Rome Journal 3

Council of the Congregation

Rome

February 13 - March 6, 2022

Sister Clare Superior General Report

On February 17th, we began the day with Sr. Clare giving the Superior General’s Report to the Council.  

The purpose of this report is to render an account from a general perspective, on several aspects of the life of the Congregation since the General Chapter of 2018.  

Our General  Council was mandated by the 2018 General Chapter to ensure the implementation of:

The Chapter Priorities, in the Congregation

The Revision of the Constitutions

The Restructuring of the Mother House and Congregation

 

And to reflect on a variety of topics: Formation, Development, Communication, Canonical visits

Sister Clare Stanley, General Superior

giving her Report

Implementation of the Chapter Priorities in the Congregation

The many ways in which the provinces have taken the path to affirm the Chapter call

To be credible witnesses and rejoice in the Lord

To be Missionary Disciples, and Go Forth

To go Forward Together

While the Global Pandemic did disturb many of the plans, there was communication between and among Provinces in reflecting on these Chapter Priorities and the questionnaire used for the reflection for the Province, Vice-Province and Region (these are often referred to as “entities”) was developed.

In many provinces collaborative efforts in the areas of ministry and formation

have been implemented.

There were many challenges and with the opportunities provided, provinces

made themselves available to the calls/needs of other provinces and the

Generalate.  There are still multiple challenges some being—issues related to 

aging; lack of personnel, which effects community life; financial concerns; 

political situations; polarization; uncertainty about the future.

Revision of the Constitutions

The entire Congregation has been involved in a two year process responding to the changes, additions to the existing constitutions.  

Now the Leadership Council will be giving 3 long afternoons and 2 full days for discussions on the synthesis we all received in preparation for this gathering.

Restructuring

The Mother House - The two year project has begun!  Our deep gratitude to the Provinces and generous donors who have made the first stage possible.. this is a

huge undertaking of time, energy and finances to house our General Council and Administration, Community, ministry and welcoming space with the congregational museum.

The Congregation -  This restructuring is a process rather than a completed project.  The on-going communication between entities (Provinces, Vice-Provinces, Regions) creates closer links between entities; support for Provinces; and to review structures of Provinces, Vice-Provinces and Regions.

Formation

So essential to the future of the Congregation!  There are various processes for formation (inter-provincial Novitiates, the formation of Novices in different provinces, the community experience in other Provinces).  

The importance of the on-going formation for each sister in the Congregation and formation for ministries within the Congregation.

Sister Clare Stanley, General Superior, concluded her report by reflecting on what it means to be a Missionary in the Congregation today, our Cor Unum et Anima Una, fidelity to the charism of  Anne-Marie Javouhey the example of Mary and St. Joseph

“let us discern (during this Council of the Congregation)

let us listen …let us look for ways that challenge us…

in order to fix our gaze, our heart and all our efforts,

on the mission that God has entrusted to us throughout the world.”

Congregational Statistics

Following Sister Clare’s Report, Sister Joan Van der Zyden gave a really interesting presentation of the Statistics of the Congregation. Comparing the statistics of 2017 to 2021.

The number of Sisters in the congregation from 2017 to 2021 have gone up in Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean; and the number of Sisters have gone down in Europe, The Americas and in Oceania.  Go to the Congregational Website to see the Provinces in these areas of the world.

These reports from around the world highlight the diversity of language, culture, traditions, community living and ministries.  They also unite us in the ‘Cor Unum et Anima Mea’ , One Heart and One Mind, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny as together they fulfill the mission entrusted to them as Missionary Disciples in a New World. 

Sometimes there is great sorrow shared as well as  much laughter, inspiration, challenges, collaboration a and wonderful storytelling as the Sisters, Affiliates, Associates and Collaborators in the mission share in their provinces, vice-provinces and regions, live today the 2018 Chapter Priorities:

To be credible witnesses and rejoice in the Lord

To be Missionary Disciples, and Go Forth

To go Forward Together

Provincials of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas

And Oceania giving their reports

Thank you, Sisters  for your leadership and service of your Provinces, Vice-Provinces and Regions and for your accounting of the mission entrusted to the congregation and for ‘doing a little good’  wherever we find ourselves around the world.

