Sharings R Volume35 Number4 April 2005 N E Ewslett

U S A sharings r Volume35 Number4 April 2005 N e ewslett

“ To do all things for the love of God." Bl. Maria Assunta C O N T E N T S S Excerpts from Provincial notes... 3

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Tibsjoht!jt!qvcmjtife!bu; Provincial Communications Office 399 Fruit Hill Ave - North Providence, RI 02911 Tel: (401) 353 - 5804 Ext:130 Fax: (401) 353 - 8755 E-mail: Fmmsharings @aol.com or Web: http://www.fmmusa.org Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 uia llel ! A Christ is Risen! Happy Easter to all. Rosemarie, Maryann and Nga

Please remember in your prayers Our sick sisters, relatives and friends:

Helen Klump fell and broke her ankle. Mary Petrosky has a hairline fracture near her elbow. Frances Milano had surgery on April 1, 2005.

Excerpts from Provincial notes

Sending: Phi Uong is waiting for her visa which we hope will be issued very soon. The date for the Sending will be set when we have a clear indication. Jackie Lavie is safely in Bogor, Indonesia.

Receiving: Leena D’Souza will come to our province somtime in June. She is doing some renewal in Pune (Mumbai Province). Kyoko Sakuma from Japan and Alicia Alambra from the Philippines are coming for the Sabbatical Month. Lucie Kristofik and Emma Balaguer are participants 3 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 from the U.S. province. Marie Cinotti and Martha Vu will help Alma with the Sabbatical this year.

Updates:

The Community of Cambridge is presently in the process of moving to Brighton. Chan Nguyen while waiting for her acceptance to study further for Social Work, has gone to Cambridge to help in the move. The greatest part of the furniture from Pawtucket has been brought by moving company to the house in Brighton.

Graduations: Yen Nguyen will graduate from Emmanuel College and Martha Vu will graduate from Molloy College in May.

Greeting from Indonesia My Easter Greeting to everyone! Still working on visa extension... It’s a trip trying to get to the internet; anyway after Easter I’ll send a note. Thanks. Love to all.

Jackie Lavie, fmm

Thank you

SDear sisters,

My Family and I want to thank you all for your prayer, Masses, cards and most of all for your support during the time of my broth- er Gregory's illness and death. As you can imagine, it was a very painful time for us, but I am grateful for the grace to have been with him before his death. My Mother died when Gregory was very young and we all became very close to him. I am now back in Waukegan where I continue my ministry. Thank you and God bless you all. 4 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005

Gratefully, Ana Lina Garcia, fmm

SSisters, Thank you very much for your love, support and prayers on the recent death of my sister Eileen. Her husband Tommy and all my family are sincerely grateful to each of you.

Always, Noreen Murray, fmm

SDear sisters,

I would like to express my sincere thanks to each of you for your prayers that I came back here from Vietnam safe and sound. I enjoyed my visiting very much. I had good times with my family and friends. I visited our FMM sisters in nine different communities. We have a lot of vocations in Vietnam. There are 30 sisters in Temporary Vows, 13 Novices, 10 Pre-Novices, and 30 candi- dates. Our sisters have various works such as: teaching sewing in the workrooms, running the Day Care for Children, making hosts for the Diocese, farming and studying... Thanks again for everything.

May the Risen Christ bring you His New Hope and Peace. Phi Uong, fmm

We all have days when Jesus is in the tomb. Joyce Rupp

5 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 Except from Pope Urges Church to Rethink Its Attitude Toward Media - Publishes Apostolic Letter "The Rapid Development"

ATICAN CITY, FEB. 21, 2005 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II in a new apostolic letter calls Vthe entire Church to a pastoral and cultural "revision" of its presence in and attitude toward the media.

...The Pope says that ecclesial dynamism in the "global village" depends on this revision. The media, he observed, can be used "to proclaim the Gospel or to reduce it to silence with- in men's hearts."

The document, entitled "The Rapid Development," is addressed in particular to those in charge of social communications. Its themes recall those of the Second Vatican Council decree "Inter Mirifica."

"The current phenomenon of communications impels the Church towards a sort of pastoral and cultural revision, so as to deal ade- quately with the times in which we live," ...

"The Church is not only called upon to use the mass media to spread the Gospel but, today more than ever, to integrate the message of salvation into the 'new culture' that these powerful means of communication create and amplify," ...

