Monday, February 8, 2010
Mother Marianne Contributions Honored
A Hawaiian news station has highlighted the dedication and work of Blessed Mother Marianne. In this video, look for the new bronze statue of Mother Marianne that was recently dedicated in Kewalo Basin Park, Hawaii. It is beautiful!
Please click here to view this inspiring news clip!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
With Praise and Gratitude!
With praise and gratitude we opened our yearlong celebration of 150 years of the presence of our sisters in the Diocese of Syracuse on Saturday, Jan. 9.
The celebration began with a 4 p.m. Mass at St. Anthony's chapel. Attended by about 140 sisters and 40 associates, our worship was enhanced by exultant music that came forth from the voices of a choir and congregation fired with excitement from the first note of "Be Exalted, O God" to the last note of "O Sing a Hymn To Francis." In addition to the voices was the glorious accompaniment by trumpets, organ, piano, guitars and drums. All were under the direction of S. Terri Laureta who brought forth magnificent musical praise! Terri had written a special song for the anniversary entitled, "God, Gracious Friend," in which we celebrated "all our hopes and all our dreams, God's faithfulness through the years and our trust for the future."
Bishop Thomas Costello, who has been a long time friend of the sisters in 
convergences" over these 150 years which have shaped us and our ministries.
After Mass we gathered at the
Dessert was followed by a skit, "150 Years Revisited," in which the "mothers general" of our history gathered - nine in their heavenly conference room and four on earth to share memories of our past history. Each player well represented her character in telling some of the stories of her time in office, missions she helped establish and support and some humorous anecdotes from her time. It was an entertaining way to "tell the stories" and celebrate our graced history.
As we continue to celebrate throughout 2010, we look forward to events which will remind us of how our God has indeed blessed us!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sisters Profess Vows
Happy Profession Day!
On Sunday, August 9, 2009 Sister Chris professed perpetual vows at St. Mary of the Angels in Williamsville, NY.
On Saturday, August 15, 2009, Sister Sylvia professed perpetual vows and Sisters Laura and Amy professed temporary vows at Mt. Alvernia in Millvale, Pa. It was a wonderful day celebrated with sisters, family members, associates and friends.
We give THANKS for God's merciful love and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us!
"Today, O God, your house echoes with joy for Sisters Chris, Sylvia, Laura and Amy hear your voice in their hearts and offers themselves to you in service."
To view more photos of the Profession, please click here:
http://sosf.org/photo-gallery/
Sisters Sylvia, Pat, Laura and Amy
Sisters Ann and ChrisThursday, May 21, 2009
Service Camp for High-School Women
S. Kathy Adamski, Vocation Minister, shares a reflection she wrote last year following the “Nun” Camp 2008” experience. This was the 7th Annual Service Camp for High-School Women in the Franciscan Tradition
Our Seventh Annual Service Camp for High-School Women was a huge success, and John and Joan Spaulding once again permitted 24 women to invade their home in Prosperity, Pennsylvania for a five-day service experience for teen-age women. Seventeen teenagers came from various parts of the country for this week of service. We had a young lady from San Diego, one from Michigan, one from College Park, PA, six from the Ashtabula, Ohio area and the rest from the greater Pittsburgh area. It was our most diversified group, since we began offering this summer camp.
Many of the young women were “repeaters” in that they had made the camp before and were excited to return. We had four college-age women as counselors, one graduate student and several adults were on our team this year. I especially want to thank Sister Genny Kovalesky for giving an entire week to vocation ministry. Also, I would like to thank Sister Suzanne Suzanny for taking a break from her law studies to visit the young women. Sister Suzie was a full-time staffer on previous camps, but her duties for law school prevented her from spending the entire week with us
The camp is quite structured to provide the girls with ample opportunity to pray, reflect, serve and have fun with their friends. Each day has a particular Franciscan theme—conversion, prayer, service and humility. We try to integrate the theme throughout the day. After seven years, I believe we have a good mix of work and play so that the women enjoy themselves as they serve. We pray three times a day—morning prayer, the Gospel before supper, and we integrate the particular day’s theme with faith sharing in the evening. It is amazing how much the girls share; one gal sent me an e-mail and stated, “ I just wanted to send a little thank you for letting me be part of camp again this year. I really had a great time. The service activities I went to this year really helped me grow in my faith and as a person as well. Seeing some of the things I saw this year made me feel so blessed to have such loving family and friends; and it really makes me want to continue to do so much service throughout the year.”