February Stop Trafficking Newsletter

 What is Athletic Trafficking

This month’s Stop Trafficking Newsletter 

focuses on the intersection of sports and human trafficking.

Sport is another cover under which the trafficking of human beings operates.  

From aspiring athletes trafficked to pseudo-sports camps in faraway countries, to exploited labor in the construction of the sports stadiums, to underage girls being forced into prostitution at nearby hotels during major sporting events, the link between human trafficking and sports can take many different forms.  

Read the February 2022 Stop Trafficking Newsletter

https://sistersagainsttrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022_02_Stop-Trafficking-EN.pdf

Become Aware…. Slave Labor in Building

Gymnastics and Human Trafficking

Advocate… What Sports Organizations can do

What you can do

Take Action….         Athletes Working Against Human Trafficking

Watch the “Not in Our Game” videos

Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution

Created by Theresa Flores, the S.O.A.P. Project distributes soap bas to hotels housing visitors for major sporting events, conventions, and entertainment extravaganzas across the nation.  Soap wrappers contain the hotline number, but also three questions:

• Are you being forced to do anything you do not want to do?
• Have you been threatened if you try to leave?
• Have you witnessed young girls being prostituted?

The SOAP’S Project mission is to end human trafficking by mobilizing communities, provide prevention education and advocacy, and facilitate restorative experiences for survivors.  Want to Help?

Click HERE to learn more.

International  Justice  Mission

A global organization that protects people in poverty from violence against women and children, human trafficking and other forms of abuse against poor people.

Team Freedom, IJM’s team of Pro Athletes has partners in the NFL, MLB, NHL, US Soccer and Olympics. They are committed to using the global power and influence of sport in IJM’s work to protect the poor from human trafficking, slavery and other forms of violence.

Click HERE to learn more.

Rome Journal 2 February 16, 2022

 

We are in the only convent we have in Italy. A HUGE house which dates from 1860. We, Cluny, share it with a religious community named Chemen Nuef, which is an Association of the Faithful. They are consecrated religious and in charge of caring for and maintaining the building as a guest house. The eleven Cluny Sisters and Chemen Nuef  community share this wonderful space.

The Cluny Sisters who travelled from outside EU countries had to remain in quarantine, some for 5 days after arrival, others 10 days. I went for my a test yesterday and was cleared—negative. So I can now go “sightseeing”!!!   More on that topic later. 

 

We do have an audience on the schedule with Pope Francis -- a General Audience.  Private Audiences are given only to groups who are having Chapters.

The Council of the Congregation is composed of 38 sisters.  The General Council with Provincials, Vice Provincials and Regionals and our representative in Rome. The sisters in Australia and New Zealand are joining (two Provincials, and two observers) via Zoom.

Cluny sisters from other missions have come for secretarial work, kitchen and dining room service and translations. There are 3 professional translators as well—the sisters do simultaneous and written translation, the professionals do only simultaneous. 

Meal times are quite the, as one sister put it, the Tower of Babel (yes, it is babel). It can be quite the challenge to carry on conversations with four different languages. But it is an experience and we have many a laugh.

Quick Look at the Schedule

The daily schedule is full, as the agenda has many items and we are trying to do as much as possible in the time we are gathered as the Council of the Congregation.

Meals- Breakfast 7:45 - 8:30am; Lunch 1:00 - 2:00; Supper 7:15pm

Prayer - Morning Faith Sharing 9:15am ; Evening Mass  6:16pm, a different   language group prepares each day

Three Table Sessions at 10:00am; 3:00pm and 5:00pm

 There are 2 Break times; one in the morning and one in the afternoon

 

Opening  Mass

The Council of the Congregation opened with a beautiful Mass in diverse languages and with diverse rituals.  Here are a few photos taken.  See more on the Website  

www.flickr.com/photos/142508620@N02/with/51892565761/

https://sj-cluny.org/Council-of-the-Congregation-Videos?lang=fr

Thank you, Sister Genevieve for sharing your first impressions of Rome and the Leadership Council.  Be assured of our continued support and prayers.  We look forward to hearing more!

Happy Feast Day Sisters!

 

The Leadership Council of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny arrived in Rome from thefour corners of the world, for a congregational leadership meeting.

