Today, at the dinner table, one of our Sisters shared an experience she had had while filling in at the reception desk last evening. 
 
One of our residents came up, and wanted help taking off her sweater.  At first, Sister and she were going to go in our little library, but there was an outside window there and people would be able to view the private undertaking.
 
Instead, they used a storage room next store. 
 
It was quite the struggle, and Sister got a bit impatient.  The woman had some physical difficulties that made the process quite trying. 
 
Catching herself, Sister gave herself a little pep-talk: “What have you been reading about [in spiritual books] and talking about in your sermons to the residents on Sundays [at the ecumenical church services]?...You’re supposed to serve Christ in these people!”
 
A little while later, the woman was back again.  She wanted help putting on another clothing item. 
 
Laughingly, Sister recalled how she had quickly been given a chance to make amends for her previous impatience. 
 
She hadn’t needed to look for an opportunity because it fell into her lap!

We’ve been hearing a lot about numbers lately: numbers of COVID cases, numbers of early voters, numbers of inches of snow falling around the area (yuck)…One source estimates that, each winter a septillion snowflakes fall in our country!

Numbers are kind of a big deal.
 
None of us are immune to the effect of numbers on our daily lives.  Personally, I know that the rising number of Coronavirus cases in our county have made things a bit more serious around my workplace of late. 
 
This October, as we near elections, the minds of many have turned to some key issues, as well as numbers involved with them. 
 
One key issue people are considering is our economy.  It’s estimated that over 20 million people lost their jobs early in the pandemic, and many of them have not found employment again since.  Most of us working in the field of long-term care, though faced with many challenges, at least have not had to deal with this terrible situation.  What an awful hardship it must be to be unemployed in today’s world!
 
Beyond loss of jobs, about 210,000 people actually died in our country this year, related to COVID-19; that’s not too far shy of a quarter of a million!  No wonder effectively combating this virus is forefront in many people’s minds as they think about heading to the polls or mailing in their ballots in the near future.
 
Although this year’s numbers aren’t yet available, another set of numbers I can’t help but think of is the numbers of unborn babies killed annually by abortion.  Estimating from recent years' figures, it wouldn’t be farfetched to guess that the number would be somewhere around 800,000 in the United States.  That’s roughly triple the number of Americans whose lives ended in relationship to this “pandemic.”
 
Some might argue against this comparison, stating that the Coronavirus is an infectious disease, while abortion is a “medical procedure.”  Nonetheless, both of these leading causes of death sadly take the life of vulnerable human persons. 
 
Furthermore, those killed by abortion never have a chance to "live."  They never get to enjoy life and have the many experiences the rest of us have been blessed with.  I am not trying to downplay the seriousness of the virus plaguing our world, but just trying to share a little perspective on a greater evil that has been plaguing our society for many years already. 
 
There are so many vitally important issues to consider in our world today, but those whose right to life is not safeguarded don’t even have access to any of the other goods we’re promoting (such as education, economic stability, or healthcare, etc.).

Regardless of where you stand on any of these sets of numbers, these issues, I hope you will join me in praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on our country in dealing with current situations. 

Wouldn't it be great if we could have millions of Americans joined in prayer?

As I sat in chapel yesterday morning, reading over the scripture readings for Mass, one phrase especially struck me: "...he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world..."

This passage from Ephesians (1:1-10) explains how God our Father chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish.  This whole reading is worth pondering, but that would be a topic for another article.

I'd like to go back to the titular phrase of this post: "Before the foundation of the world."

Isn't that amazing to think about?  According to a quick Google search, our planet is about four and a half billion years old!  That's nine zeros (well, actually 8, with the five in place of one of them)!  Can you imagine how long that is? 

If you and I perhaps live to be 80, which seems to be about the average life expectency nowadays, our planet's foundations would have been laid 56,250,000 lifetime's ago! 

Holy macro!

God has had us in mind for a long time!  He's had a long time to figure things out.  Actually, that's not quite right, I think He's had a plan all along.  So when things aren't going well, when things look dark, I can find consolation in this.  I can remind myself of this; He has a loving plan for our good.

I am reminded of a scripture verse which articulates this message well.  It was etched in my memory by a youth group trip a number of yeaers back: "For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for your woe, plans to give you a future full of hope."  We went around the group (probably on the bus), inserting the name of each person into the passage, ending with an enthusiastic "Jeremiah Twenty NINE Eleven!"

It is beautiful and touching to realize that God's loving plan for my life preceeded the very foundation of the world. 

Today, now, as we honor St. Margaret Mary (known for the revelations of the Sacred Heart), I gratefully recall the words of Psalm 33: "the plans of his heart [stand] from age to age."