The young women served at the Waynesburg Soup Kitchen in St. Ann’s Parish, the Humane Society, Western Waynesburg Jesus Development, McDaniel’s Personal Care Home, several individual homes and the farm where we stayed. We stressed the need for each young person to try and visit various places to serve so that each would gain from a variety of experiences.
A special thank you is in order to the Spauldings and the Shelter Farm. I also would like to thank the Portiuncula Foundation and Sister Ann Bremmer for their grant monies which allows us to offer this camp each year for a reasonable amount so that poorer families can be offered scholarships.
While on his deathbed and in summation and in St. Francis’ own words he challenged his followers and he challenges each of us today, “Let us begin, for up to now, we have done nothing”.
2008 Group Picture of our Seventh Annual Service Camp for High-School Women We would love to have you join us, please click here!http://www.sosfvocations.org/Pages/OtherRetreats.html
Peace and All Good,
Sister Kathy Adamski, OSF
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Remain in me, as I remain in you
A Reflection by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997),
Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of Charity
Something Beautiful for God
It is not possible to engage in the direct apostolate without being a soul of prayer. We must be aware of oneness with Christ as he was aware of oneness with the Father. Our activity is truly apostolic only in so far as we permit him to work in us and through us, with his power, with his desire, with his love. We must become holy, not because we want to feel holy, but because Christ must be able to live his life fully in us. We are to be all love, all faith, all purity, for the sake of the poor we serve. And once we have learned to seek God and his will, our contacts with the poor will become the means of great sanctity to ourselves and to others.
Love to pray - feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray, Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive him and keep him as your own.
Let us become genuine branches on Jesus' vine, branches that bear fruit. For this, let us welcome Jesus into our lives in the way it pleases him to come:
as Truth to be spoken,
as Life to be lived,
as Light to be lit,
as Love to be loved,
as Way to be followed,
as Joy to be given,
as Peace to be spread abroad,
as Sacrifice to be offered
amongst our families, friends, neighbors.
(copyright The Mother Teresa Committee, 1971)
From DGO
Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of Charity
Something Beautiful for God
It is not possible to engage in the direct apostolate without being a soul of prayer. We must be aware of oneness with Christ as he was aware of oneness with the Father. Our activity is truly apostolic only in so far as we permit him to work in us and through us, with his power, with his desire, with his love. We must become holy, not because we want to feel holy, but because Christ must be able to live his life fully in us. We are to be all love, all faith, all purity, for the sake of the poor we serve. And once we have learned to seek God and his will, our contacts with the poor will become the means of great sanctity to ourselves and to others.
Love to pray - feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray, Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive him and keep him as your own.
Let us become genuine branches on Jesus' vine, branches that bear fruit. For this, let us welcome Jesus into our lives in the way it pleases him to come:
as Truth to be spoken,
as Life to be lived,
as Light to be lit,
as Love to be loved,
as Way to be followed,
as Joy to be given,
as Peace to be spread abroad,
as Sacrifice to be offered
amongst our families, friends, neighbors.
(copyright The Mother Teresa Committee, 1971)
From DGO
Friday, May 1, 2009
Four single women participate in mission trip to Hawaii
The following was written by S. Kathy Adamski, Vocation Minister
“Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo” are the only words that come to mind when I think of our first Franciscans in Action (FIA) trip to Hawaii. From the moment I walked off the plane until the moment I returned to Pittsburgh, the sisters and lay staff were so kind and generous to
me.
