November 2012 Vol. XXXII, No. 9

Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough,

and more. It turns denial into

L iving our lives through the lens of

thanksgiving, enables us to see every-

thing as gift, as miracle. Albert

Einstein said, “There are two ways to

live your life. One is as if nothing were a miracle.

The other is as though everything were a miracle.”

Gratitude flows from the recognition that all that is,

is a divine gift of love and freely given to us.

Gratitude is the primary and most fundamental

religious disposition. Gratitude makes for abun-

dance and produces an abundance mentality in us.

A favorite Scripture story of mine is the Multiplica-

tion of the Loaves and Fishes (John 6:5-15). The

crowd of thousands of people was hungry and all

the food to be found was five loaves and two fishes.

The need was enormous and the resources were

few. This is a situation wherein it would be very

easy to develop a scarcity mentality: there is

nothing we can do, so let’s keep the little we have

and survive ourselves. But there is no scarcity

mentality in Jesus. His heart is full of gratitude for

the precious gift of five loaves and two fishes from

His heavenly Father. Jesus takes the loaves, GIVES

THANKS, and shares them with the multitude. He

did the same with the fishes, giving all as much as

they wanted. Out of this mentality of gratitude and

generosity flows abundance, a mentality that brings

forth new life and vision.

I invite all of us into an attitude of gratitude and

abundance as we continue our election process. Let

us look upon the gifts we have in the Sisters of the

Province. We are Sisters from 18 different

countries doing mission together here in the USA

and the Caribbean.

(continued on page 2)

If the only prayer you pray in your

whole life is ‘Thank

(continued from page 1)

Drawing upon our trust in one another and commitment to God’s Kingdom, we have been

working together and making things happen together for God’s people. When I prayerfully

reflect upon each of our communities and experience their diversity yet their unity in mission

and prayer, my heart overflows with gratitude. Each community is like a miracle in action!

Let us look at the giftedness of our Province with grateful hearts and trust in God’s abundance.

Wisely and prayerfully we discern who have the dimensions of leadership that will move our

Province forward. After all, it is the Holy Spirit who gives the energy and direction to us as

Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, and She is willing to work with whomever we choose as our

Province Leadership Team. Let’s choose wisely, but also with great trust and gratitude!

Sr. Carol Welp

Things to Celebrate

2

On Friday, November 9, our Sisters in

Australia are opening the Sr. Edith

Centre for Education and the new

Medical Oncology Ward. Sr. Edith

Engel, SSpS, was from the USA and was

missioned to Australia in 1945. She

served as administrator of the hospital in

Brisbane. Sister started a nursing school

in the hospital which opened in 1950.

After living a full and rich missionary

life, Sister died in July 1964. We thank

our Sisters in Australia for remembering

Sr. Edith in this way.

Sr. Monica Mabel Balbuena is being

sponsored by Region 8 of LCWR to

represent us at a celebration in El

Salvador in honor of the four church

women who were martyred there.

SHARE, an NGO, which helps women

and children and encourages relation-

ships between El Salvador and the USA,

is organizing this celebration and asked

for one woman religious from each

region of the LCWR to be present.

Forty-eight women and three men of the

Adult Seniors Group participated in the

recollection day. Our theme was “Jesus

and the Women in the Gospel.” The

team, Sr. Zelia Cordeiro dos Santos

and Fr. Felix Jones, did an excellent job

of putting together the presentations. Sr.

Zelia and I explained our SSpS mission

around the globe and our participants

were impressed! Our Pastor, Fr. John

Mendonca, was very pleased and

supported us by helping with the details

of the day and by his presence. It was a

challenge to put this all together, but

listening to the comments of the partici-

pants, it was worth it. I had asked the

Sisters at the Convent to pray for us

during this recollection day (via Sr.

Marie Angela Risi), so I send them a big

THANK YOU! God bless!

Sr. Leonette Kaluzny

Recollection Day at Our Lady of

the Angelus, New York

3

Sunday, October 21, was Mission Sunday and

St. Joseph’s Parish in Memphis celebrated in a

big way. The object was to help all grow in

awareness of the one family of humanity and

the desire to reach out in kindness to those in

need. Sr. Monica Darrichon and Fr. Tony

Romo, SVD, organized the day. Sr. Philippa

Chen Jin Xiu offered for sale things from her

country to help the Sisters in their mission

work there.