The congregation’s Leadership Council gathers every six years and is usually held in a variety of places where the Cluny Sisters are missioned. This year they are gathering in Rome. 

Though the Global Pandemic delayed the council’s gathering initially planned for 2021, the leadership council is gathering in Rome from February 13 - March 6, 2022. 

Join us in praying for their safe journeys, good health and guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout.

The role of the Council of the Congregation is:

• to maintain and strengthen the unity of the Congregation and promote greater co-ordination
• to study the evolution of the different provinces
• to examine how the decisions of the chapter have been implemented and how the Congregation is responding to contemporary needs
• to do research work of a general nature
• to propose orientations/directions to be taken
• to guide the growth and development of the Congregation
• to examine serious problems likely to affect the whole Institute 

The Council of the Congregation is composed of:

• the Superior General and her council
• the representative of the Congregation in Rome
• the General Secretary and the General Bursar
• the Provincial, Vice-Provincial and Regional Superiors 

 (Constitutions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny)

 Emmaus  Theme 

 

 The theme of the Council of the Congregation is "Road to Emmaus."

As seen in our logo, we are pilgrims on the way, traversing the world,

accompanied by the spirit of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey

and guided by the Holy Spirit!

 Sister Genevieve Marie Vigil is one of the provincials participating in the Council, representing the Province of the U.S.A. & Canada.  There will be congregational leadership attending from Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas/Caribbean, Oceania.  The last statistical data of 2018 there were 31 provinces, vice-provinces and regions of the world; four official languages of the congregation - English French, Portuguese and Spanish; and an international missionary character of diverse languages, cultures, races, traditions of over 2,000 sisters  ministries of education, pastoral, health care and social action that deeply enrich and challenge us.

Please join us in praying for openness to the Spirit that guides us!

In the midst of winter, Cluny Sisters in Rhode Island and Connecticut gathered to remember and celebrate the life of our dear Sister Anne Marie.  We gathered at St. Augustin Church in Newport for a time of visitation and viewing ending in the evening with a prayer service.

 

Wake time, sorrow-sharing time.

Wake time, Storytelling time.

Wake time, Vigil-keeping time.

Wake time, embracing time.

From the Irish Wake Prayer:

Our Lady of the Wake

We were consoled by those dear Affiliates, Associates and Friends who gathered to keep vigil with us and share memories, telling stories… tears and laughter!

 

The following day we gathered once again to celebrate a Mass of Christian Burial.

Father Mark Sauriol presided and invited us to read Sister Anne Marie’s Obituary backwards, beginning with the story of a very successful sister to those who didn’t have faith in her.

 

Sister Genevieve Marie Vigil, Provincial of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny followed with remarks that captured Sister Anne Marie well.  Here are some of her reflections:

 

One of qualities that anyone who knew Anne-Marie knew that kindness was a hallmark of who she was.  She saw the needs of others and through her instinctive acts of kindness made each day simpler and easier for others.  They felt accepted by her and responded.

 

As we all know, she suffered from poor health her entire life, yet it sometimes impelled her to move forward in spite of or maybe because of it.  As a teacher, both in California and in Cluny School, as a parish minister in West Virginia, as a high-school chaplain in Hamilton, as a vocation director in the diocese of Providence, she brought a sense of dedication and hard work to each of those ministries.  She saw the good in each person she met, and perhaps because of her own experiences with weakness of body, she could understand the struggles of others.  She was convinced that in each person with whom she was dealing, there was a deep down goodness that was waiting to be revealed.

 

She loved teaching and many of her students credit her not only with teaching skills and proficiencies, but also the life lessons of kindness, hard work, creative ways to approach problem solving and how to see the irony of events in life.  She had a wry sense of humor and often the quips and “throw-away lines” helped us to laugh at the incongruities of life.

 

Her example of faith, in her support of others in their moments of pain in mind, body and spirit helped many see the pain with hope and trust.  She brought this faith to every situation and through her words and example she strengthened the faith of others.  She often acknowledged her own weakness and helped others accept their limitations, trusting that God’s loving Will was present in all that was around them and in their own limitations.

