Heart is published two times a year to highlight the mission and ministries of the Society of the Sacred Heart, United States-Canada, for a wide circle of friends. The covers, photographs of hearts in nature, symbolic of Christ's presence at the heart of the universe, bear witness to the contemplative dimension of the Society's "wholly contemplative, wholly apostolic" mission: To discover and reveal God's love through the service of education.
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As Provincial Paula Toner, RSCJ notes, "This issue of Heart presents many facets of the "we" that is the Sacred Heart family ... In this season of new life following a long wait in darkness, we celebrate the hope we have for our suffering companions on life's journey ..." Read about our journey together, and join us in The Heart.
As you will read in this issue of Heart, ministering with "the heart of an educator" takes place in many different settings: in actual classrooms, in countries where needs are enormous, and in places where healing is called for... As we contemplate the coming of Jesus, let us commit ourselves to regard the people in our lives as He did the people in his...
The exquisite beauty of the Japanese Spirea on our cover, the brilliance of color, the array of many small flowers within the heart-shaped blossom all came from what were barren branches just a few months ago. How we welcome Spring, this spectacle of creation’s resilience.
In the flow of seasons, the winter months are a fallow time. If we take our cues from nature, slow down, and pay attention, and if we can be present to this season, there is richness in the quiet of winter, in the darkness of long nights (the realm of owls), in the stillness and silence. Here we can be present to ourselves “where chance seeds may grow as the wind conveys them,” present to our life experiences from which to draw wisdom, and we can be present to God – who is very near and yet unknowable, mysteriously present to us.
In a recent homily, I heard these words: “Let God’s plans be your plans. Let God’s problems be your problems.” And I was taken with the directness of that call. At times, I think and pray in just the opposite way: “Please God, bless my plans, and help me with these problems that are on my plate.”
Recently you and I have found ourselves caught up in a whirlwind of change, globally, nationally, locally, and probably personally. The changes have been rapid and complex, and there are connections among all of them: the global and national economy, new governmental/political leadership, family finances and employment, international concerns about war and peace, and the effects of the forces of nature. We may be asking, “What should I do? How should I respond?” as we are forced to make big decisions, sometimes very quickly.
"The Feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated in a special way this year at Kenwood as we marked 150 years of the ministry of the Society of the Sacred Heart on the Kenwood campus. In my homily on that occasion, I referred to two images that have nourished our spirituality over these many years..."
"...I cannot express the pure joy that we found in being delightfully together. It was our consolation, in a great purity of union in God alone. We talked by the fire in the kitchen with our heads drawn together." -Madeleine Sophie Barat, Vie de la Venerable Mere Barat, p. 42 Adele Cahier, 1884
That was 1800. Ever since, the Society of the Sacred Heart has continued this practice, in all times and places.
Increasing concerns about the environment, global climate change and a new cosmological consciousness call for our attention from many venues, and in various ways we try to respond.
Summer is a time when many of us hope for some experience of rest, relaxation and renewed energy. The Religious of the Sacred Heart in the United States have been gifted with such a summer experience. In July more than 230 members of the province met in Chicago for our provincial assembly and chapter, a gathering full of hope and energy.