This beautiful time of year is rich in so many memories, so many wonderful times with family and friends, along with the beautiful colors of the leaves that are now starting to fall from the trees.  

It’s also the time for high school “Homecoming.”  However, this year, I’m sure events are being curtailed or modified due to the Coronavirus.  

Nonetheless, this week, I had my own sort of homecoming.  I was invited to come down to our provincial house in Hankinson to help with our community’s newsletter.  It’s been a while since an issue came out.  

I had never worked on layout for this particular newsletter before (although I had written a few articles for it over the years), so it was a new experience.  It was a fun challenge to undertake, though.

I arrived at the convent about 1 p.m. Tuesday, and, after bringing my bags upstairs, met right away with the Sister whom I was to help with this project.  

After an afternoon of work, it was time to join the other Sisters in the chapel for the rosary and vespers.
 
As I walked into the large chapel and found the pew that I have been using during recent visits, a sense of homecoming came over me. 
 
This was the place where I had begun my formation for religious life, and where I had made my vows.  It was the place that I had first visited as a 24 year-old, not too long out of college. 
 
While it was not the house I grew up in, as a “Hankinson Franciscan,” it is a sort of spiritual home.  
 
I am grateful to God for bringing me here, for guiding my along my life’s path, and calling me to this amazing (if, at times, challenging) vocation. 
 
I pray and trust that He will continue to be with me on this journey; I hope, too, that one day I may have a final homecoming in heaven. 

Although he's not a patron of mine, or a saint of our Franciscan order, today's memorial of St. Peter Claver has resonated with me during my adult life. 
 
On this feast, which I also remember as the birthday of the sister of my best friend from childhood, my mind tends to go back to a visit I made with the St. Peter Claver Sisters, who had a house a little ways away from my home.  When I was first exploring religious life in my early twenties, I spent a day or two with them for a brief experience of life as a Sister.  I even volunteered a little for them afterward, helping with a writing project for their Echo magazine.  I pray for both these Sisters and the sister of my friend on this memorial.
 
In his homily today, Father mentioned the aid, physical and spiritual, that St. Peter gave to the African slaves as they arrived in Colombia.  I was reminded of the movie Roots, which I saw as a child or early teen.  It definitely made an impression on me; I can still remember seeing footage of captives in the terrible conditions of the slave ship, practically piled on top of each other.  It was only years later that I learned about the Saint who met these poor people and shared Christ’s love with them. 
 
St. Peter Claver’s example of charity is a reminder to me of the call to love those who the world might see as “the least of my brothers.”  This gospel call aligns with our mission to the elderly and disabled here at St. Anne’s.  Today, if I let it, can serve as an examination of conscience and an impetus to do better in my own life. 
 
An amazing fact about St. Peter Claver, also mentioned in today’s homily, is that he baptized about 300,000 people during his 40 years of service to the African captives.  According to my calculations, this means that about twenty people a day were brought into God’s family through his ministry!
 
St. Peter Claver, please pray for us!

This week, the hearts of many of us are in Washington D.C., with the thousands of pilgrims from around the country (and our own parishes) who are journeying there for the annual March for Life.

This time of year, as we commemorate the fateful Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, is a good time to be reminded of the need for us to pray and work for the end of legalized abortion. It's easy to forget about the issue during the year, and I find events like this to be a good reminder.

In my state in life, along with writing to legislators when bills are on the table, I think the most important thing for me to do to advance this movement is to pray.  I hope you join me in doing this as well.

We pray for mothers in unexpected pregnancies.  We pray that more babies, whose mothers are at a loss as to what to do, may be given the chance to come to birth and live out their life.

This topic of praying for babies (and their mothers, of course), came to mind again because of a conversation I just had a few moments ago...

This afternoon, as I was sitting at the reception desk, a long-time friend/volunteer of ours came in for her weekly hour of Eucharistic Adoration, which we hold in our chapel.  Referring to an understanding between us (going back several months now), she promised to "pray for more babies" during her time with Jesus.

Actually, this appreciated promise of prayer has nothing to do {directly} with the pro-life cause...

During one of our monthly women's gatherings, which she had attended, this woman shared with me that she and a friend of hers refer to me as the "baby," since I am the youngest Sister her at St. Anne's."

Teasingly, yet in earnest, I urged her to "pray for more babies."

Now, whenever we see each other, she assures me of her prayers for vocations to our community with this endearing expression.

This blog just moved here, but it started several years ago. 
To view older posts, please visit: https://ndfranciscans.weebly.com/blog
and https://ourfranciscanfiat.wordpress.com