Niagara Falls

I forgot to mention that we took Mother General and Sr. Inocencia to Niagara Falls for a very "quick trip" on Friday. We had a picnic lunch, enjoying spray from the Falls as we ate. A red winged blackbird paid us a visit and ate out of my hand too. Our Superior Genreal wore a hat to protect her from the sun. I forgot sunscreen and now I have a very red face to prove it!

Weekend

In the USA this was and is a holiday long weekend. For Canadians, the longweekend was last week. Our visitors from Rome came and went. We enjoyed their visits and the interaction and dialogue with the two General Councilors who came last week, as well as with Mother General who spent a few days with us. She left for Chicago Saturday morning. She is being accompanied by Sr. Inocencia, a Filippina sister, who serves as her tranlsator.
Today was the Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus--often referred to as Corpus Christi.I attended the 11:30 AM Mass this morning at Blessed Sacrament parish in Toronto. Immediately after Mass there was a Eucharistic procession which left the church from the main doors facing Yonge Street--the longest street in Canada, and a very busy one at that. A group of parishioners held a white canopy over the monstrance which held the consecrated Host--the Blessed Sacrament. I was able to follow directly behind the clergy. When we entered the church, we had Eucharistic benediction. Afterwards there was an abundant reception in the church hall. The procession with the Blessed Sacrament and all the people following served as a loving and peaceful demonstration of devotion to our faith and to our Lord Jesus.
I felt at home at the nice welcome from the pastor and parishioners and from four friends and cooperators who attend Blessed Sacrament.
Later on in the day I did go to see the Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. I enjoyed it. There is more character development in the main protagonists. It is hard to transfer certain stories to screen, yet I believe the director did a convincing job of using C. S. Lewis' material and his own creative instincts.
Have a good week. I will be involved for three days with the North American CAtholic Communicators Conference in downtown Toronto. We will be graced to have Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican Press Secretary, as one of our speakers; Cardinal Ouellet from Quebec City, and many other presenters. Our own Sister Hosea will present a workshop on "Praying with the Media." John Michael Talbot will provide a concert for our Thursday evening banquet, and many other good things are planned.
God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter

Picnic at the Falls

In my last blog I mentioned that we were expecting visitors from our Rome Mother house.
Last Friday Sisters Samuela Gironi and Anna Caiazza arrived. They had a very long journey from New York (Newark, NJ) to Toronto. A connecting flight was canceled after they arrived at the airport. They were bused to another airport where they had to wait several hours for their aircraft. Finally they arrived in Toronto close to 11:00 PM. The Sisters were very open, and "sisterly"--we felt that we were truly among family even though we came from different cultures. Sr. Samuela had spent 23 years in Africa. Most of those years were spent in Nairobi, Kenya. Before she left there in September of 2007, Sr. Samuela was partly responsible for our Sisters' opening a convent and book centre in the Sudan. In a country which still suffers from years of warfare, the Pauline Centre is a beacon of light in many ways.
The two visitors presented us with plans to celebrate our connection to St. Paul during the upcoming Pauline Year (June 29, 2008--June 29, 2009), as well as in the years to follow. They also presented some beautiful and profound reflections on St. Paul and our life and mission.
All of us joined in a dialogue about our own community, and our extended community of Daughters of St. Paul in the USA and English-Speaking Canada.
The two Sisters left for Chicago last Tuesday. Sr. Helen called from the Windy City to let us know that they arrived on time. We thank God for those small favors too.
Our Superior General arrived the next day with Sr. Inocencia Tormon. Sister is a Filipino who served especially as a translator for the Superior General. Some of my community speak Spanish, I speak Italian, and another Sister speaks it in a limited way. Still another Sister does not know either Latin language. At table it could become a bit noisy with three languages being spoken--sometimes at once. (We are women after all!)When Sr. Hosea, our local superior, discovered that Mother General had never seen Niagara Falls even though she has visited the USA often, we decided to give her a partial "free day." After some necessary errands on Friday morning, seven of us packed into our mini-van and drove to Niagara falls. In the morning I had listened to the Niagara Falls station. Weather-wise it was not good news: "possible scattered showers." Instead we had very sunny and pleasant weather. We picnicked on the grass near the parking area. As we ate, gusts of wind would blow spray from the Falls onto our faces. At one point a red winged blackbird ate from my hand. Some people at the Falls wanted to take their photos with us: one was a family from Afghanistan with ladies wearing colorful scarves; the other family was Australian. Now our faces may be in a photo album in the heart of the Middle East, and down Under.
Colorful rainbows appeared here and there as we peered at the torrents of water. We had been praying to the Holy Spirit, so the cascading waters reminded us of the Spirit's onslaught of gifts.
May you be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the next blog I will include some pictures.
God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter Martin, fsp