Mission Fest, October 20, the fund-raiser for

St. Kitts preschool, was a fun afternoon since

we were joined by about 90 of our friends from

around the Chicago area. International food

was shared with us in abundance by many dif-

ferent cultural groups. Entertainment was lively

with our own Indonesian Sisters dancing and

singing, Sr. Monica Zhang, singing a song in

Chinese and leading us in Tai-chi, Sr. Rebecca

David singing and playing her drum, bringing in

the Sudanese culture, all with their national

dress. They really made the day a success. The

HSMA Filipino community added their talents

with lively singing and dancing. Sr. Carol

Welp gave a PowerPoint presentation showing

our Sisters in ministry around the world. Also,

Sr. Julita Bele Bau sent a video about her work

in St. Kitts with the children. A blueprint of the

plans for the new building was also shown. The

day was joyful, fun filled and profitable. People

were very generous in their contributions

towards the new building. On Mission Sunday

itself, the SVD Mission office offered us the

opportunity to place St. Kitts in the vision of the

benefactors and friends at Techny Towers. They,

too, were generous in their second collection.

Sr. Pat Snider

Mission Sunday

in Memphis

Mission Festival

In Techny

Left: Srs.

Xaveriana

Ngene,

Edel

Deong

and

Yuliana

Meno.

Right:

Proces-

sion in the

Divine

Word

Chapel

Left: Sr.

Carol

Welp

gives the

homily.

Sr. Philippa

Sr. Monica

4

Friday, October 26, we left to attend this conference in Los Angeles, California.

There were three groups of missionaries who attended. First:

Lay Mission-Helpers (founded by Msgr. Anthony Brouwers).

It is an independent, Catholic not-for-profit organization made

up of former religious, former lay missionaries, and other

individuals with specific professional skills. The main areas of

their ministries are education and healthcare. Second: Mission

Doctors Association, formed in 1959 by doctors from across the

United States. This group has trained, sent and supported

Catholic doctors and their families who serve people of all faiths

in some of the most underserved areas of the world. They call this mission a “Mission of Healing” and

the goal is to provide direct patient care and training for local professionals. They are maintaining their

mission in hospitals and clinics in Africa and Latin America. Third: cardinals, bishops, priests, and

religious men and women. In addition, there were two facilitators, two keynote speakers, six panelists,

and five presenters. Around 300 participants reflected on “Forging New Paths: Interreligious Dialogue,”

the theme of the 2012 USCMA Conference.

The first keynote speaker, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, started his talk on “Transforming

Dialogue” with an image of a woman at the well with an empty jar and that jar needs to be filled. It will

not be filled unless there is a dialogue with God and with his people. The Cardinal’s talk contained much

insight on spiritual awareness. As ‘people of God, through our baptism, we are called to be missionaries

- we are sent.’ However, there are still challenges in our reality, such as: How can we, the Church as an

Institution, practice the ‘Transforming Dialogue’ with other religions? How can we (Catholics) start a

dialogue with others while we don’t communicate with the people in our own pew? How can we begin a

dialogue with someone that is not supportive or is too fanatical? And yet, there will be more challenges

and the challenges will not end at once or in one way. It cannot be the responsibility of one organization

or institution, but let us embrace it as ‘our’ challenge and work it out beginning with ourselves. Then let

love speak if we don’t fulfill our aim, said the Cardinal.

The theme “Forging New Paths: Interreligious Dialogue” was extended six different ways, according to

Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic religions, and through a collaboration with Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic

Latinos. The theme was stressed specifically by the six presenters, such as: Interreligious Dialogue: A

Sustainable Pathway to Peace; Interreligious Prayer: Finding the Way Forward (visualized through a

movie ‘The Way” directed by actor Martin Sheen); St. Frances of Assisi’s Encounter with the Sultan:

Insights for Today?; and the Interfaith Practice of Jesus. At the end we learned from the second keynote

speaker, Dr. Scott Alexander, that we are ‘Living into God’s Mission - an End to Triumphalism in the

Hope of Solidarity.’

We were nourished by the Holy Eucharist, morning prayer, and the delicious food, and luxurious

accommodations at the Westin Hotel, and refreshed by a short field trip to the Cathedral of Los Angeles.

There we had Mass and dinner and enjoyed Mexican dance as the entertainment during our dinner. We

were so fortunate to have this opportunity and we would like to say thank you to God for our vocations

and the mission that God has entrusted to us. We are God’s helpers.

