Monthly e-newsletter giving witness to our Precious Blood Spirituality, grounded in Catholic Social Teaching and Gospel values
Girls preparing bags for poor during pandemic_FB
Sr. Donna
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teaching with Zoom
Letter from Guatemala:
Sharing our Precious Blood spirituality as we shelter in place
“Life as usual” in Guatemala came to a halt in mid-March when the first citizen with coronavirus arrived back in the country after visiting Italy. The next day, all shopping malls, eat-in restaurants, schools, universities and nonessential businesses were closed. Read More
Within three days, all bus transportation stopped and all international flights between Guatemala, the USA and other countries were suspended. All were encouraged to stay home as much as possible. The pandemic was well-contained until the USA started deporting Guatemalan migrants and refugees who got infected with the virus in detention. Now masks are required by law when out of the house, we have a strictly observed curfew from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. and people over 60 years of age are encouraged not to be out in public.
So we are here all day in Casa Sofia, our residence in Guatemala City where women may live without cost while continuing their education. Our community consists of seven young women finishing their university semester studies online and the two of us “senior citizens,” Sister Terry Walter and I, for two months and counting! We get out for essentials — food, banking that we cannot do online, gas and some occasional walking for exercise. But otherwise, the nine of us have been inside the house, or in our enclosed gardens, eating, cooking, cleaning, gardening, studying, exercising, playing, laughing, praying and sharing together more than ever before. Little by little, the cliques among the girls that formed over the years, along with some hard feelings and resentments, have given way to reconciliation, trust, respect and deepening of friendships. This has been a joy and a blessing to witness.
We have also witnessed an overflowing of caring for others less fortunate. While eating our Easter dinner together, a young man from the parish called to say that his family had nothing to eat and no money or income due to the pandemic. We had plenty of food from our own meal that fed that family of four for Easter. They are now receiving food from a program in the parish. One of our students knew of six families in a very poor area that were in great need, so the girls shopped and packed up big bags of food and supplies, and a taxi driver who needed work helped them deliver the bags to those families. The outreach with food continues as we proclaim God’s love and follow the example of our foundress, Mother Brunner, in feeding the hungry.
By Sister Joyce Kahle, C.PP.S.
Co-director, Casa Sofia
Precious Blood Spirituality: A framework for adaptation
Precious Blood Spirituality is a way of living through the ups and downs of any life situation. I have found this is no less true when living through a pandemic! It’s human and it’s natural that conflicting feelings and emotions arise whenever there is a change in a familiar pattern of behavior. Disruption of these familiar patterns leads to disruption in relationships, routines, dreams or goals. Disruption is the dying part of Precious Blood Spirituality. However, disruption doesn’t have to end in death.
It is also natural that conflictual feelings cause humans to tap into their capacity for resilience. We have the ability to adapt to new patterns, even if such new patterns are not desirable yet necessary. Read More
Our ability to adapt to the new patterns of living with the threat of COVID-19 and to learn how to carry on in spite of more isolation and social distancing is the rising part of Precious Blood Spirituality. We can do this and still be about who we are and what we do as women religious! After all, religious life is not new to adaptation! Its very nature is to adapt to the signs of the times.
Those of us who serve on the leadership team of the Congregation continue with the ministry of serving our Sisters as best we can in terms of mission, administrative care to that end, and the pastoral care of our members and constituents. Through the blessing of Zoom, we work collaboratively on process and make decisions. Some decisions are novel for this time because of the dictates of COVID-19.
We are blessed with a staff who also work from home. They, too, journey with us to carry forth the mission entrusted to us. We are also more mindful of the basic human needs of those affected by losses during this pandemic and are able to allocate some of our resources to directly serve them.
As we continue to adapt and move through the challenge of these times, it is easy to be frustrated, angry and/or impatient at times. A large part of my ministry in normal times is the face-to-face interactions with our Sisters on a daily basis, either at Salem Heights (our central house in Dayton, Ohio) or Emma Hall (part of the nursing facility next door). I lament the loss of being able to do that. Or, in some moments, technological glitches might get the best of me. However, Precious Blood Spirituality calls me to take a step back, acknowledge such feelings of loss and practice acceptance of what is, while growing in compassion for others and, equally important, for ourselves.
By Sister Marla Gipson, C.PP.S.
Councilor, Sisters of the Precious Blood
Teaching during the pandemic
When schools closed in Ohio at the end of the day on Friday, March 13, I really had no idea what was going on or the extent to which it was happening. It was a mad rush to prepare a packet of work for my students in Mother Brunner Catholic elementary school to take home for however many days we supposed school would be closed. As days turned into weeks and then months, home life as well as work life changed.
Our small household community prayer life has become extended and unrestricted due to schedules. Read More
Online teaching has been a struggle for those students who are able to participate in the online classroom, and an injustice for those students who don’t have appropriate devices and access to the internet. In the reflection questions I’ve assigned to them, the students have witnessed to my spirit, allowing me a gentle insight into the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Schools are coming to a close and the time is coming for us to say goodbye. More months lie ahead where we don’t get to be in each other’s company, and I pray that the students will be OK.
As I write this reflection, our small household community has just completed a three-day virtual mission on hope given by Father Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. He reminded me that hope isn’t to be taken lightly and that my hope is built on a very strong foundation which is Jesus Christ. As I wish all of my students a congratulations for all their good efforts, I will remind them of having this hope that can’t be easily stamped out — and that this will be the greatest indoor or stay-in-your-own-yard summer yet!
By Sister LaKesha Church, C.PP.S.
Religion teacher, Mother Brunner Catholic School and St. Benedict the Moor Catholic School
Sister Donna Liette:
How the cry of the Precious Blood called her to Chicago
The Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR) was founded in 2002 and offers a variety of programs and ministries in the arts and culture, education, restorative initiatives and workforce development, in the heart of Chicago’s south side neighborhoods. A number of religious men and women serve as staff, volunteers, and members of the board of directors, including our Sisters Carolyn Hoying as volunteer and master gardener, Patty Kremer as a member of the board of directors and Donna Liette as family program coordinator. Read More
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, PBMR continues to connect with and support youth and families through phone and social media or in person (with social distancing). In a statement on their website, the center wrote that “These are uncertain times, but they are not times to retreat, rather they reinforce our commitment to stay connected and build community.”
Sister Donna shares her perspective on answering the call of the Precious Blood — and describes her ministry as a restorative justice practitioner — in a video on our YouTube channel. In 2010, Sister Donna joined the PBMR staff, where she conducts monthly Mother’s Healing Circles, wherein women who have lost children to gun violence or incarceration gather to talk, support one another and slowly heal.
“I think being called a Sister of the Precious Blood — and learning more and more about our charism — I discerned with others to say “YES” to the invitation to move to Chicago and serve at the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation,” Sister Donna said. “I felt a strong call to be with the marginalized, the incarcerated, the broken and those youth and their families who were seeking hope and healing in a violent, racially segregated world.”
For more information about PBMR, visit www.pbmr.org.