For tonight we thought we would offer you a few spiritual nuggets from Msgr. Caserta's talks today. His conferences are very rich and practical. 

Today we focused on the virtue of charity and then the vow of chastity. Monsignor, quoting St. Augustine, said "You have loved me O God and So have made me lovable." In his characteristic Brooklyn accent he said, "we have no right to feel unlovable. We have been loved by God. We are a result of a thought of God." Knowing we are loved by God we are enabled to love others. Mission comes from this knowledge. 

We are propelled to love others through the nuptial giving of ourselves to God through prayer.  This prayer transforms us until every fiber becomes spiritual motherhood.  Monsignor reminded us that St. Teresa of Avila, while speaking of the soul caught up in spiritual perfection in the 7th Mansion, teaches us that the action of this love finds its expression in love of neighbor.  When there is nothing but God, the soul is moved to love of neighbor.  Finally, we end this evening with a quote from our beloved Pope Francis, "We do not just open the doors of the Church, we walk through them in service to the poor."  

Sister Mary Hanah, RSM writes about her experience in Rome:

What has continued to leave the greatest impression on me is the sense of the Church through the 2000 year history of our faith.  Visiting the Churches with a priest who is a very knowledgeable spiritual guide helped me to become aware of the richness of the faith in a way that I had not seen before.  In the midst of this, one of the graces of this time for me has been the opportunity to reflect upon my own identity as a religious woman and my place in the Church, and to respond to my vocation in a more authentic way as a creature before my Creator.

We have had gifted and remarkable priests who have guided us through this time together.  Their love and knowledge of the Church, the spiritual life, and religious life has shaped this time.  It was my experience that the faith of the early Christians we witnessed in the tombs of the martyrs and confessors, and those who built the magnificent 430 Churches in Rome, was exemplified in a poignant and living way through the faith in Christ and love for His Church that the priest presenters shared with us.  Their presence gave this time a deeply ecclesial character.

One would be remiss not to mention the delightful time we have had together as a group composed of 11 Sisters from five different CMSWR communities.  If only we could share with you the laughing and playful teasing that has gone on at our dinner table in the evenings!  We have truly enjoyed one another.  I am grateful to have come to know these Sisters who love their vocations deeply and radiate the joy of dedicating one's life to the Lord.

Blessed Feast of St. Ignatius! We forgot to tell you that the Pope will be celebrating Mass at the Gesu this evening. The Gesu is about a 5 minute walk from where we are staying. Unfortunately we were not invited, but who knows, we may see him drive by!

In Honor of the Feast of St. Ignatius, here is his Suscipe:

Take, Lord, receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my will,
All that I have and possess.
 

You, Lord, have given all that to me,
I now give it back to you.

O Lord, all of it is yours, dispose of it according to your will. Give me love of yourself along with your grace,

for that is enough for me.

(This translation is found in the
Chapel of the Passion in the Gesu)
 

Crucifix in the Chapel of the Passion, Church of Gesu, Rome
 

Today, Tuesday, July 30th, we continued to be blessed with holy Mass and conferences from Monsignor Thomas Caserta.  Today, Monsignor focused on the theological virtues of hope and faith as eschatological signs that we, as religious, are meant to be for the world.  

Hope is the theological virtue that orders our activity towards the kingdom of heaven.  The witness of religious life makes visible the face of Christ. In this way we should offer hope to all whom we meet. You can imagine the examination that goes on in each of us when we hear this. Monsignor stressed the need to know who we are in relation to God, quoting St. Augustine who prayed often, "Novarum te, novarum me," "Let me know you, and let me know myself."  

Monsignor then gave specific examples. He said our vocation is not about our specific work. Our vocation is to belong to the Lord. This is our call. He then said that the vows don't address specific behaviors, they address personhood, from which flows certain behaviors. We have to interiorize the rules, not just follow them. We do what we do for the love of God. Monsignor cautioned us against compliance rather than obedience, sighting that the biggest failure is to do the right thing for the wrong reason.  This life is not about ourselves and we are happiest when we are living for others; self-absorption  leads to depression.