 

As I reflected on my memories of Anne-Marie, the outstanding one was her love of animals, especially cats.  We all have cat stories. She was also  a voracious reader and enjoyed particularly mysteries—these challenged the mind in the puzzle of events, and how these unfolded in the plot. She loved board games, especially ones that involved words.  Her intelligent mind looked for the patterns that could be made and found.

 

As a New Yorker, she had a cosmopolitan view of life, as the descendent of Irish immigrants, she had a sense of the Divine and the mystical, as a daughter she had a deep devotion to Mary, mother of all.

 

Anne-Marie was a good friend to all of us, and I am convinced that she is here in this “thin place” assuring us of her prayers.

 

May our tribute of her be to live the lessons she taught us—

trusting in God’s Providence,

seeking always and everywhere to do Gods  Will,

seeing the goodness in others and

every now and then loving a cat.

 

A true daughter of Anne Marie Javouhey, Foundress, Sister Anne Marie witnessed to our call to become Missionary Disciples in collaboration with all to bring about the Mission of Jesus, that all may be ONE. 

 

May she now rejoice in the full presence of our loving and merciful God.

Black History Month

 Black Health and Wellness

Since its inception, Black History celebrations have always had a theme. The importance of yearly themes is to focus the attention on a particular aspect of Black culture and experience. The 2022 Black History Month’s theme is Black Health and Wellness. This focus will celebrate the contributions and breakthroughs of Black professionals as well as speaking to the cultural richness of those “non-traditional” health and wellness practitioners (e.g., doulas, midwives, etc.). 

Now, celebrating Black History is not just an acknowledgement of the past, but a commitment to the future. Black history is American history. Understanding past barriers to progress for marginalized individuals, specifically people of color helps us better recognize systems that still produce discriminatory practices and disparate outcomes. Knowing Black History not only helps us recognize these systems, it also makes clear that these systems affect more than just the marginalized and people of color. Systems of racism and oppression hurt us all.

Remarkable Professional Black Women

As we begin Black History Month, President Biden is considering many highly qualified black women to replace Justice Breyer who just retired from the Supreme Court.

During Black History Month we get to know these professional black women who will be in the news as well as many other gifted and talented black men and women in professions beyond the law. 

Let’s Take A Look At These Remarkable Women

Feb 8th St. Josephine Bakitha

 St. Josephine Bakhita

Patroness of Trafficking Victims

As human trafficking continues to be a supremely important issue during Pope Francis’ pontificate, with an estimated 20 million victims worldwide, St. Josephine Bakhita, enslaved during her own childhood, undergoing immense suffering throughout her adolescence before discovering the faith in her early 20s. She was baptized, and after being freed entered the Canossian Sisters in Italy.

February 8th, St. Josephine’s feast day, marks the fourth international day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking.

Biography

Born in 1869 in a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan, Bakhita was kidnapped by slave traders at the age of seven. So terrified that she could not even remember her own name, her kidnappers gave her the name, “Bakhita,” which means “fortunate” in Arabic.

This was the last time she saw her natural family, being sold and resold into slavery five different times.

Eventually, she was purchased by the Italian consul Calisto Legnani, who later gave her to a friend of the family, Augusto Michieli, who brought her to Italy as a nanny for his daughter. In the Italian families it was the first time she was not mistreated.

After being freed, and remaining with the Canossian Sisters in Italy, she dedicated her life to assisting her community and teaching others to love God. She died on February 8, 1947. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized in 2000 by St. Pope John Paul II.

“Realizing that this evil is but another manifestation of slavery and bondage, we choose to combat it in whatever ways possible as Anne-Marie Javouhey worked for the abolition of slavery in the society of her day.

To this end we will endeavor to direct our spiritual, financial, and human resources to educating ourselves and others about this evil and will do whatever is in our power to work for an end to this moral depravity.”

Catholic Social Teaching

“One of the most troubling of those open wounds (in the world) is the trade in human beings, a modern form of slavery. It violates the God-given dignity of so many of our brothers and sisters and constitutes a true crime against humanity.”  

— Pope Francis, November 7, 2016

“It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit.”  

— Catechism, pp 2414

Whatever insults human dignity, such as… slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed… they are supreme dishonor to the Creator.”  

