Providence Spirituality
“The God of Providence carries the entire mystery of the divine, ever trustworthy, never failing. The God of Providence offers all the possibilities for ourselves and the world, including both what God wants to happen and what God is willing to let happen because God honors the gift of human freedom. The choices are ours — truly free, but ever grounded in the grace of God, the Holy Mystery of Providence, about which there is ever more to be discovered.” – Sister Ruth Eileen Dwyer
Cards and Christmas carols
So Advent has arrived. There is a lovely Advent wreath in the chapel and another in the church. To my surprise, the novices don't know "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The prominent Advent song here seems to be "O Come, Divine Messiah," which they sing quite slowly. I taught the novices "Stay Awake, Be Ready," a children's Advent song that includes some clapping. I invite you to look it up and make a joyful noise.
Providence prayers for the journey of Advent
Advent means coming (Latin adventus; Greek parousia): the coming of Emmanuel (God-with-us) into our lives, the coming of Providence into the universe. This start of the Christian liturgical year invites us to prepare for the coming of light, liberation, and love into the universe. It challenges us to stay awake to Providence in our midst and to witness to this relationship.
“To be present to all that happens …” – Sister Denise reflects on Advent
Sister Denise Wilkinson, general superior, encourages us to "be in the present" this Advent season - to be like Mary.
Giving thanks from the heart
The two words thank you are so simple! But if said from deep within our hearts they can open a field of compassion and gratitude to others. If said from deep within our hearts, the saying of thank you becomes real. When we are real, we are able to melt the frozen places in others and ourselves.
Stitching a thanksgiving “quilt of words” together
Sister Denise Wilkinson's Thanksgiving Day reflection for 2014 weaves a quite of words together to encourage us.
Life is changed … not ended
Autumn, in all its beauty and decline, reminds us that this is a time to harvest our blessings in a spirit of thanksgiving, as well as a time for letting go and preparing for the season ahead.
Warm hearts welcome postulant Anna Fan
The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods welcome postulant Anna Fan in a heart-warming entrance ceremony on Nov. 13.
All Saints Day
As a kid, saints always fascinated me. I liked hearing their stories from my Sister of Providence teachers and reading their stories on my own. The martyrs, in my young mind, were the best! I really liked those stories and reveled in the fantasy that someday I, too, would die for my faith, just as they did — burned at the stake or fed to the lions. Well, forget that! Reality soon set in and with it a desire to stay as far away from that kind of suffering (make that any kind of suffering) as possible!
So very human: Making an e-book of Mother Theodore’s words
Christina talks about the process of making "Journals of Letters of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin" into an e-book, now available for purchase. Saint Mother Theodore is so very human in these pages! It's a delightful book.
Mother Theodore feast day: prayers to our faithful
After an emotional Mass in celebration of the feast of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin on Friday, Oct. 3, the Woods community is still buzzing with excitement.
During Mass yesterday, Sister Lisa Stallings, Sisters of Providence Vicar, shared the prayer below, written by Sister Donna Butler.
A feast-day letter to Saint Mother Theodore
Saint Mother Theodore, you showed us the way. It wasn’t easy, but you never let up. You believed in your Provident God. Providence was your shield of faith and hope, and you lived it to the fullest.
Comforting prayer
I’ve been a devoteé of the prayer of the rosary since I was a grade-schooler. I still pray the rosary (or most of it) nightly. I have even learned the Luminous mysteries introduced by Pope Benedict XV.