Reflections Blog

Sister Martha Buser, OSU, wrote this reflection on November 9, 2023. It was her last blog post she wrote before her death on November 18, 2023. She is now in the arms of her loving God, looking to new horizons. What can I do? People often ask that question. Maybe it's because it's an important question and maybe it's because it has so many answers, you can get tired of it—we may get tired of mulling this question over, but progress probably is best made by those who ask that question. What can I do? I can't do what I did [...]

The following reflection is by Bonnie Chester, Ursuline Associate. Do you see me? These words might very well have been the ones that came to the mind of the victim in the parable of the Good Samaritan. This story is the gospel for Monday in the 27th week of ordinary time. Luke is the only evangelist to pen this story. He writes this narrative when Jesus  responds to a question of a “certain scholar of the law.” (Luke 10:25) The questioner wants to know what he has to do to possess eternal life. Jesus answers him, “You shall love the Lord [...]

The following is a reflection by Sister Martha Buser, OSU Noah is a two-year-old.  He is my  great-great-nephew, and he has a lot of wisdom, as apparently some children do. They express it in wonderful ways and are most often oblivious to what they know, until later, when they find out what they said. I was reflecting about something that he said some time ago. Noah enjoyed and still enjoys not wearing clothes. He did and still does take off his clothes. One time, his mother, Erin, walked into the family room to find a previously clothed Noah with no clothes on. [...]

The following is the reflection given by Sister Barbara Bir, OSU, at the funeral Mass for Sister Anne Mary Lochner, OSU on September 30, 2023. Micah 6: 8,9  2 Timothy 1: 1-7 John 4:4-41 You… You…You…We…have been told what is good and what God requires of you…of us.  Did you hear it? DO justice. LOVE goodness. WALK humbly with God. Micah, the prophet, was telling the people what religion is. To have the actions of mind and heart, to be in relationship with God—much like Angela Merici, he uses verbs, words of action: do, love, walk. DO justice: Anne Mary—Judy as [...]

The following is a reflection at Sr. Anne Mary Lochner’s Vigil Service given by Sr. Rita Ann Wigginton, OSU The Song we listened to was Daughter of God by Sarah Hart. The first reading was taken from the Last Counsel of St. Angela Merici to her daughters. The Gospel was Matthew 5:1-12 Sr. Anne Mary is a daughter of God, along with all of the women sung about in the recording we heard at the beginning of this service. She is also a daughter of St. Angela. She did what St. Angela encouraged all of us to do in the first [...]

By Bonnie Chester, Associate And The Oscar For Best Supporting Role Goes To… If you think about this title as you read the gospels and journey with Jesus during the last three years of His life, this award will have to go to Peter. I always think of him as Jesus’s “side kick.” The website bible.knowing-jesus.com counts 67 appearances of Peter in the gospels. John, the apostle, is called the beloved disciple, but good, faithful Peter always had a thought-provoking statement or question ready for our Lord. “Lord how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” and [...]

Sister Martha Buser, OSU, age 92, who had falls at home in March and June that resulted in a broken cheek in March, a broken hip in June, and a lengthy recovery, recently reflected on how this injury, along with her loss of eyesight due to severe glaucoma and the effects of the fall, has affected her in her relationship with God and others.  In reflecting on my life experience, there are so many things to say. But one of the most important is “So what?” and I don’t mean that in an unpleasant way. Just, “So what.” So, you have [...]

The following is a reflection given by Sr. Jean Anne Zappa, OSU, at a Mass for the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville on September 11, 2023, in the Ursuline Motherhouse Chapel. As we pray about peace on this 9/11 day, we most likely remember where we were when we heard the horrible news on September 11, 2001, 22 years ago and the many feelings we had that day and many days after and for some, the intense feelings are still there. And many times, we have heard that peace is more than the absence of war. It is about justice, a state [...]

The following is a reflection given by Sister Janet M. Peterworth, OSU, and Kevin Karl at St. William Church in Louisville, Kentucky on September 3, 2023. Janet Peterworth: Remember Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof?  Remember how he argues with God? “Dear God,” he says, “was that necessary? Did you have to make him lame just before the Sabbath? That wasn't nice. It's enough you pick on me. Bless me with five daughters, a life of poverty, that's all right.  But what have you got against my horse? Tevya complains, Tevya laments. But Tevya is not the first to complain.  Listen [...]

The following is the reflection that Sister Jean Anne Zappa, OSU, gave at the funeral Mass of Sister Judith Rice, OSU, on August 10, 2023. I do not know how many of you knew that Judy did not like things to last too long—a meeting, a lecture, a homily, obviously not even her funeral liturgy. She chose short readings. I also don’t know if you knew Judy was directionally challenged. She did not mind getting lost—she was happy to discover nature, new scenery, animals or whatever while she was driving. When Judy really got lost and could not get back on [...]

The following is a reflection by Ursuline Associate Bonnie Chester: The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses. Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come to a halt in the Jordan when you reach the edge of the waters." So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God. This is how you will know that there is a living God in your [...]