"Pastors, above all, must assume this responsibility. Everything possible must be done so that the Gospel might permeate socie- ty, stimulating people to listen to and embrace its message,"...

The exhortation is also addressed to "consecrated persons belonging to institutions which, having the charism of using the mass media, have a particular responsibility in this regard. Spiritually and professionally formed towards this end, these institutions 'should willingly lend their help, wherev- 6 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 er pastorally appropriate ...in order to offset the inappropriate use of the media and to promote higher quality programs, the contents of which will be respectful of the moral law and rich in human and Christian values.

"If, as has already been noted, the communications media take into account different aspects of the expression of faith, Christians must take into account the media culture in which they live."

"those individuals in the Church community particularly gifted with talent to work in the media, should be encouraged with pastoral prudence and wisdom, so that they may become professionals capable of dialoguing with the vast world of the mass media."

"In the same way, it is important to assure that media professionals receive the necessary formation and pastoral attention to con- front the particular tensions and ethical dilemmas that arise in their daily work," he writes. "Often these men and women 'sincerely desire to know and practice what is ethically and morally just,' and look to the Church for guidance and support...

Day to Honor Slain Missionaries

OME, MARCH 18, 2005 (Zenit.org).- As every year, March 24 will be observed as a Day of Prayer and RFasting in memory of missionaries killed for the cause of the Gospel.

The initiative, which was started in Italy by the Youth Movement of the Pontifical Mission Societies in 1993, has spread in recent years to other countries. March 24, the date chosen, is the anniversary of the assassination in 1980 of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador.

The theme for this year, announced the Vatican missionary agency Fides, is "Bread Broken for Others." This year, the day coincides with Holy Thursday, and is in memory, in 7 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 particular, of the 15 missionaries killed in 2004 while carrying out their work.

A statement prepared by the Pontifical Mission Societies invites parishes, religious communities, seminaries, mission groups, youth groups and all people of good will to celebrate the day.

The sick are encouraged to offer their suffering in memory of the missionary martyrs and for the spread of the Gospel. Everyone is encouraged to visit a place of suffering -- for example, hospitals, homes for the elderly -- and to comfort the afflicted.

Chicago program urges young adults to consider church ministry.

HICAGO (CNS) -- Passionist Father CRobin Ryan has a mission: to reach out to young adults considering a life of service. As a means to do this, he is leading "Catholics on Call" to help young adults find their vocations. It is a Catholic Theological Union program planned with the religious communities that sponsor the Chicago school. Funded by a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, the program will get under way over the next few years. To set it up, Father Ryan met with representatives of the union's 25 religious communities, with men and women who minister to young adults, and with a focus group of young adults. From their input, he created a program that includes a Web site with general information; a component to help the religious communities reach out to young adults; a summer experience for young people; and a follow-up gathering. "When we met with the young people, they were very clear about what they wanted and what they didn't want," 8 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 Father Ryan told The Catholic New World, Chicago's archdioce- san newspaper. "They really gave us some good advice. What they wanted was more of a discernment approach instead of a recruitment approach."

Blessed Maria Assunta Pallotta -Emmanuel Shen, fmm

s the choir intoned "Beata Maria Assunta, Ora pro nobis!", the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Basilica on the morning Aof November 7, 1954 asked one another: "What did this little Sister do?" Blessed Maria Assunta Pallotta was the first missionary Sister to be beatified who was not a martyr. Yes, what did she do during her one year of missionary life in Shanxi, China? Her secret lies in the fact that her whole life was a continuous song of humble fideli- ty, of simplicity, purity and love; and her constant refrain was "All for Jesus". Her radiant smile bespeaks of inner peace, joy and gratitude.

Blessed Maria Assunta was born into a very poor but deeply Christian family in Force, overlooking the Marches of Ancona, Italy. Being the eldest child with three younger brothers to follow, she received barely two years of formal education. At the age of eleven, she had to carry cement and water for bricklayers and later to be an apprentice to a village tailor so that she could supplement the wages of her hardworking parents. However, at the age of eight, she was already allowed to teach catechism to the beginners under the supervision of her parish priest, who later confirmed that at the age of 16, Assunta already tasted the joys of mystical contemplation.