Four single women participated in the mission trip. They came from Pittsburgh, Pa., San Diego, Calif., St. Mary of the Woods, Ind. and Honolulu, Hawaii. Since they all arrived by Friday, we had Saturday and part of the day Sunday to tour the island.
We toured Pearl Harbor, had lunch at Duke’s Restaurant in Waikiki and spent the afternoon snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We stayed at St. Clare Convent, Ewa Beach, before and after our FIA experience. S. Marie Jose Romano took the lead role in making sure our every need was fulfilled. S. Norise Kaiser patiently listened to the young women and seemed to enjoy them tremendously, and S. Davilyn Ah Chick came home to participate in the Emmaus Walk during the Come and See Retreat. I am most grateful to these sisters for their kindnesses to us.
After the swap meet on Sunday morning, we drove to Our Lady of Kea’au for our five-day experience of working with God’s poor. The women were very impressed with the retreat center. S. Beatrice Tom, S. Stephanie Ward and the staff welcomed us and served us pizza for supper. Stephanie was in charge of us during our stay, and she could not have been nicer.
All five of us stayed in Cabin One, and our major task for the week was painting Labyrinth stones on the property. Bea teamed us with Molly, the sister of our late S. Gretchen Gilroy; and, believe me, Molly was a God-send to me. She had so much patience with the women who are not professional painters and who like to talk even more than they like to paint! At any rate, we completed most of the Labyrinth, and it looked much nicer with a fresh coat of paint.
Each Wednesday, the staff of Our Lady of Kea’au brings lunch to the poor in a nearby park and at the bushes. S. Patricia Rapozo organized the distribution of food and was very patient with us. Two of the young women went to the bushes and three of us went to the park to distribute food. The people place as many orders as they need for their families. The menu for the day was stew, Jell-O, cake and water. Every person receiving the food was most grateful. Many parents had young children with them; each person managed to give us a little smile, and when I told the
young girls how pretty they were, dads and moms just beamed with joy. I will never forget those little children.
Each afternoon, the FIA participants had some quiet time to reflect and integrate the experiences of the day so that faith sharing could be done that evening. Each of us grew in our own way and the sharing was quite thought provoking.
In order to get to know the staff better, we decided to host two evening events. The first was a movie and popcorn night and the second was a sundae night. It was our small way of telling them how much we appreciated their hospitality.
It was hard to leave on Friday, but a stop to the Ko Olina resort on the way to St. Clare Convent was a perfect way to integrate the week! Marie had supper for us, and we enjoyed watching a DVD of the 125th anniversary of our sisters in Hawaii. On Saturday, Norise cooked a delicious chicken stew, and we went to Manoa to celebrate liturgy and have supper with the sisters at our regional house. The women loved our sisters and the sisters were so happy to have guests.
On Sunday, our final day on the island, we toured the North Shore, Dole Pineapple and
I think the entire East Coast. Monday came quickly, and the three women from the mainland traveled to the airport to return home.
I began this article with “mahalo, mahalo, mahalo,” and I end with “thank you, thank
you, thank you” to our sisters at Manoa and S. Francis Regis Hadano who always takes care of me, our sisters at St. Clare Convent and Sisters Bea, Pat and Stephanie as well as the staff at Our Lady of Kea’au. May our loving God continue to grace you with Easter joy!
“Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo” are the only words that come to mind when I think of our first Franciscans in Action (FIA) trip to Hawaii. From the moment I walked off the plane until the moment I returned to Pittsburgh, the sisters and lay staff were so kind and generous to
me.
Four single women participated in the mission trip. They came from Pittsburgh, Pa., San Diego, Calif., St. Mary of the Woods, Ind. and Honolulu, Hawaii. Since they all arrived by Friday, we had Saturday and part of the day Sunday to tour the island.
