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By Sister Agnes Coveney, OSU The following is a reflection given by Sister Agnes Coveney, OSU, at Mass on June 2, 2022 in the Motherhouse Chapel on the Ursuline Campus. Here we are on our journey in the 7th week of Easter, between the celebrations of Jesus’ Ascension and his sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. There is something to the times we are living in now, that makes us lean forward toward the enlightenment and wisdom that the Holy Spirit brings to us in Pentecost. As for the times in which we live, it is important to note that [...]

The following is a reflection written by Sister Janet M. Peterworth, OSU, for the third Sunday of Easter, May 1, 2022. “It is something within us that doesn’t let us sleep,that doesn’t let us rest,that won’t stop poundingdeep inside. . . No, brother,it is not the noise in the streetswhich does not let us sleep. . . Join us in this vigiland you will know what it is to dream!Then you will know how marvelous it isto live threatened with Resurrection!” 1 Julia Esquivel These words “threatened with Resurrection,” are the title of a poem written in 1980 by Julia Esquivel, [...]

By Ginny Schaeffer, director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality …love one another as I love you.Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.I have told you these things so that my joy mightbe in you and your joy might be wholly mature. John 15:12, 14:27, 15:11 Jesus was not blind or stupid. Unlike the religious leaders he once busted for not being able to read the signs of the time, Jesus sees the horrific storm that is about to break over him. He has become too popular with the people. He has evaded the traps set [...]

Tandem, an organization founded by twins Arianna and Lorenzo Martinelli of Louisville, matches and facilitates interaction between seniors and high schoolers. They are currently developing an app, Tandem, that will have its third release in April. They state that their mission is to create a safe and accessible environment for high schoolers to benefit from seniors’ mentorship while seniors stay connected with the younger generation. Several Ursuline Sisters of Louisville are participating in the program, and Arianna, a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, was recently honored with the Ursuline Education Network Service Award. The following is her essay submitted to the [...]

By Sister Ruth Ann Haunz, OSU In a Face Time visit with my niece, she shared her frustration with her 3-year-old daughter, Ellie. “She doesn’t listen,” she exclaimed. In response to her dad’s attempt to talk to her about her aversion to listening to her parents, she declared that her batteries were dead! She just could not hear. In further conversation, she admitted that her imaginary batteries were turned off. Ellie’s story urged me to recall Mary’s deep listening to the angel Gabriel and her trust in God’s voice experienced in Gabriel’s’ words. Mary also trusted God’s voice in her cousin, [...]

By Sister Janet M. Peterworth, OSU   Fourth Sunday of Lent “Could we start again, please?” You may recognize this line as a title of a song in the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. Mary Magdalene and Peter want to start over with Jesus and His mission. They were both having second thoughts. It had gone too far for them. They were not sure anymore. I suggest that the title from this song could be the takeaway line of this Sunday’s scriptures. “Could we start again, please?” We read in our first reading that the Hebrews now had a new leader [...]

Sister Sue Scharfenberger, OSU, left, holding gate door for students returning to in-person classes at Saint Angela Merici School in Callo, Peru, March 7, 2022.     On March 7, Saint Angela Merici School in Callao, Peru, reopened to in-person learning after TWO YEARS of being closed due to the pandemic. The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville founded St. Angela Merici School in 1965, which currently serves students preK-high school. Sister Sue Scharfenberger, OSU, serves as the mission promoter at the school. The following is a reflection by Sister Sue on March 7, opening day.   Since December, we were all telling [...]

By Ginny Schaeffer, director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality What if we view this desert time of Lent as not just a time to reflect or to lament or to confess or to fast, but a time where we learn to be free. Megan Westra Two years ago, we lived through a different kind of Lent. In order to keep ourselves and each other safe from a virus that humanity had no natural immunity or a vaccine against we stayed safe at home. Restaurants, bars, all non-essential businesses and even churches were shuttered, closed to prevent the spread of [...]

By Sr. Agnes Coveney, OSU By this time in Lent, Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday are past. We are settling into the pattern of Lent—the Scripture readings, the spareness of this liturgical season, and the Lenten practices that we all do our best to adopt in these weeks. I remember a friend who worked with me when I was a newly vowed Ursuline Sister. My friend asked, since I was a Sister, if it was true that I could no longer eat candy bars or succumb to any other rich, favorite food whenever I wanted. I told my friend that, the [...]

By Ginny Schaeffer, director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality   You are my beloved. —Mark 1:11 We spend most of Advent preparing for Christmas – decorating, buying gifts, baking, wrapping gifts. We spend most of Holy Week preparing for Easter – shopping, coloring eggs, baking. All of this for just one day. Granted, these are the two great feast days of the Church and should be celebrated with rituals, remembrance and loved ones gathered around a table laden with food. Have you ever thought about preparing for Lent? That’s a whole season – forty days. You might think, “Yeah, [...]