At 19, she heard the call to live for God alone and her Jesus arranged for her to enter the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Rome though she considered herself to be inexperienced, igno- rant, poor and unable to pay for a dowry. Assunta was assigned the humblest duties during her years of formation: helping in the kitchen, milking the cows, cleaning up the chicken coop. feeding the pigs and the cows, but she was always 9 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 seen with serenity and a smile. Obedience came as natural and easy for her because it was an act of love. Her charity manifested itself in kindliness, service, forgiveness, helpfulness and caring for the sick of the community. Her sole desire was to become a saint.

Soon after her final vows on February 13, 1904, at the age of 25, Assunta was sent to mission in China, where she was helping in the kitchen to peel vegetables, to fold and mend clothes in the linen room of the orphanage, to learn Chinese and to care for the sick, while all the time she was deeply convinced that her purpose of being in China was that the love of Jesus might be known by these good people. It was a year of sacrifice and of service and her special vow made at that time was:" To do all things for the love of God."

Toward the end of February, 1905 one of the children in the orphanage caught typhus and the sisters in the community fell vic- tims to the epidemic one after another until Assunta, after devot- ing her service to the caring of her stricken sisters, herself was confined to bed on March 19, 1905. She was anoint- 10 ed, reconciled with God and with her sisters, and Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 received the Viaticum on the feast of the Annunciation. "Shenti'", meaning: "Eucharist!", verbalized in Chinese while she was deliri- ous with fever, was her last word on earth, which expresses elo- quently her deep thirst for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

At twilight on the 7th of April, a beautiful perfume of violets and incense spread mysteriously around her death bed and twenty minutes later, Assunta beheld her God face to face. During the three days that followed, the perfume lingered in the convent, especially in the rooms that Sister had occupied and worked. Many Chinese Christians flocked in. saying: "We want to see the miracle!" Little favors, such as: employment found, houses rented, examinations passed, health restored, together with cures of various kinds, made her name known in China and spread throughout the world.

Eight years after her death, as the community was moving to Tai Yuen Foo, a village of 25 miles away, the sisters wanted to trans- fer Assunta's remains. Her body was found incorrupt. It was exposed in the little chapel for one month before a second burial look place. Her grave became a place of pilgrimage until the time of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) when all the graves were dug up and the remains desecrated. The body of Blessed Maria Assunta could hardly escape this destruction, but her name is still being invoked and cherished by countless Chinese families who name their baby girls Assunta in baptism; furthermore, after 45 years of persecution under the communist regime, the room in Tong-Eul-Koo where Sister Assunta breathed her last is preserved and honored today as a chapel by some local Chinese sisters and Christians.

In 1913, when Pope St. Pius X heard of this little Sister through her superior general, he ordered the introduction of the cause for beatification without delay, saying: "When I hear of the extraordi- nary, I am the most incredulous man in the world. But when I hear of sanctity expressed in the simple practice of virtues, as in the case of this little Sister. I believe in that... The way to sanctity is not difficult. It is a thorny road, but easy…" On 11 February 28, 1932. Pope Pius XI proclaimed Sister Maria Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 Assunta "Venerable", i.e., her virtues were declared heroic. After two miracles of healing were officially recognized and accepted by the Church, Assunta was raised to the glory of the altars on November 7, 1954, the day on which the entire Franciscan Family celebrates her memory every year.

Once again, "What did this little Sister do?" God always answered this little Sister's prayers on earth because she asked only His Holy Will. The secret of her holiness was revealed through a letter she wrote to her parents before leaving for China: "I ask the Lord for the grace to make known to the world purity of intention - which consists in doing everything for the love of God, even the most ordinary actions." And again, "To do all things for the love of Jesus, I would like to sign this resolution with my own blood!" Purity of intention was Assunta's constant study and practice and it became the secret of her smile and the source of her serenity.

Date of Birth: August 20, 1878 Date of Death: April 7, 1905

“SHEN-TI, SHEN-TI”: EUCHARIST, EUCHARIST

12 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 Focus 11- A Vocation Fair- Beatrice Costagliola, FMM

ach year the Diocese of St. Petersburg holds a "vocation fair" where young people can Emeet with priests, sisters and brothers in the area. This year they invited our FMM sisters in Tampa to participate. It was organized especially for children 11 years old, (usually sixth graders), and jun- iors in high schools, (in the 11th grade). Thus the name Focus 11. Why these two groups? Research has discovered that at these two points in life young persons begin to think seriously about their future.