We toured Pearl Harbor, had lunch at Duke’s Restaurant in Waikiki and spent the afternoon snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We stayed at St. Clare Convent, Ewa Beach, before and after our FIA experience. S. Marie Jose Romano took the lead role in making sure our every need was fulfilled. S. Norise Kaiser patiently listened to the young women and seemed to enjoy them tremendously, and S. Davilyn Ah Chick came home to participate in the Emmaus Walk during the Come and See Retreat. I am most grateful to these sisters for their kindnesses to us.
After the swap meet on Sunday morning, we drove to Our Lady of Kea’au for our five-day experience of working with God’s poor. The women were very impressed with the retreat center. S. Beatrice Tom, S. Stephanie Ward and the staff welcomed us and served us pizza for supper. Stephanie was in charge of us during our stay, and she could not have been nicer.
All five of us stayed in Cabin One, and our major task for the week was painting Labyrinth stones on the property. Bea teamed us with Molly, the sister of our late S. Gretchen Gilroy; and, believe me, Molly was a God-send to me. She had so much patience with the women who are not professional painters and who like to talk even more than they like to paint! At any rate, we completed most of the Labyrinth, and it looked much nicer with a fresh coat of paint.
Each Wednesday, the staff of Our Lady of Kea’au brings lunch to the poor in a nearby park and at the bushes. S. Patricia Rapozo organized the distribution of food and was very patient with us. Two of the young women went to the bushes and three of us went to the park to distribute food. The people place as many orders as they need for their families. The menu for the day was stew, Jell-O, cake and water. Every person receiving the food was most grateful. Many parents had young children with them; each person managed to give us a little smile, and when I told the
young girls how pretty they were, dads and moms just beamed with joy. I will never forget those little children.
Each afternoon, the FIA participants had some quiet time to reflect and integrate the experiences of the day so that faith sharing could be done that evening. Each of us grew in our own way and the sharing was quite thought provoking.
In order to get to know the staff better, we decided to host two evening events. The first was a movie and popcorn night and the second was a sundae night. It was our small way of telling them how much we appreciated their hospitality.
It was hard to leave on Friday, but a stop to the Ko Olina resort on the way to St. Clare Convent was a perfect way to integrate the week! Marie had supper for us, and we enjoyed watching a DVD of the 125th anniversary of our sisters in Hawaii. On Saturday, Norise cooked a delicious chicken stew, and we went to Manoa to celebrate liturgy and have supper with the sisters at our regional house. The women loved our sisters and the sisters were so happy to have guests.
On Sunday, our final day on the island, we toured the North Shore, Dole Pineapple and
I think the entire East Coast. Monday came quickly, and the three women from the mainland traveled to the airport to return home.
I began this article with “mahalo, mahalo, mahalo,” and I end with “thank you, thank
you, thank you” to our sisters at Manoa and S. Francis Regis Hadano who always takes care of me, our sisters at St. Clare Convent and Sisters Bea, Pat and Stephanie as well as the staff at Our Lady of Kea’au. May our loving God continue to grace you with Easter joy!
Kathleen prepares for painting Labyrinth rocks
S. Kathy and Erin pause for a pic
Alice plays piano for Mass...such a talented woman!
Molakai'i from the air, we went to see whereMother Marianne ministered for 3o years
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
En memoria de mí
In remembrance of me
I attended a very special and wonderful celebration of the Lord’s Supper this past Holy Week. Sisters Eileen, Jean and I went to St. Margaret Mary Parish in South Bronx, New York. Some of our Associates in the Eastern Region belong to this parish and we wanted to come and celebrate the Eucharist with them. This is the former church of S. Eileen
We arrived at the church with many parishioners warmly greeting us and smiling to us, some of them speaking Spanish. We received many hugs! I was deeply touched by their gracious welcome and enthusiasm for welcoming all people to their place of worship.
