News and Events: Called to Love

This Saturday is our Called to Love vocation retreat. We are all looking forward to meeting the young women who are coming.  And the women are excited to have an opportunity to grow in their faith and to learn more about God's will in their lives.  We have several different Religious Communities that will be joining us.  Please pray for good weather so all our retreatants are able to make the trip to come.


This past Saturday was the World Day of the Sick.  Unless you are involved in the medical field at a Catholic facility or someone who is Sick, you might not know that the Catholic Church has a World Day of the Sick.  This special day was instituted by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1992.  It is celebrated each year on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11th).

 The World Day of the Sick is meant to be a time of prayer.  It is also a time for anyone who is suffering to offer that suffering for the good of the Church and of the world. Saint Pope John Paul II reminded the sick that their suffereings, "accepted and borne with unshakeable faith" and then joined to the suffering of Christ have extraordinary value.   It is also a reminder for caregivers to see the face of Christ in the sick person.

Saint Pope John Paul II stated in his address that the World day of the sick should serve to reach the consciences of the people "...to make them aware of the valuable contribution which human, and Christian, service to those suffering makes to better understanding among people, and consequently, to build real peace. "   And as we all know, Saint Pope John Paul live these words throughout his own life.  He experienced all sorts of suffering in his life, not just physical illness.  He suffered the pain of losing his loved one at an early age.  He suffered from governement persecution.  If anyone in the modern era can teach us the value and the beauty of sacrificial suffering it is Saint Pope John Paul II.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to read a book about his life and keep in mind that he taught us about about suffering by suffering.

St. Joseph's Corner: vocations

A Day in the Life: The Call of the Master

(I wrote this poem about five years ago)

I heard the voice of the Master calling

He said, “Come with me!

Come, and let me show you the way

That I have marked out for you.”

So, I arose and I followed Him.

The Master said, “Behold!”

And suddenly I saw before me

A vast crowd of people

Men, women and children

All of them sheep without a shepherd

The Master said, “These are My little ones.

I want someone to show them My love.

Will you be their Mother?

And forsaking all others,

Will you choose Me as your only Spouse?”

And I said to Him, “I will, my Lord.”

The Master said, “Now look again!”

And there appeared all the wealth in the world

Gold and silver, and precious jewels.

All the material goods that anyone

Could ask for or imagine.

The Master said, “It is true;

Many have chosen these things,

And seem in the view of the foolish to be happy.

I ask you: will you leave all this behind

And cling to Me as your true treasure?”

And I said to Him, “I will, my Lord.”

The Master said, “See, one more time!”

My name was written in lights across the sky,

All the people of this world knew me

Both power and fame were mine

And I was subject to no man

The Master said, “This is what could be,

If you choose to seek prestige and authority.

But I say to you: will you place your life

In the hands of My representative

And do all that she asks of you with joy?”

And I said to Him, “I will, my Lord.”

The Master said, “Then come!

Come, My beloved and My bride!

And to you I will give all that I have promised

And I myself will be your refuge and your strength.”

So I arose, and I followed Him.

Copyright 2016 Sr. Cecilia Ross

News and Events: Vocations and Join Hands Day.

This week Sister Margaret Mary and I will be going to the Vocation Fair at Ave Maria University in Florida.  It is always nice to visit their beautiful town and have time to visit with all our friends.  If you are in the area, we would love to see you there.

At the end of the week is Saint Joseph Academy's Join Hands Day.  It is a day when volunteers come to help spruce up the parish and school yards.  There is always plenty of work to do so if you would like a chance to work outside and get a free lunch, come by Saint Joseph Academy  on Saturday April 16th.

A Day in the Life: The Grace of Perseverance

Last weekend, I had the privilege of  teaming up with Mother Mary Christina and Sr. Patricia Jean to give a retreat for the RCIA and Confirmation candidates at my former home parish in Campbellsville, KY. The morning conferences went very well, and we wrapped up with an anonymous Q&A session in the afternoon. Yours truly was chiefly support staff, although I did chime in on a couple of the questions. In particular, one person asked about how someone can make a permanent commitment at such a young age. I'm guessing someone probably thought I was significantly younger than I am, at the ripe old age of almost-26.

The question made me think, though. One of the things that I shared, in answering the question, is the fact that I struggled some with reconsidering marriage when I started college shortly after making my first temporary vows. Suddenly, I found myself in social situations with "normal" people living in the world, talking to people my own age who were either married or in serious relationships. I began to question whether or not I had truly given it enough thought. Ultimately, after several months of struggling with this and praying about it, I concluded that I was, in fact, already on the right track.

In the midst of the doubt and temptation, I finally had a moment of clarity where I just realized, "You know what, I have to make this decision." God wasn't going to decide for me, the Sisters were not going to decide for me, my family was not going to decide for me. Only I could make the choice to follow the vocation that I was being called to live, or not. Obviously, I made the decision to stay.

Since then, I've learned that all vocations require you to continually renew your decision to be committed. It's not a one-and-done. Certainly, there are points in any vocation where you make an official permanent commitment: a man and a woman on their wedding day, a priest at his ordination, a Sister when she makes her final vows. It's after the official ceremony is over and the honeymoon ends that the true commitment begins, however. When you're home alone again because he's working late, or sitting through yet another parish meeting, or feeling the more human side of community life, that's when you have to pray for the grace to persevere. Commitment takes a moment; perseverance takes a lifetime of faith, grace, and trust in God's providence.

News and Events: Our Vocations

This week we are blessed to welcome Emily Heckman into our community.  Emily will enter on the February 2, the Feast of the Presentation.  Emily comes from South Dakota and is an Emergency Medical Technician.  A call to the religious life is a great gift from God.  This week Emily will begin to learn what it means to be consecrated to God and to give herself completely to Him. The stages of formation begin with postulancy which is from 6 - 11 months. During this time Emily will get to know our community and learn our charism.  She will study the documents of the Church regarding religious life as well as study scripture and the history of the Catholic Church. She will pray, work and play as a member of our community.  I know that you will keep Emily in your prayers as she begins her new life as a Sister of St. Joseph the Worker.

Kas, our postuluant, and Emily help out in the kitchen,. 

Next week will be a celebration of another type of vocation.  Sister Patricia Jean's parents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Without good, faithful, stable and holy families, there would be no religious vocations.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the family is the first school of the Christian life. They are " centers of living, radiant faith." ( CCC #1656)

In the Christian home we learn how to work, pray, and live as a family.  We learn how to love and how to forgive. It is difficult to teach a young woman how to live community life as a religious if she hasn't had that witness from her parents.  It is hard to understand the vow of poverty if she grew up in a family where wealth was considered the reason for living. Obedience will be difficult to appreciate and love if the woman grew up with the idea that it is o.k. do to whatever she wants to do without regard for others.  Mr. and Mrs. Cushing's witness to the beauty of the vocation to the married life inspired one of their sons to become a priest and one of their daughters to become a consecrated religious.  Their other children are carrying on the wonderful witness to the married vocation as they live their vibrant faith. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Cushing on this wonderful anniversary.

Sister Patricia Jean, Father Mathew Cushing, Sister Margaret Mary and Sister Therese Marie.

The Cushing family with Sister Patricia Jean and Sister Celeste Marie.