationship with God.

So often we are so busy, we live in small groups or alone and we work all day as well as have night meetings that we do not take the time to re-create and renew ourselves. Maybe Catherine had it right, to stress that recreation is a duty- a duty to be your best for ministry, for prayer and for each other. I think I want to explore the recreation I do and see if it renews me daily. Maybe I have to take more time for it and maybe I am doing fine. How about you? How do you re-create yourself each day?

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Rewards Tenfold

A quote from Catherine:

God will reward tenfold, every little act of mortification which we perform.

Today is April 15, tax day. I met a mother rushing to mail her son's tax return. He's a last minute kind of guy. She was finished long ago. This time of year, with tax time looming, people try to see what they can not be taxed on, hoping that the taxes they do pay have some rebate and pray they have enough money to cover the check. Others just give their finances to a financial planner or CPA to sort it all out and some find ways to not pay at all.

In this quote, ..."every little bit of mortification will be rewarded..." seems a stretch to connect with tax time. But perhaps not...Let's look at the widow's mite, the taxes Jesus paid through the coin in the fish.."Render unto Caesar..."

We all have our crosses t carry. Today the one that comes to mind is our taxes to be paid. So what taxes do you pay? Are you being honest in your reporting? How can we use this time to look at a sacrifice as something to be rewarded later on

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Refrain form Displeasing God

A quote from Catherine McAuley;

Through love of God, we should refrain from saying, doing or thinking anything which we know to be displeasing to God.

That is a tall order in this cynical world of backbiting politics, rampant hatred of immigrants, crazy stuff on the Internet, and even outright lies from governmental leaders. How do we be people of integrity with all that is around us? Won't it taint us as well? What are we to do and how do we live in this sort of world? Catherine did not have such stuff to deal with, did she?

Most likely she did. People are people. She had to deal with bigotry, of oppression because of her Catholic background, of being a woman in a man's world , much less a woman in the Church of the mid-nineteenth century. Then there was the whole issue of how to govern, teach and still maintain her integrity, her humor, her patience and her spirit while forming young women into what she wanted her Sisters to be. Yes, she saw it all, from the dirty hovels in the alleys,the poor conditions in the prisons, the sickness and poverty that kills the spirit. There were no self help books then, no therapy sessions, no Prozac, or even books to read on the subject. She did it the hard way, through prayer, deep faith and a sense of what is right for others.

So, today when we get those negative thoughts about others, let us offer up a prayer for them. When we are tempted to retaliate, let us remember to "walk a mile in their shoes". When we want to join in on dissing someone, let us refrain or better yet, uplift the person, knowing full well we might be the next victim. It will do our heart, our spirit and our faith good to have to struggle now and then in order to be in union with God.

Blessings today!
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Guard Over our Thoughs and Words

A quote from Catherine:

How can we expect to be recollected in prayer if we keep no guard over our thoughts and words?

"Grace builds on nature." That is often quoted, but I do not know the source. How can we grow in our spiritual life if we do not also discipline the rest of our life. If we have all sorts of distractions in the work we do, the conversations we have and the intentions that never get done, how do we expect to have this pure and simple prayer life?

We live in a world of noise and busyness. Do we ever just have quiet? One night I was home alone and I did not turn on the TV or play music. When I was ready for bed, I fell asleep quite peacefully. I realized the next morning that my good night's sleep was partly due to having such hours of peacefulness beforehand.

Having those moments also help when we go to prayer. Surrounding yourself with quiet, having a space that is not too distracting and having a constant regular schedule for prayer will help us to be more "recollected".

"Recollected"-a word to ponder. It looks like collecting again. What are we collecting, and what are we recollecting? Hopefully we are collecting those moments of peace, of quiet, so that our hearts can be centered on God, for whom we alone go forward or back.

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Receiving the Treatment of Beggars

A quote from Catherine:

Do not be disheartened, if when advocating the claims of the poor whom you personate, you should now and then receive the treatment of beggars-followers of Christ must share the fortunes of Disciples.

Catherine was very clear that we should expect that we will be treated like the people whom we serve. To be a true disciple is to undergo privations, maligned name, even persecution or prosecution. Why do we think we should get off easily? Jesus' disciples suffered, so why should we think we would be different?


We have the faith, the courage and support of a faith community to hold us up and help us to keep our hope for the future. Where are you? Are you the persecuted? The faith community? Or the one doing the persecuting?

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Distance From God

A quote from Catherine;

Let us recall to mind with sorrow , how far we are from loving God
with our whole heart and soul.

We say we want to love God and love others and yet we fail miserably. Just this morning I snapped at one of the Sisters in my house. I had no right to do that. It was not loving or kind. Though I retracted quickly, I have a long way to go to put on the mind and heart of God. How can I do that? I know it is by being mindful, by not being so quick to speak and to be aware of my faults and apologize for them instantly. It makes me more humble and more open to God's work in my life.
And how about you? Where do you need to be more sensitive to God's love in you and for others?

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Complaint or Praise

A quote of Catherine:


When reprimanded or spoken ill of, be silent,
when praised, turn the conversation to some other subject.

When we look at the accusations thrown at Jesus and look at the silence he kept, when we look at the praises and see how he turned the subject, we have a better sense of what this means.

Today we are a feel good society. We praise children so they do better, we work on our skills to keep morale up and to help people work together and yet we forget this important bit of advice.

In the book The Four Agreements, the author would say, "Take nothing personally." The classic spiritual writers would remind us that all is a gift from God; it is not ours to gloat about or be upset. In my early Novitiate days it was called "holy indifference". Matthew would say, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..."

We have good traditions that support this saying. Let us look at this again and see the hidden depths of the wisdom behind what Catherine is saying today.

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Each Day a Step Towards Eternity

A quote from Catherine;

Each day is a step we make towards eternity; and we shall continue thus to step from day to day until we take the last step, which will bring us into the presence of God.

If we could, but live each day as if it were the last, what changes we would make in our lives! Some would connect with broken relationships, others put their house and finances in order and others would finally live with freedom and do risky things they only dreamed to do. What would you do if today were your last day? Perhaps for someone who is reading this, it will truly be your last day on earth. How are you going to live today?

For me, if my day is filled with care and concern for others and my room is half-way cleaned (dream on!), then I am ready! I'll let others clean up after me! I have my will, my advanced directives and my funeral and wake services on file.

But I do have unfinished work. I want to finish a quilt, finish the poetry book I started this morning , finish my ministry and finish a couple of other sewing projects and catalog some of my "stuff' for family. Yes, there is a lot to do and today I will start on it as if my days are numbered. They are you know. God has them numbered for me and for you. We just don't know what the number is and so we need to live our life as each day is a step toward eternity and eternal happiness with God.

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These are the Things to Poor Prize More than Gold

A quote from Catherine:

These are the things the poor prize more than gold though that cost the donor nothing; the kind word, the gentle compassionate look and the patient hearing of sorrow.

Poor or not these are the things all of us prize! Now if only we have our needs met and then are able to meet the needs of others. Maybe that is phrased wrong, if we meet the needs of others, our needs will be met as well.

There are so many people in the world who simply need a listening ear. I recall reading a book many years ago entitled The Listener. It had as it setting a large building where you could go in and talk. There was someone behind a curtain who would listen.

Today as we go about our work and play, let us pause and really listen to someone, helping them feel as if they are the only person in our world for even just a moment. You may be the one to save a life.

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