Spiritual Autobiography

Image by drp via Flickr

I recently went to a workshop on writing your spiritual autobiography.  I have begun it.  I think if I gave it a title, I would call it "Conversion stories."  As I look back on my life, I realize how close God has been to me and has helped me grow spiritually through these different conversions.  When I speak of conversions, I am not speaking of from one religion to another, but of spiritual conversions which bring me close to God.  Perhaps in time, I will share some of these conversion snippets with you.

I am not sure who would read this autobiography when I finish or if anyone would be interested, but something in me tells me I have to write it, and perhaps I can share some of the stories here.  And perhaps you, dear reader, would like to share some of your own.

By the way, the picture above is not of me.  That is St. Therese de Lisieux who is my patroness and wrote her own spiritual auto-biography.

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Our New Candidates

Our candidates have arrived.  One is Sara and the other is Simona.  I like to introduce them to you one at a time.  Simona is from Romania.  The following is an excerpt of an interview with Simona taken from our Community News.

"After a long journey that took me across two oceans and involvement in different ministries, one beautiful October day in 2007, I met Sr. Betsy Goodwin in Boston through a common passion of working toward the eradiction of human trafficking.  That was the beginning of a simple, quiet, and gentle relationship that little-by-little developed into a more profound relationship with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.  After one year of working with Sr. Betsy, I came to the motherhouse for a Mini-Sabbath, where from the hill coming up to the Glen, I fell in love with and was mesmerized by the beauty, simplicity, and serenity of the place.  When I first stepped into the motherhouse, I knew that something more powerful, gracefilled, and peaceful took over my whole being.  I knew from tht moment that this is the place where I belong and want to be for the rest of my life.

What I am most impressed with and love about the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia is their love for one another and their love for all creation, their faithfulness and continuous presence to each other and to those whom they serve, their honesty and mutual support, and their tremendous witness and inspiration-not so much by words and deeds but rather by their being and continuous dedication and passion for the love of God and his Living Word.  It seems to me that no matter the sister' ages, professional backgrounds, roles, and country of origin, they seem so much inflamed with the love and gratitude of and for God, the Gospel, people, creation, and all that sustains and surrounds us here on Earth and even beyond.

The Nurtured Heart Approach in the educational setting

In ADHD therapy, we look for approaches that work well for parents as well as educators.  In this u-tube, Howard Glasser talks about the Nurtured Heart Approach in schools.  It is better to have this approach in the whole school, rather than trying to have it one grade and then have an entirely different approach in the next grade.  That tends to be too confusing for the children and less effective.

 

"Children need good words and when provided with good words, they will be provided with positive emotional energy and their inner wealth is established and they will flourish. Good words are generously spoken and they are positive in respect to their daily moment of living, providing nourishing guidance which sets the stage to be ready to learn.

How can we set the stage? How can we provide positive emotional energy? How can we speak good words and how do we choose the words to speak? How can the good words provide inner wealth and how can this action created by teachers, parents, school administrators have an effect on tardiness? bullying? procrastination? depression? sense of self-worth?"

Advanced Community Education 

Answers to these questions can be found by contacting any advanced nurtured heart trainer.  

www.familyrelationshiphelp.com

Sister Theresa

ADHD THERAPY

Listen to what Howie Glasser learned as he initiated the Nurtured Heart Approach.

 

More4kids blog give an important tip. 

"When you really stop and pay attention to them (your children), you send the message that you care about what is being said, they are important, and you empower your child."

http://www.google.com/reader/view/?utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-ww-ww-bk&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=google+reader#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.more4kids.info%2Ffeed%2F

Howie Glasser builds his nurtured heart approach on positive recognitions giving children positive attention throughout the day.

--
Sister Theresa

ADHD therapy

The Nurtured Heart Approach started by Howie Glasser is a way to channel the child's energy from bad to good behavior.  In the ADHD therapy website, we look at this approach and some others. Look at this video on u-tube to see how the Nurtured Heart Approach is done in the schools.

 

Gathering Day and Final Vows

That was history of days gone by. Now, I would like to write about history in the making. St. Clare's feast day is August 11. St. Clare was the first female Franciscan. She was an attentive listener and follower of St. Francis. She felt a call by God to join the Franciscan followers of St. Francis, although, all of them were men at that time. She took the leap in faith and joined them. Although, she could not live with them, she herself soon had followers. The friars gave them San Damiano Convent where the Poor Clares still live.

Sarah, another prospective candidate to our congregation,
posing with Sister Marie O'Connor

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Simone, a prospective candidate          toour congregation

Traditionally, in our congregation, we have made our vows on the feast of St. Clare. This Saturday, August 7, as many of our Sisters who could, gathered together at our motherhouse to witness the temporary vows of Sister Rosemary Eve Holter, to participate in a program led by the Marist brother Michael Laratonda, and to share and catch up with one another.

Sister Rosemary Holter renewed her vows for one year

Sister Patty Kerezi (center) made her final vows on August 8

This is a representation of the Blessed Trinity.  The light in the center is a
representation of each one of us.  Brother Michael Laratonda, a Marist brother,
offered us many poems and images for our reflection on gathering day.

It was a wonderful time to celebrate the professions of Sister Rosemary Holter
and Sister Patty Kerezi, and to share, and reunite with old friends.

Women & the Spirit continued

It has been such a long time since I last wrote:  Here are some more pictures.  As promised, this is one of the letters written by one of the martyrs before she died.  It is hard to read here, but they knew they were in danger, but decided to stay with the people.  The blue and black design is the cloth used on their caskets.

Some of you may have seen Dead Man Walking.  This is the real Helen Prejean on death row talking to one of the inmates.

I think I showed you most of the pictures.  It was a really exciting display, tracing the history of Sisters here in the United States, their sacrifices, and joys.