Prince Caspian

You may notice the widget, that's the film poster on the sidebar of my blog. It's a mini-poster of the movie Prince Caspian.
I plan to see it on Sunday. I saw a few very detailed and positive reviews so far. One of our Sisters saw it today and liked it. That's a good sign. I hope that those looking for wholesome viewing for their families will go to see it soon.
God bless you!
Sister Mary Peter

International Visitors

I apologize for being so tardy in posting a new blog. Our little community has added a new member, Sister Lupe. She arrived three 3 weeks ago. On the evening of her arrival, Sister M. Paul and I attended a Confirmation in St. Thomas Aquinas parish, under 10 minutes from here by car. I was asked to be a sponsor for a young man named Eduardo Michael, and Sister Paul sponsored a young lady named Kathy. One of the Toronto auxiliary Bishops, Bishop Greco presided at the Confirmation and confirmed 101 young people. Bishop Greco gave a very energetic and memorable homily. He stressed three points which he explained with colorful examples. The first point was the total emphasis on the fact that Confirmation and of course, grace, a free gifts from God. We do not "buy" them or earn them.
After the Mass, Sister and I each went to the celebrations of our confirmed young person. Michael's Mom had baked a lovely cross shaped cake and she had another cake for Michael's younger sister whose birthday was the same day. Michaels "abuelos" (grandmother and grandfather) came, and some other relatives and cousins. Somehow there was a whole dinner waiting for us when we arrived at the house.
One day along with Sister Marlyn I attended a seminar on "end of life" issues which was especially for health care givers and chaplains. Several people were pleased to purcahse my book "Tender Mercies, Prayers for Healing and Coping." The attendees often have to deal with people suffering from grief and other sorrows. I pray that all the folks who will read and pray with "Tender Mercies" will be strengthened and consoled.
The past month seemed to have been filled with extra meetings and preparations for various events. One of the"events" was the visit of two of our General Councilors who are from our Rome headquarters. Both of the Sisters were very thoughtful, enthusiastic and sisterly. One of them, Sister Samuela Gironi, served in Africa for the past 23 years. She was the superior of the Nairobi delegation which includes Tanzania, Zambia and Sudan. Yes, despite all the problems in parts of the Sudan, our Sisters from Nairobi opened a Catholic book centre in one of the southern dioceses of that huge Afrian nation. Four Sisters are there. If I remember correctly they are from four nations, one African, another Maltese, another Indian, and an Italian. When our Sisters visit from the Generalate they also connect us more with our sisters all over the world.
Tomorrow our Superior General, Sister Antonieta Bruscato, will arrive for her once-every-six-year visit. Another councilor, Sister Inocencia Tormon, will be with her. Sister Antonieta is a Brazilian of Italian descent. Her term is for six years at a time. During her term she is to get to see every Sister of our cognregation which numbers about 2,500 Sisters scattered in 53 nations. When I lived in Rome four years ago, I stayed at the Generalate where Sr. Antonieta, her six councilors, their secretary and bursar all live. It was good to get to know the major Superior and to see her more often. I look forward to her visit. I will let you know more in my next blog.
In the next blog, I will say something about another event I and Sister Hosea are preparing for: The Annual Catholic Communicators' Convocation to be held next week: May 28, 29, and 30th in downtown Toronto. Sister and I are on the Toronto planning committee, and each of us has some roles to play. I will be writing the Prayers of the Faithful for the three eveing Masses with our Archbishop, CArdinal Ouellet of Quebec, and Cardinal John Foley an American who lives in Rome. For more than 25 years Cardinal Foley served as the head of the Vatican's office for comunications. Even though he has another post, Cardinal Foley has always remained a member of the Catholic Press Association, and he is much loved by all those involved in Catholic media.
Keep that three day event in your prayers too.
Have a blessed ending of Mary's month of May!