Ursuline Sisters Elect New Leadership Team Members of the Ursuline Sisters’ newly elected leadership team are, seated from left, Sr. Ann Peterson, councilor; Sr. Maureen Welch, councilor, Sr. Dianne Baumunk, councilor; and, standing from left, Sr. Margaret Johnson, councilor; Sr. Diane Fulgenzi, provincial; and Sr. Ann Barrett, councilor.

Ursulines of the Roman Union in the United States joining together to become one province, have elected the leadership of the new province at a Chapter of Elections in St. Louis June 10-13.

Sister Diane Fulgenzi of St. Louis was elected provincial, and five sisters were elected councilors: Ann Barrett of St. Louis, Dianne Baumunk of Santa Rosa, Margaret Johnson of Moscow, Idaho, Ann Peterson of New Rochelle, NY, and Maureen Welch of Wilmington, Del.

The official merger will take place on October 21, 2011, the feast of St. Ursula. The province government will be located in Kirkwood, Missouri. The new name will be Roman Union of the Order of Saint Ursula, Province of the United States.

Ursuline ministries will continue the apostolic mission in the tradition begun by the first Ursulines in the United States in 1792, and that grew during the nineteenth century in all regions. Education has been the primary ministry, in parish elementary schools, private academies, and colleges, through over a century of service. The call to serve in new ministries has, in the late twentieth century, expanded the work of education to meeting the needs of contemporary underserved populations, and to spiritual direction, the arts, and health.

Planning for the one province has been in process for the past several years, ranging across a multitude of matters from archives to zip code. While many of the new administrative functions are still under development, the new leadership will continue the processes to make the changes.

Roman Union Ursulines of the United States are, in this new endeavor, following the advice of St. Angela Merici, the foundress, to change with the times and in new circumstances.

Occurrences such as “You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father” (Gloria); ”Power of the Holy Spirit”; “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life” (Creed).

And from the Preface for Pentecost : “Today we celebrate the great beginnings of Your Church, when the Holy Spirit made known to all peoples the one True God and created from the many languages of humanity, one voice to proclaim one Faith.”

“Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy so that they
may become the body and blood of Jesus Christ” (the Consecration).

“Grant that we may be nourished by His Body and Blood and may be filled
with the Holy Spirit and become one body, one Spirit in Christ “ (Memorial Prayer).

Prior to Pentecost and the administering of Confirmation, banners were displayed in our parish. The thought surfaced that these words, common in themselves, have a deeper connotation relative to the Spirit. The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” confirmed this (1830, 1831) in explaining the gifts of the Spirit:

• Wisdom that helps a person to value the things of heaven
• Understanding that helps a person grasp the truths of religion
• Counsel that enables a person to see correctly and choose the best approach in serving God
• Fortitude that strengthens a person’s resolve to overcome obstacles to living the faith
• Knowledge that helps one to see the dangers to faith and the right path to follow
• Piety that gives a person confidence in God and an eagerness to serve God
• Fear of the Lord that makes a person aware of God’s sovereignty and the respect due God and God’s laws.

 
Elsewhere the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, the way we recognize the Spirit present and working in human lives, begin with love, joy, peace, and patience.

Calling to mind the original Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire, we invoke the Spirit to “Come, fill the hearts of the faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your Divine love.”

Pat Gillin, Ursuline Associate

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One of the nuggets found in the midst of the Lenten liturgical season is the feast of the Annunciation. It takes about one minute to read the account of this very important event in the history of salvation. Yet it touches us for all time.

We tend to think that the minute is how long the event took. Mary is praying, the angel appears, and she says,” Yes.” In reality the annunciation may well have taken much longer. In fact from her yes, God has added another special role for Mary. This role continues long after this first annunciation. God continues to choose Mary as his messenger, rather than an angel, down through the centuries in her appearances at, Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and Kibeho, Rwanda in our day.

The message she brings from God is always the same: to turn to Jesus and to pray for peace. In her New York Times bestseller, Left to Tell, Immaculee Illibagiza recounts the horrors of the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s and, in particular, her survival story. She managed to survive the mass slaughter by hiding for months in a cramped bathroom with several other women. Immaculee attributes her survival to her constant prayer, especially the rosary. She eventually emerged from hiding, only to find many members of her family and friends slaughtered in the genocide. But again it was her prayer that sustained her through the grief and sorrow of the tragedy.

Prayer for peace, especially the rosary, has been the hallmark of Mary’s apparitions for centuries even to today. Certainly, peace is in a fragile state in the world today. What is this peace Mary asks us to pray for? To some it means a world free of war. I think it goes much deeper than just to be free of war. I think it means to live a life that is so good, one does not resort to or desire war or violence.

St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians (3: 15) tells us: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since, as members of one body, you were called to peace.” How do we live this call to the peace of Christ? A book I have been reading gives some good insight into this question. Gregory Pierce in Spirituality at Work advocates four ways of our being in the world. He calls them the Discipline of Welcoming, by which we relate to others in friendliness, loyalty, and encouragement. The Discipline of Loyalty calls us to build community through avoiding gossip, negativity, and suspicion. The Discipline of Encouragement is just that, to encourage one another. Finally, the Discipline of Affirmation calls us to look and see what is good in others and to lift up their gifts with praise and thanks.

I find these disciplines helpful in thinking about the peace that Mary and the gospels call us to. So this Lent let us pray and act for this peace to reign in our world, our country, our homes, and in our hearts. Our Lady Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Elizabeth McAdams, O.S.U.

