Reflection If we live our religious lives only in fear of punishment or in hope of reward, rather than in the awareness off the One because of whom all life is worthwhile, we can be religious people but we will never be holy people. Then life is simply a series of test and trials and scores, not the moment by…
Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pies “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” Every pie is homemade with love using Long Island cheese pumpkins grown by the Garden Ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph. To Order:Call Heather at (631)838-0013 or email garden@csjbrentwood.org Indicate when you would like to pick up your pie. Pie Pick-Up Times: Tuesday, November 20 from 11:00AM-1:00PM or 5:00PM…
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Reflection St. Frances Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants. An immigrant herself, she embodied the strength of the immigrant women she served. Pope Leo XIII had suggested to her that she go to the United States to help the Italian immigrants who were pouting into the country, mostly in great poverty. She founded the Missionary…
Reflection Today’s holiday marks yesterday’s Veterans Day. Veterans Day is a day for serious reflection and deep gratitude. As we think of all those men and women who gave their lives in service of this country, we remember them with gratitude for their courage and strength. We also remember those who mourn them. There are many who have returned home…
Reflection Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. Mark 12:41-44 In this event, Jesus focuses on the utter self-abandonment of a nameless woman. She is a woman whom we would label as a victim. In her society, she is vulnerable. As a widow, she is a victim of…
Reflection Separation is an illusion. Both religion and science confirm this truth; the experiences of the mystics, the teachings of ecology and physics, all the possible ways we can connect on the internet confirm this. The spiritual, emotional, and mental aspects of our beings interpenetrate and nourish each other. Everything is related to everything else. To accept this enables us…
Reflection The universe is an expression of love and everything in the universe is a means to love. Simone Weil The longing for love that is in each of us exists in the very nature of the universe. It is the movement of all creation toward union and relationship. If we could realize that what is such a deep need…
The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph joins with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and countless groups and individuals across the country and in Pittsburgh to condemn the slaughter of our brothers and sisters at Tree of Life Congregation in the community of Squirrel Hill. Condemnation alone cannot bring change. Our mission as Sisters of St.…
Reflection There is something within us that is drawn to the Incomprehensible Mystery we call God. We turn to this God in moments of sadness and joy believing that we are loved and will never be rejected. We praise God in the wonder of the natural world, in the love we experience, and in our desire for inner peace. At…
Reflection Life requires courage. Whenever we confront a difficult, frightening, painful or disturbing experience in which we are challenged or pushed to the limit, when we feel threatened and vulnerable, we either find the courage to face and defeat fear or face being defeated by it. When our first instinctive reaction is to flee, courage is the strength or resolve…