During the three days of the event 2000 youngsters were bussed into the welcoming parish of Christ the King in Tampa. The surge of vitality emanating from the group seemed to electrify the spa- cious church and assembly hall. Christian Rock music throbbed from electric guitars serving to jar the ears of us seniors but ener- gizing the boys and girls as they lustily sang, "We can make a dif- ference! We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world."

Bishop Robert Lynch spoke to them each day and urged the youth to pray to know their path in life and to follow God's light. Later, different groups toured the exhibition hall where the religious had set up tables with posters, brochures etc. Sr. Frances Falk had painted a very striking background of the world for our exhibit and Pat Barrett did a great job on the lettering and enlarged photos. Virginia Falk and Gloria Carpinello came to help Pat and myself.

The young people had been given papers with religious trivia questions relating to the various groups represented. They would come up to us asking,"What is the significance of the ring that women religious wear?" And," Where were the seven Franciscan Missionaries of Mary martyred in the year 1900?"

On the day the 800 high school students came it was arranged that they have lunch with the priests and religious from the various monastic and active orders. So we 13 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 each sat at a circular table with a group of teenagers. It was a chance for them and for us to dialogue on a more informal basis. When asked what their parents and friends would say if they announced their intention to become sisters, most answered that they probably wouldn't believe them but that they would support their decision. They showed genuine interest in this opportunity to meet with us and learn about our vocation and many took with them the lovely discernment prayer cards that Sr. Anne Turbini had printed and which depicted a Madonna and Child painted by Sr. Maria van Galen, FMM.

We are very grateful to the vocation office of the St. Petersburg Diocese for all the work they did to organize this event. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to have initial contact with so many young people in this area. Let us pray that this encounter bear fruit for building God's Kingdom in the years ahead.

Evolution of the FMM Constitutions of 1986 Rosemarie Higgins session for the Novices of Canada and USA along with their novice directresses was held at the Mission AResource Center, Fruit Hill the weekend of March 12th. Liliane Rancourt, novice directress, Karen Correra, novice from Canada and Barbara Dopierala, novice directress, Annie Nebres and Cathy Tshitenge, novices from the USA, were present for the session. Presenters were Alma Dufault, Rosemarie Higgins and Mary Motte.

They looked at the years from 1966-1967 covering the events leading up to the General Chapter of 1972. Thanks in great part to the courage, wisdom and vision of Mother St. 14 Agnes, the Franciscan Missionaries began quickly to Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 respond to the changes as contained in the Vatican II Documents. Sr. Alma shared with us excerpts from a circular letter that M. St. Agnes sent regard- ing a questionnaire. "I want to tell you, my very dear daughters, that we (Gen. Council and M. St. Agnes) had resolved, even before the decree Perfectae Caritatis, to send to each sister, professed of perpetual vows, a questionnaire whose responses you will send directly to Rome. Each one should respond before God, freely adding what she would like to see modified or perfected in our customs and "usages", so as to intensify our spiritual life, to respond more to what the Church expects of us, and thus be faith- ful to the mission for which divine Providence raised up in the Church our venerated Mother Foundress.

These replies will be signed as "desiderata". We will receive them; study them with the desire to have the whole Institute benefit by what is good and profitable. In this way, my dear daughters, you are, each one for your part, responsible for maintaining the evan- gelical, Franciscan life in its threefold form: missionary, victim, adorer which the Church has approved. Our purpose is for a com- mon search for the good of the whole Institute, and it is placed under the protection of the Most Blessed Virgin, Queen, Mother and Mistress of our religious family and under that of our Seraphic Father." Nine thousand FMM out of ten thousand responded to this questionnaire. A team of sisters from the grass roots sorted and synthesized these responses.

As an indirect participation in Vatican II, Mother St. Agnes had extended an invitation offering hospitality to Franciscan Bishops, particularly those from the poorer countries. When time allowed, they gave conferences to the community at Via Giusti. By this means FMMs were kept up to date on the progress of Vatican II.