Sr. Xaveriana Ngene

Sr. Yuliana Meno

The 2012 United States Catholic Mission Association

Annual Mission Conference

5

The Course

I have spent about two months in the Institute of Religious Formation

(IRF) at Catholic Theological Union (CTU). The process began with

orientation when we shared about our culture and congregation. This

helped the participants to get to know each other better. The broad

outlines of the programs are Formation and Spiritual Life, Practical

Skills for Formation, Holistic Human Development and Psychology,

and Significant Issues of the 21st Century. Along with the regular

classes, I also take Religious Experience in Context as an auditing

student. I am happy and grateful that we are supporting each other to

study and to be responsible in this program.

The Community Living Situation

The program is led by Br. Paul Michalenko, ST. There are ten participants in this course. They

are Kayula, Sister of Charity from Zambia; Helen, OSB, from Canada; Annie, O Carm, from

St. Lucia; Jia Qin Zhang, Sister of St. Teresa from China; Bruce,

Glenmary from Kentucky; Ray, Missionary of LaSalle from

Canada; William, OFM Conv, from Zambia; Julius, MSC, from

Namibia; Neri Lee, OCD, from Korea and myself. We are living

on the sixth floor at 5400 South Cornell Avenue and our class is on

the third floor. I start my daily activities with private meditation

and then go to the Mass. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,

we celebrate mass together in the IRF and Sabbatical community.

Other days we join with the Passionist community. Before class, we open with the Morning

Prayer.

At meals, we share our stories, experiences, and our studies. The politics around the presidential

election, issues of peace and justice in the world, the 50-year anniversary of Vatican II, culture

and languages are some of the topics we discuss. They are serious, happy, funny, sometimes

also boring. We often feel home sick.

In the afternoon, before or after dinner, some of us walk to Lake Michigan to enjoy the beautiful

environment, to exercise and to get fresh air. Two times a month on Thursday evening we have

a community night; we pray and have recreation together. When there is no activity in the IRF

community on the weekend I go home to the Rogers Park Community. Sometimes I invite a

friend to go and spend time with the community. I love both communities. For me, people are a

blessing in my life and I realize that my life is also a blessing for them.

In this journey, I am learning to be faithful as a student, present here and now. “Where your

treasure is, there your heart will be”. I hope what I learn really will be a blessing that is God’s

will.

Sr. Sisilia Soelistyani

My Journey in the Institute of Religious Formation at

Catholic Theological Union

Our deceased:

Bro. Samuel Quaye, SVD, who died

October 19 of cancer. He is from Ghana and

his body was brought there for burial.

Tom Miller, 77, brother of Sr. Mary and

Ann Miller, who died on October 15. His

daughter is also terminally ill with cancer.

Please pray for the family.

Be Thi Dinh, the mother of Fr. Quang Duc

Dinh, Rector of Techny Community, who

died on October 15.

Andreas Ramu Uran, 65, uncle of Sr.

Kristina Lajar, who died from liver com-

plications and was buried on October 21.

Jose Alcantar, uncle of Fr. Carols

Paniagua-Monroy, SVD, who died October

3 in California.

Our sick:

Sr. Kristina Lajar, who has a serious

kidney malfunction and will have a biopsy

on November 8.

Lambertus Bele Bau, 74, father of Sr.

Julita, who is hospitalized for complications

with his heart and high blood pressure.

Alphonse Schroeder, father of Fr. Roger

Schroeder, SVD, who is in hospice care.

Ellen Burke, sister-in-law of Sr. Priscilla

Burke, who has serious medical problems

and is having a hard time dealing with them

Mary Jilk, sister of Sr. Marie Louise Jilk,

who has serious back problems.

Joe, nephew of Sr. Jeanne Blie, who is

suffering from serious heart problems.

Patrick Greney, son of Shawn Greney, our

Activities Director, who is having serious

problems.

Celestine, sister-in-law of Mary Pardy,

who is hospitalized and suffering from

hives.

“Circle of Friends” was the theme of our

Family Feast celebrated by all the sisters at

the Convent on Saturday, October 27. We

began with Eucharist at 7:15 followed by

breakfast. The entire Community spent the

day together. At 9:30 a talent show was

presented which included poems, jokes and

a humorous skit. An ice cream social was

held at 2:30. And who doesn’t enjoy a game

of Bingo? Our Family Feast Bingo party

was the highlight of the afternoon and lovely

prizes were won by the lucky Sisters. A

good time was had by all!

