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Friends of Sister Brendan Conlon at her memorial service in Kermit, West Virginia on September 24, 2021 By Sister Janet Peterworth, OSU They gathered one by one, carrying chairs and heavy, but grateful hearts, as they gathered to remember their friend, mentor, and associate, Sr. Brendan Conlon. The people of Kermit, West Virginia, in Mingo County, could not let her pass without saying what they wanted to say to pay tribute to her. Saturday, September 24, 2021, was a beautiful fall afternoon. Some came from up Marrowbone Creek, some came from Pikeville, Kentucky, some came from Big Laurel Ridge, some came [...]

The following is a reflection given by President Jean Anne Zappa, OSU, at the annual Missioning ceremony held in the Motherhouse Chapel on Sunday, August 29, 2021. The theme for this year's missioning is "Live in Joyful Hope/Vive Con Gozosa Esperanza."   I hope she will be ok. I hope he is not upset with me. I hope it is alright. I hope Jean Anne doesn’t t talk too long. We use the word “hope” more often than we imagine, and we use it as a verb or wanting a happy outcome. Pope Francis reminds us that hope is not optimism, [...]

The following is a reflection that Sister Sue Scharfenberger, OSU, gave at the Jubilee Mass on Sunday, August 29, 2021 in the Motherhouse Chapel, celebrating the 2020 and the 2021 jubilarians.   Who of us was not in awe of that young girl with the yellow coat and red hat who stood before the country, before President Biden and Vice President Harris and recited The Hill We Climb.  Since then, I have read and reread especially the last part of the poem: “For there is always light if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave [...]

By Sister Janet M. Peterworth, OSU Do you remember? I remember. Do you know where you were? I know exactly where I was. Can you recall your feelings? I can. I am not talking about the day you made your first vows or the day you got married or your first day on a new job or ministry. No, I am talking about Sept 11, 2001. I am talking about that beautiful day of bright sun and Blessed-Mother-blue skies. That beautiful day of a soft morning breeze and a day when we felt secure as we sipped our coffee or drove [...]

At the sight of them, his heart broke open [with compassion]…—Mark 6: 34 As the tragic events of yesterday begin to settle into your heart, take a moment to ponder what yesterday must have been like for all the families of the service men and women who are currently stationed in Kabul. Use the gift of your imagination to put yourself in their shoes. Get a sense of their worry, anxiety and fear. Then allow yourself to touch the hem of their grief and loss. Once you have a sense of that, do the same for the remaining  service people who [...]

Artwork by Jen Norton, used with permission. The following is a reflection given by Sister Janet M. Peterworth at the funeral Mass for Sister Mary Brendan Conlon on July 26, 2021. Many years ago, our congregational leaders asked all of the Ursuline Sisters to plan their funerals and wakes. So being the good Sisters that we were, Brendan and I sat down one night in our living room (somewhere among our two dogs and six cats) and started doing that. She asked me to do the homily at her funeral. I said, “No way, Brendan, I would be a wreck.”  So, [...]

The following is a reflection given by Sister Jean Anne Zappa, OSU, at the funeral Mass of Sister Dolorita Lutsie, OSU on July 21, 2021. Did you know that the Appalachian Mountain range starts in Canada and ends in Alabama? And of course, the two most beautiful places it runs through are Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Mountains are majestic, and beautiful, and they can also be dangerous and daunting. They are safer to look at for their beauty instead of climbing them. We can see the grandeur of God in the mountains, as well as the destruction by humans because of [...]

The following is a reflection given by Sister Jean Anne Zappa, OSU, at the Mass on June 10, 2021 in the Motherhouse chapel to celebrate the lives of Sisters Lorraine Maginot, Isabel Lehmenkuler, Jane Stuckenborg, Bernadine Nash and Jamesetta Defelice, who all passed away during May and June, 2020.   My great nephew Zachary was born in February during Covid and a snowstorm. Life broke through. When he came home to meet his brother and sister, he was crying, as all newborns do. His 4-year-old sister, Claire knelt down and said to him, “Don’t worry Zachery, it is going to be [...]

The following is a reflection given by Sister Janet M. Peterworth, OSU at Saint William Church in Louisville on Sunday, June 13, 2021.   I live in the Chatsworth Apartments just off Frankfort Avenue and Ewing in Louisville. Frequently, as I am waiting for traffic lights to change, I see men and women who are partially sighted or completely blind walking along Frankfort Avenue, or crossing that street, using either a white cane or holding onto a harness that is attached to a Golden Retriever. And I marvel at the confidence and trust that these partially sighted or blind women and [...]

The following is the reflection written by Sister Sue Scharfenberger, OSU, for the funeral Mass of Sister Raymunda Orth, OSU.   “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” The wisdom of The Little Prince opens for us an understanding of time. And of relationships. The scripture today tells us there is time for everything. But neither the scripture nor the Little Prince is talking about “chronos," the chronological time. No, what we are hearing is “kairos," that “aha” moment when we know we are connecting, we are with the other. And the [...]