Meetings in regions began, a plenary assembly was held in 1970 and Study Commissions began in 1971. The accounts of all these sessions as well as all those that followed from 1971 to 1985 were available for the participants to browse during 15 the weekend. As Sr. Alma had been present in Rome as Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 a general councilor, then Superior General, Mary Motte present at Chapters and in the Secretariat involved with the writing of these documents and Rosemarie at the General Chapter of 78-79, the presentation contained many first hand experiences and memo- ries. The sharing was conversational amongst the presenters and the participants. Questions posed by participants afforded an opportunity for more clarification. Photographs from the different Chapters enhanced the discussions.

At the General Chapter of 72-73, which lasted five months, a Chapter Document was written. A decision was made to write a "Rule of Life." From 1973-1976, a team worked on this Rule of Life project. All of the provincials were consulted. When the Enlarged General Chapter met in 1976, a decision was made not to have this Rule of Life. From 1976-78 a draft of the new constitutions was prepared for the upcoming General Chapter of 1978. The General Chapter of 1978-79 lasted for five and a half months. For the first time language groups, thirteen of them, were set up. The new constitutions were developed and approved for ten years, April 2, 1972, by the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of People.

In 1982, there was a revision of Canon Law, which had to be taken into consideration at the General Chapter of 1984. November 21, 1985, approval of the new Constitutions was given by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (SCEP). As Alma noted, "It is interesting to note that the Congress of SCEP gave its "favorable opinion" on the new Constitutions on November 15th (cf Decree, Const. 1986, p.9 The letter accompanying the Decree is dated Nov.27.) The Constitutions were printed at Grottaferrata, 1986)

Throughout the day's sharing, it was noted that the spirit of the Constitutions as written by Blessed Mary of the Passion and revised throughout the ensuing years remained the same. Normative elements were revised to be in accordance with the Vatican Council documents on religious life and the 16 revised Canon Law. Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005

A chart was presented which illustrated "How the Concept of Community/Fraternity was developed in the Documents of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary".

Later in the afternoon of Saturday Sr. Alma introduced the participants to a method of study of the continual development of the Charism through the Chapter Documents of the succeeding General Chapters of 1990, 1996, and 2002; each Chapter bore in mind the two guidelines for updating (aggiorrnamento) given by Bl. John XXIII: 1. “go back to your sources and 2. read the signs of the times.”

Since the novices with Barbara and Liliane would be going on to the Franciscan Inter-novitiate program in Graymoor for the study of three themes: community/fraternity, poverty and minority, they began during this weekend session in the Mission Resource Center, a hands-on study of these themes in the Institute from 1986 to 2002. They continued this study on Sunday until it was time for them to leave. Time ran out.

17 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 Echoes from the Novitiate

n sharing some of the events of our life in the Novitiate, we wish to say thank you to all for the prayers and genuine con- cerns for the initial formation and thus for the life of the IProvince and the Institute. Seven months passed by since the entrance ceremony in September. Yet, each day unrolls as new and still worthy to be discovered in prospective of what it means to be a Franciscan Missionary of Mary. So, here in the Novitiate community we continue to learn how to be a sister to one another. Through this process of striving to be ‘one’ in Christ, people recognize us as a family. We feel that we have gained trust, and our presence in the Parish is a sign of God’s love that crosses over many boundaries. In return, the Parish community has become our second family to which we contribute as much as we can.

Each Thursday Cathy and Annie, the two novices, minister to the children in the Parish School. Every time they come back home, they are filled with the stories that portray the beauty of childhood. Through the course of a week the Novices, along with Sr. Ruth, the core community member, bring communion to the sick and elderly.

One day when the snow covered the ground with many inches, schools and some businesses closed. Consequently, we felt confined and restricted to the house. During a spontaneous conversation, concern for an elderly couple came to the surface-were they safe, was their driveway accessible to the services they were receiving, including provision of their meals and grocery shopping? At the end, as a community we decided to check on them. Ruth called and inquired that indeed they needed help. The assis- tance they were asking for from the social services was unavail- able. So, there we were shoveling their driveway and shopping for their basic needs. Meanwhile, the woman was preparing hot chocolate and cookies for us. When our task was done, we all sat around the table partaking in the compa- 18 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 ny of one another, drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies and telling stories. We learned that the couple was married for many years and each of them presently was over ninety. The man of the house was asking questions that were repetitive, but delightful. One of his constant questions was a verification of who we were and what we were doing in his house. After a few times of poss- ing the same thing over and over again, jokingly he was told that we were all moving in. Right away as he recognized the humor, his face lit up and laughingly he said: “But you are not expecting me to move out, are you?” From that moment on one story followed after the other. Our visit finished with a Polka dance led by the ninety year old man whom we never saw walking before. He always seemed to be confined to his chair. While saying goodbye to the couple, the woman said with tears in her eyes that our presence brought the best out of her husband.