— Gaudium et Spes, 1965

Human trafficking is a horrific crime against the basic dignity and rights of the human person. All efforts must be expended to end it. In the end, we must work together—Church, state, and community—to eliminate the root causes and markets that permit traffickers to flourish; to make whole the survivors of this crime; and to ensure that, one day soon, trafficking in human persons vanishes from the face of the earth.”

— USCCB, On Human Trafficking, 2007

Prayer to St. Josephine Bakihta

O St. Bakihta, assist all those 
who are trapped in a state of slavery.
Intercede with God on their behalf
So that they will be released from their
Chains of captivity.
Those who we enslave
Let God set free.

Celebrate and give thanks with our CLUNY SISTERS

 World Day of Consecrated Life

World Day for Consecrated Life is observed by the Church
on the Feast of the Preservation of the Lord

                         

World Day for Consecrated Life: Invitation to

 the synodal spirit of participation

Pope Francis will mark the World Day for Consecrated Life on Wednesday with a Eucharistic celebration in Rome’s St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope Saint John Paul II instituted the annual observance of the Catholic Church, marking it for the first time in 1997.  He designated its celebration on February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

 

The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has addressed a letter to the world’s consecrated men and women inviting them to walk together as a community in the synodal spirit of participation, where members exercise responsibility for one another through mutual listening, excluding no one.

The joy of ‘we’

The Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz and Secretary, Archbishop Jose Rogriguez Carballo, who signed the letter, explain that this year’s message focuses on ‘participation”, the second word of the theme of the 2023 Synod: Communion, Participation and Mission.

Recalling the exhortation of Pope Francis, the message says, “no one, no one, should be excluded or feel excluded from this journey; no one, no one, should think ‘it doesn't concern me’.”

The message recalls that, by going back to their vocational call, consecrated persons will rediscover the enthusiasm, amazement and joy of feeling and being part of a project of love, for which others like them have also made their lives available for the good of humanity.  The Vatican Congregation thus invites consecrated persons to revive this memory, warning that “over time it risks losing its strength, especially when we replace the attractiveness of ‘we’ with the strength of ‘I’”.

Participation of all

The first proof of participation is belonging, the message says, adding, “I cannot participate if I conceive of myself as the whole and do not recognize myself as part of a shared project.”  Hence the importance of asking ourselves what this listening in the community consists of: “Who are  the brothers and sisters we listen to and, before that, why do we listen to them?”

The Congregation invites consecrated men and women to the synodal journey of participation “strong in the conviction that we can only receive and give Good” because, as Pope Francis says, consecrated life is born, grows and can give evangelical fruits only in the Church, the living communion of the faithful People of God.

Responsibility

Participation thus becomes responsibility, whereby “we cannot but be among others and with others”.  And even before that, synodality begins within us from a "change of mentality, from a personal conversion, in the community or fraternity, in our homes, workplaces and structures to expand into ministries and mission".

Thus, nourishing the synodal journey together that begins with listening, means making room for the other in our lives, taking seriously what is important to him or her.  Participation also means co-responsibility, especially in the missionary dream of reaching out to all, of caring for all, of feeling that we are all brothers and sisters, together in life and in history, which is the history of salvation.

 

Credible Witnesses, Rejoice In The Lord

The first witness we give of God’s kingdom is living authentically

 our consecrated life and the call to be credible witnesses of the Gospel

 and a joyful presence in our world today.  

By our vowed and communal life we reveal 

a prophetic and counter-cultural way of acting and living

 that shows respect for all peoples and our common home.  

The richness of our unity and diversity makes us signs of a universal solidarity

 in a society marked by brokenness, violence and divisions.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny

Missionary Priorities

Looking to the past with gratitude, living the present with passion and embracing the future with hope, as Pope Francis has asked us to do, we are:

• 
  sisters with a missionary call
  
• rooted in prayer
• gathered together in community

• attentive to the cries of today’s world
• with total availability for the mission

• inserted into the local context
• while remaining open to the world

Learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, visit our website and watch the testimonial of Sister Lorraine, S.J.C. here…

https://sj-cluny.org/25th-World-Day-of-Consecrated-Life-February-2-2021?lang=en