Theme: Vocations & Communications - Thomas Cassidy (CU)

08:30 - Vocations

10:30 - Communications

15:30 - Report from the groups on The Policy toward Culture

17:30 - Report from the groups on Spirituality & Apostolate

Summary

The morning was devoted to considering Vocations and Communications. During the first session the planned conference for directors of vocations in Brazil in August '98 was discussed. Claudio Weber (BM) explained the schedule and thrust of the conference as it is envisioned. Comments from province vocations people were welcomed. Delegates took particular pleasure in a small story related by Fr. Cassidy, which follows:

When I worked at Divine Heart Seminary I would frequently travel to Hales Corners, as it (Milwaukee) was my home town, as well as the headquarters of our US Province. Chicago was about half way between the two. One Sunday afternoon while making this journey, I tired of listening to the music on the car radio and began to fiddle with the dials. I soon ran across a Sunday Afternoon Church Service being held by a black congregation. As it caught my interest, I began to listen.

The minister called up a women named Barbara to give her 'testimonial.' She began to say PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. She repeated again PRAYER CHANGES THINGS, and again PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. She continued to shout out rhythmically PRAYER CHANGES THINGS.

Now the marvel of radio is we have to use our imagination and I pictured Sister Barbara to be a huge black women, built like, let's say Ella Fitzgerald. For all I know she could have been 5'2" and weight 95 pounds. But in her booming voice she would say PRAYER CHANGES THINGS! Slowly, as is the custom in many black congregations the people began to reply. PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. AMEN SISTER, someone would shout: PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. ALLELUIA, SISTER, from another. And so it went on. All Sister Barbara ever said was: PRAYER CHANGES THINGS!

I began to think she was right. This was good theology. For perhaps the prayer did not change reality, or God's response was not what I might want or expect. But in prayer the one who prays is changed. So indeed Sister Barbara was right; PRAYER CHANGES THINGS! And that brief encounter while traveling between Donaldson, Indiana and Milwaukee has stuck with me even to this day.

This story was based on offering a reflection of the important role senior and sick religious play in promoting and developing vocations for the congregation and Church as found in #24.3 of We the Congregation in Service to the Mission.

Encourage everyone, particularly our ill or aging religious, to pray and to offer up their sufferings to the Lord that He might raise up new vocations in the congregation and for all ministries and charisms in the church.

Meeting Notes

Sister Marie Gannon, fmn, President of Peace Communications Network (PCN) assisted Fr. Cassidy during the presentation on Communications. This was done in the "Show and Tell" model, i.e., a hands on demonstration of WWW. SCJ. ORG. It was an opportunity to explain to the major superiors how our system works, as well as, how they could benefit from it and assist in its implementation.
  Sister Marie Gannon & Tom Cassidy during presentation on www.scj.org and its impact on the congregation.

PCN, is an association of about 130 religious congregations and other Catholic entities. It came into existence in 1995 and the scjs have had an important role in its birth and development. Bernard Rosinski (US), while serving on the curial staff helped lay the ground work for the birth of PCN and served on its board of directors as Vice President and Treasurer until his return to the United States last June. Sister Marie thanked the congregation for its support and encouraged it to pursue efforts to use the Internet (email and world wide web) as an important means of building family.

There was enough time during the end of the first session to seek consultation as to where the General Conference in the year 2000 on the Economy and the Kingdom of God should be held. While the final decision needs to be made by the general administration the majority favored holding it in North Brazil given the fact that all past general conferences have been held in the provinces, and the theme lends itself to placing the conference within the context of the developing and/or third world.

Aloísio Back is to offer the last of our reflections. Due to technical difficulties we do not have it at this time. It will be posted tomorrow, which will also be the last day for posting materials to the Gathering pages.