Before going to the Mass, I was expecting your average Holy Thursday celebration of the Eucharist, but I felt a certain energy in the air, almost as if we going to celebrate Palm Sunday. With the sun just beginning to disappear into the horizon, we could hear the choir warming up, friends chatting before Mass outside of the sanctuary, and a wonderful energy about the whole church.
Mass began and our hymns were bilingual and trilingual, the congregation sang and spoke in English, Spanish and in an African language-Akan. Each of the three languages was spoken and interwoven throughout the entire Mass.
Enthusiastic drummers were drumming, keyboard was playing and guitar was sounding! A joyful noise was made to the Lord! To a packed church the twenty-member choir was jubilant in praise-their zeal was contagious.
It was wonderful to see many people from their various backgrounds and cultures come together and praise their God!
Scripture was proclaimed in all three languages. To me this was so beautiful-to see how God’s word is read and heard in each one’s native tongue. Following the homily, the presider washed the feet of twelve persons. The choir sang, “danos un corazón, grande para amar. Lord give us hearts that are great for loving.” We follow the example Jesus gave to us to wash the feet of one another.
When we all prayed the Our Father, Padre Nuestro, we joined and raised our hands and all simultaneously said the prayer in our native tongue and language. How beautiful was this! How we could feel the Spirit’s presence with us!
When it was time for the Eucharistic procession, the Akan-speaking choir lifted their voice once again in song inviting us to adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The fragrance of incense filled the entire church.
It was a Holy Thursday Liturgy I will never forget:
the jubilant and passionate members of the congregation
the music
the singing and chanting
the diversity of language and culture
the incense
but most importantly I will remember the-
Love and praise given to our
Generous and Self-giving God!
I attended a very special and wonderful celebration of the Lord’s Supper this past Holy Week. Sisters Eileen, Jean and I went to St. Margaret Mary Parish in South Bronx, New York. Some of our Associates in the Eastern Region belong to this parish and we wanted to come and celebrate the Eucharist with them. This is the former church of S. Eileen
We arrived at the church with many parishioners warmly greeting us and smiling to us, some of them speaking Spanish. We received many hugs! I was deeply touched by their gracious welcome and enthusiasm for welcoming all people to their place of worship.
Before going to the Mass, I was expecting your average Holy Thursday celebration of the Eucharist, but I felt a certain energy in the air, almost as if we going to celebrate Palm Sunday. With the sun just beginning to disappear into the horizon, we could hear the choir warming up, friends chatting before Mass outside of the sanctuary, and a wonderful energy about the whole church.
Mass began and our hymns were bilingual and trilingual, the congregation sang and spoke in English, Spanish and in an African language-Akan. Each of the three languages was spoken and interwoven throughout the entire Mass.
Enthusiastic drummers were drumming, keyboard was playing and guitar was sounding! A joyful noise was made to the Lord! To a packed church the twenty-member choir was jubilant in praise-their zeal was contagious.
It was wonderful to see many people from their various backgrounds and cultures come together and praise their God!
Scripture was proclaimed in all three languages. To me this was so beautiful-to see how God’s word is read and heard in each one’s native tongue. Following the homily, the presider washed the feet of twelve persons. The choir sang, “danos un corazón, grande para amar. Lord give us hearts that are great for loving.” We follow the example Jesus gave to us to wash the feet of one another.
When we all prayed the Our Father, Padre Nuestro, we joined and raised our hands and all simultaneously said the prayer in our native tongue and language. How beautiful was this! How we could feel the Spirit’s presence with us!
When it was time for the Eucharistic procession, the Akan-speaking choir lifted their voice once again in song inviting us to adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The fragrance of incense filled the entire church.
It was a Holy Thursday Liturgy I will never forget:
the jubilant and passionate members of the congregation
the music
the singing and chanting
the diversity of language and culture
the incense
but most importantly I will remember the-
Love and praise given to our
Generous and Self-giving God!
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