In the afternoon, Monsignor continued with religious life as a sign of faith in the world. He quoted Hebrews 11 to define faith.  He further quoted the Catechism (par. 1314), which states that the virtue of faith is that by which we believe in God and all that He has taught us and all that the Church proposes for our salvation, for He is truth itself. 

Faith is about handing over (or entrusting) our whole lives to the Lord. This was demonstrated by the Lord Himself from the Cross:  "Into Your hands, Father, I commend my spirit."  We are "betting" our life on Him "who can neither deceive nor be deceived."  This gift of self-surrender to God is given through our vowed life.  As religious, we need to point beyond this world clouded with empiricism to the reality of things unseen.  Monsignor reminded us again of the witness of the external signs of our religious life.

Faith is first and foremost a love relationship with God, and we therefore have the responsibility to be joyful and enthusiastic in living out our vowed life of faith, witnessing to that which springs from a life lived in love for God alone.  Because all baptized in Christ must give of themselves to God, we need to point the way by living out our own baptismal promises.  Because a religious entrusts herself to God, others are more inclined to do the same.

In summary, it is our love that witnesses to the world, a love that is totally self-giving.  Catherine Doherty, founder of Madonna House, said it best:  "A nun is a woman in love. A nun is a woman on the other side of the Cross."

For those of you who have had the privilege of hearing Monsignor Caserta speak, you know how he illustrates his points with stories.

We ended our day by getting gelato! The store owner down the street knows us now. It was a pleasant night to be out since it was almost 10 degrees cooler today (low 90's).

You will begin to see each Sister writing something about her Rome experience. These will be published as they are submitted. We hope you enjoy them.

First up is Mother Marie Julie who is the Superior General of the the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church.

Mother Marie Julie

It was a great gift to me that when I spoke with the General Council of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church about sending one of our Sisters to the CMSWR  Summer Program at the Domus in Italy, the Council responded that I, as General Superior, should accompany Sister!  At first I refused: sending one Sister represented a financial outlay that, while reasonable, was nonetheless significant; sending me seemed like a lavish gift.  But the Mothers of the Council insisted, so, here I am, already beginning the third and last week of an extraordinary program that has more than exceeded our expectations. 

There have been eleven Sisters in addition to Sister Mary Kathleen, RSM (the Director of the Summer Program), and we have become a praying community that reminds me of the early Christian communities, of whom it was said, “See how they love one another!” Most of us had never met the other Sisters, but the spirit of mutual respect and love, care and concern for one another has been a true experience of “Church.”  We have taken turns leading the rosary according to the custom of each individual community, and have prayed the Liturgy of the Hours in the same way. Gregorian chant, celebrations of various patronal feasts, and visits to Roman churches that have special meaning for the Sisters has provided us with the richness of the various forms of community life present in the Church in the United States. Studying one another’s charism has not only enriched our understanding, but has, in some mysterious way, deepened our love for our own charisms.

The Priests who have accompanied us on this very spiritual journey have been informative, prayerful, reverent, awe inspiring, challenging, and, in the words of one participant, mystics. Daily Liturgies, whether at the Domus or in Churches in Rome, holy hours each evening, participation in processions, and the wonderful privilege of seeing and hearing our dear Papa Francesco at the Sunday Angelus, deepened our love for the Church and for our own precious call to religious consecration.

I suspect that another group of Sisters would experience this program in its own way, as the Spirit breathes where He will, but in the end it would truly be a moment of grace as it has been for us. Whatever sacrifice must be made to permit any member Congregation to send one or two Sisters to this CMSWR experience would be more than justified. I believe I am speaking for the other Sisters  in our group when I say that these weeks have enriched our spiritual life in ways that only God can measure, and which will surely bear fruit to the profit of the whole Mystical Body. May God  be praised for this opportunity.