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As the season of advent approaches I begin to turn my thoughts to our tradition of reflecting on the three “comings” or advents of God: in the birth of Jesus, in our own lives as we face each day, and at the “end-time.” Those falling and fallen leaves have led me to reflect in a new way on the cycle of life in the universe, in our world. We know there is a season to be born, a season to grow and a season to die. But seeing those leaves on a misty afternoon moved me to dwell on the reality of “the circle of life” in a new and deeper way. I do not think I am unusual in not wanting to dwell too much on the reality of our life which will not go on forever, as we know it now. This advent I am moved to face my mortality as the human reality it is. In observing the randomness of those falling leaves, I saw as well the countless numbers of falling and fallen people in our world who end the cycle of their earthly lives: those shaken early from the tree of life by wars and other forms of violence, by poverty, by sickness and neglect and those tired leaves still clinging to the branches, eager to fall, to complete the circle of their dance in time.

Perhaps because I am an elder in this world, at the thought of death, it may be easier for me to see the cycles of nature and of human life as connected in a rhythm that is as normal as music. That I love life and cling to the tree of life is a blessing for which I can only give thanks. But this Advent, I am moved to focus – not on the coming of Jesus many years ago, nor even on the coming of the Lord in every day of my life, but on that unknown day when the fragile leaf of my life will slip from its mooring on the tree of this season and fall to the ground where my ancestors lie buried, in hope of the Great Day of the coming of the Lord of life.

I can honestly say this is not my favorite thought to dwell upon, so this Advent I hope to live with deeper gratitude for the chance to once again experience the cycle of falling leaves and barren trees, in hope of once again awaiting the gift of another season of life here on earth. Above all, this year, “in spirit I go round the world” (Blessed Marie of the Incarnation) to be with my sisters and brothers who on this day, on the morrow, on every day of this season of expectation will close the circle of their lives on earth.

May they rise in joy at the Coming of the Lord. Amen

Marian Bohen, O.S.U.

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What I’d like to recall this month of All Saints that will culminate in the feast of Christ the King is Ursulines I have known, great women who were my companions on the way. Space is my only constraint in singing the praise of only a few of these women now among the saints.

There was one who is memorable for her courage, good sense, and wit, along with compassion in being able to imagine others’ position and feelings. She led the province during a time of transition in religious life, leading the way through unmapped territory at personal cost. Later in her life, she served to resolve human hurts on the Archdiocesan marriage tribunal, truly a ministry for her compassionate regard.

A most winning personality was one sister who in her short but active life worked in family counseling, created an Associates blueprint, built up communications regarding peace and justice, and was thoroughly likeable under all conditions. She was a good friend to many, full of joy in her words and approach to life, funny, wise beyond her years.

We were blessed with a musician, who, besides teaching liturgical music, also trained Ursulines in things liturgical. An exacting choir directress whose burning zeal sometimes singed, she introduced us to centuries-old great Church music. She launched us in singing within that ongoing tradition and opened our ears to comprehend and savor our rich heritage.

An educator of educators, one Ursuline served as principal in several of our schools, strengthening best practices and transforming where change was needed. She initiated generations of young Ursulines into the vocation of teacher, with great imagination, wisdom, insight, and flexibility. She was student-oriented, kindness itself in challenging them, steadfast in guiding them to fulfill their potential.

Then there are the great women who served for part or most of their lifetimes in foreign countries, building up the church and the Order through their ministry of education and service. When they returned to the province, we had necessarily limited knowledge of their accomplishments elsewhere, yet they brought the same generosity of spirit to the service they could give, as they had given elsewhere.

There are many more whose wisdom and magnanimity brightened the lives of their sisters on our common journey. They inspire and live on in the great women among us who inherit their legacy. They weren’t preachy, yet their presence steadily—often quietly–spoke of God-who-is-love, present in our world: creating, saving, and accompanying us.

What a privilege to praise these great women.

Bridget Puzon, O.S.U.

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The need for this lay witness is clear. The Study of Recent Vocations to Religious Life showed that currently, about 75 percent of professed men in U.S. religious communities and more than 91 percent of women religious are 60 or older. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Appostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University the number of American sisters has fallen by nearly two thirds, from 179,954 in 1965 to 61,855 in 2008. The number of priests has also fallen from 58,632 to 40,666. During the same period, the data show, the country’s total Catholic population grew by 40 percent.

Pope Benedict XVI, in a May 2009 address to the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome, spoke on the theme of pastoral co-responsibility. While noting that the lines between lay and clergy should not be blurred, he said that we need “to improve pastoral structures in such a way that the co-responsibility of all the members of the people of God in their entirety is gradually promoted. … This demands a change in mindset, particularly concerning lay people. They must no longer be viewed as collaborators of the clergy and religious but truly recognized as co-responsible for the church’s being and action, thereby fostering the consolidation of a mature and committed laity.”

The United States has been working to deepen the sense of co-responsibility for nearly twenty five years and has initiated a number of ecclesial ministry formation programs for the laity. According to CARA, there were more than 17,000 students enrolled in lay ecclesial ministry formation programs in 2008 -2009. The total number of seminarians, diocesan and religious, was around 5,000. The number of lay ministers –-more than 30,000 –- has now surpassed the number of active diocesan priests (approximately 27,000) Of these lay ministers, women comprise 80 percent, according to the Lay Parish Ministers study conducted by the National Pastoral Life Center.

An inclusive, diverse, vibrant and effective Church is one that supports, strengthens, and encourages the gifts of all its members. The challenges of our times have opened the minds and hearts of many to help make this happen.

Thomas E. Brennan, S.D.B., Salesian Representative at the United Nations

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