Sr. Marie Angela Risi

On October 31, 13 SSpS celebrated with our

SVD brothers at their residence. We had a

lovely afternoon playing bingo and enjoying

each other, as well as the hats and costumes.

We ended with a delicious meal together.

Thank You!!

For Your Prayerful Remembrance

Family Feast

Halloween

6

JPIC

SSpS

USA

7

Immigrant Welcoming Congregations

On October 14, nine Holy Spirit Missionary

Sisters took part in the celebration of the first

anniversary of the Immigrant Welcoming

Congregations held at the Iglesia de Unida in

Berwyn. Representatives of the founding

communities, two new congregations and others

interested in immigration were welcomed for the

event. Three informative workshops on immi-

gration were offered. The first workshop on

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival gave an

overview of DACA, resources for congregations

who would like to provide good information

about eligibility, risks and benefits, required

paperwork and information about reliable legal

help.

Sr. Monica Zhang attended the second workshop

on the Training for the Post-Detention Accompa-

niment Network and she wrote “that the coordina-

tors who gave us a talk showed us support packs.

November

2012

Michael Gosch, CSV and Colleen Dille

They put some daily needs inside of packs to

distribute when a detainee is released.

Detainees are also in need of financial

donations to help with the bus or train

tickets, food and other expenses. This is part

of the accompaniment work of the Interfaith

Post Detention Response Network who do a

good job in helping those in need.”

Sr. Rebecca Chaan David attended and

wrote about the workshop that dealt with the

necessity of working for driving licenses for

immigrants. The case was made that driving

licenses can help stop the deportation, can

provide insurance, ID and reduce arrests. It

was stressed that it is more an issue of safety

than it is an issue of immigration. As part of

the presentation some told their stories of

being arrested because of minor car trouble.

The personal fear and powerlessness of the

individual was not the only problem; it also

had consequences for all the members of the

family.

Sr. Margaret Hansen wrote “I was

touched in hearing about all the efforts to

reach out to the immigrants who leave the

detention center. How sad to think that

people can be treated so heartlessly and how

wonderful that others are doing all they can

8

to help them find food, shelter and friend-

ship.”

Sr. Xaveriana Ngene represented the Holy

Spirit Missionary Sisters by receiving the

mission candle that expressed our commit-

ment to work with immigrants.

Sr. Xaveriana holds the candle

Several leaders gave talks calling us to do

something for the immigrants. Sr. Rebecca

named some of the actions being done on

behalf of the immigrants:

Learning new things about oneself, acting

with nonviolence as individuals; and inviting

people to the deportation center so they

might feel the pain of families being separat-

ed, etc.

The following reflection was written by Sr.

Dorota Piechaczek on the transforming

experience of the afternoon. “When we

entered the small and already crowded room,

a young Chinese woman spoke eloquently

about the process of obtaining a driving

license by the undocumented. At first, I had

difficulty understanding why it would be

such an important issue. Soon however, I

realized the enormity of this seemingly small

privilege. Ultimately, it is not about driving,

but about existing, about having an identity

not just an ID, being an equal user of the

road and not the one selected to be pulled

over for inspection for no other reason than

one’s face. As I listened to this revealing

information, I became angry about the

meanness of people who do racial profiling,

and the system that punishes instead of

forming, that exploits the weakest under the

banner of legality and order.

“I kept asking myself where and how can

law and justice meet the needs of immi-

grants and their families? I thanked God

for the many dedicated people who make

others aware of the problems faced by

undocumented people, who make efforts to

knock on legislators’ doors, mobilize the

migrants and the communities, and

welcome with compassion those who had

been arrested, fined, detained or deported.

I am proud to belong to a community that

has in its midst members from many ethnic

and national backgrounds and is willing to

engage actively in the process of making a

difference in the lives of the migrants.”

Sr. Rebecca shared her insights in the fol-

lowing way: “It is an oppressing situation

which isolates one from the other; it creates

division. I believe that in facing these hu-

man tragedies and injustices that we do to

each other, we must convert our own hearts

to non-violence in thinking and acting.

Truly, only the God of Peace can convert

the human heart to act with kindness and

respect toward all. When many faith Con-

gregations work together, they give hope to

immigrants. It is truly our responsibility to

look after our brothers and sisters. It is

there that we meet Christ.” (Thanks to Sr.

Monica Balbuena for the pictures and for

the contributions of those who attended.)

Sr. Rose Therese Nolta