Some of the other events in the Novitiate was the visit of our Bishop Mulvee and his secretary, Monsignor Darcy. We think that in this case, as well, we were able to bring the best out of the two men. It was delightful to celebrate Eucharist with the Bishop of Providence and partake of the meal together. Everyone can imagine how much preparation went into this visit. Yet, nothing really worked the way that was planned; the chicken got burned, the bottle of wine was difficult to open, pouring of the water became a more difficult task than it was in reality. But, the Bishop and the Monsignor felt at once at home. It was an Asian New Year celebration day. So, they enjoyed the noodles that Nga, our core community member, had prepared. Suddenly, the chicken and the other things did not matter. The Bishop was telling us stories that visibly spoke of his love of the Institute. His final message to the Novices was concluded in one sentence: “Be good and do good.” A few hours passed by and we all still found ourselves fully engaged in conversation. At the end, the Bishop and the Monsignor, according to the Asian culture, received their lucky money. After a few days, the Bishop wrote to us that he loved the dinner and the visit. But, how much more we loved having him with us here at the Novitiate. 19 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 As we find ourselves in the midst of our missionary zeal, the stories can continue and are never exhausted. But, for now the won- der of more has to wait till the next time.

Your Sisters at the Novitiate

Meet the “Knit Wits” of Fruit Hill - Agnes Begley, fmm

e, Savina, Magarida, Helen, and Agnes meet every Monday afternoon in our Activities WRoom with Gene Plante our Instructor. Gene is a retired Physical Education teacher and has been a devoted volunteer at Fruit Hill for the past twenty-three years. She comes twice a week to our Day Servicesf o r the Elderly and the Assisted Living Center for exercises with our elders. Gene is an avid knitter and willingly agreed to guide us. We are now in our second year. It is an enjoyable time of learn- ing. Gene patiently corrects our mistakes and finds our dropped stitches. It is amusing to hear Savina call out, “I can’t remember if I should knit or purl” or to hear someonegroan when the stitches slide off the needle. It is also rewarding when we have completed a piece of work, a cap, scarf, or a pair of mittens with four needles!

Some of us are knitting scarfs and hats to be given to children at Christmas. Others have made little caps for new-borns at our local hospitals.

We all agree it is a pleasant activity and look forward to our Monday meetings.

20 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 A Gift - Yvette Hubert, FMM

t was March 19th, a beautiful spring-like day, feast of St. Joseph and anniversary for many of us FMMs. The cars were lined up at Bethany and a group of people, men and women who refer to Itheir group as "The Contemplative Prayer Group," were busy gathering together to spend this day at Bethany. This group comes every year and enjoy the grounds, the house and the day spent with the Lord.

As I was seeing them off at the end of the day, one of the ladies said she had gone for a walk on the grounds to admire everything. As she approached the shrine of the crucifix with the women near the cemetery, she heard a sweet voice singing, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." It was one of the sisters singing to Jesus on the crucifix. The member of this contemplative group was so impressed. "WHAT A GIFT THAT WAS TO ME!!"

On another occasion, a group of laypeople was at Bethany. One of the men went to that same spot and became so overwhelmed. He came back to get his friends and said to me, "I saw compas- sion, forgiveness, love, mercy at that shrine." This gentleman died a few months later. What a witness to all of us who walk by these shrines and sometimes take them for granted and don't become impressed but just walk by without thinking too much about anything.

21 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 Twinkies and Root Beer ~author unknown

little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he Apacked his suitcase with Twinkies and a six- pack of Root Beer and he started his jour- ney.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man. The man was sit- ting in the park just feeding some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at the boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.

Again, the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he h a d gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?”

"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother 22 Sharings Volume 35 Number4 April 2005 could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added," You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

“Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.” (Mk. 9, 37)