Mother Marie Julie, SCMC                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Today Monsignor Thomas Caserta arrived from New York. Although he arrived this morning, he offered Mass and a conference after lunch.

In his homily he reflected on St. Martha. He said that persons can only love us in the capacity that they have and we have to accept that, even if it is not what we want. Likewise, we can only love God and others in the way we are able and we should not try another way (this does not mean we cannot be stretched at times). 

He will be offering us reflections this week on Religious Life as an Eschatological Sign. Our first conference focused on what an Eschatological identity is. The theology of religious life makes clear that we are to be signs of the Kingdom and thus we need to remember who we are. He said we live on the border of eternity and this why people think of heaven when they see us. 

Monsignor offered us 4 Scripture passages that tell us about the kingdom:

1. 1 Corinthians 2:9 "Eye has not seen..."
2. Revelations 4 and 7: Describe the Heavenly Liturgy
3. Revelations 12:10 and following: The great battle between the         angels; and
4. Revelations 21: The New Order--restoration of the right order of     Creation.

Monsignor also tied the vows in with the representation of the Kingdom on this earth: Obedience is not an authority word, but a service word. Chastity is professed because we are taken by love, a love that can only be experienced by sitting in loving Adoration. We are chaste because we have found much. Poverty is a living reminder of what is really worthwhile. It is not what we take, but what we give. He said this contradicts the narcissism and attitude of entitlement that is prevalent in our culture.  

As you may be able to tell, our final week is almost like a retreat. Monsignor will be offering Mass and two conferences a day. Additionally, the Sisters can meet with him individually if they want.

Please be assured of our prayers.

Sunday, July 27 was another free day. We began with Mass at Santo Spiritu in Sassia, a church very close to St. Peter's. This Church offers a 10am Mass for English speaking pilgrims, which is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, in collaboration with the Bishops’ Office for United States Visitors to the Vatican, and the Pontifical North American College. We also attended Mass there last Sunday. We met several people from the United States. Some were from Denver and Nebraska. The world truly is small. For more information about the Council and Mass view this link: http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en/news/11-09-2012.html

After Mass the Sisters did various things. Overall everyone took a quiet day for rest and prayer. However, in the evening a group of us attended the Solemn Celebrations and processions in honor of Madonna Fiumarola. This was an amazing experience in seeing the devotion of the Italian people to Our Blessed Mother, the immense crowds, and the Catholic culture.

We watched the Blessed Mother arrive by boat on the Tiber river. From the boat a priest was leading Marian hymns and a litany to the Blessed Mother. He would would then exclaim "Viva Maria!" and we would respond by saying "Viva Maria!" and then everyone would clap! When she was brought to shore fireworks went off. As she was carried up to the street confetti was shot into the air. As we processed to St. Maria in Trastevere there was a stop at a choir who sang to her. When she arrived at the Church fireworks (like our 4th of July Fireworks) were set off.

It was beautiful to process with all the Italians. Some elderly people were being pushed in wheelchairs and walking with canes. One man was 95 yrs. old and his grandson was pushing him in his wheelchair. His grandson said he was proud to bring his grandfather and Maria (i.e. The Blessed Mother) was helping him.

After the procession we stopped for gelato! We had a wonderful time and it was a special way to end our Sunday.

We will post some pictures that we took, but we also found a link that has a brief explanation of the tradition and some professional photos here: 
http://www.demotix.com/node/2302057

Here comes Mary down the Tiber!

This is where Mary will dock. Notice the band in the crowd.

Maria coming up to the Street...notice the blue confetti!

Notice the gold confetti!

Sister Mary Kathleen and Mother Marie Julie in the Procession 

Sister Sarah and Sister Dorcee in the Procession 

It is hard to tell, but to the left is the choir singing to Our Lady and on the right you can see her statue.

Sister Mary Hanah and Sister Cecilia in the procession

This is the 95 year old man being pushed by his grandson. 

Maria before she entered the Church

Mary in Santa Maria in Trastevere