Welcoming the stranger...at Villa Maria

Group photo outside the sheep barn

Together with VMESC, the HMs welcomed refugee moms and their children to Villa Maria for a weekend of rest and fun. Each family was resettled in Cleveland through MRS (Migration and Refugee Services-Cleveland Catholic Charities). With the help of MRS staff and volunteers and a number of HM sisters, the families were able to take time away from the stress of beginning life in a new country. Everyone enjoyed trips out to the farm, games in the gym with Srs Jeanne and Janet, and swimming! Sr Paulette also did an art group with the moms. It was a great joy to welcome and share the Villa with the moms and kids.


On Saturday, one of the children performed a traditional Bhutanese dance for the sisters and other people on retreat. Enjoy!

Sharing the experience, the group gathered in a circle for the "hokey pokey." Bringing cultures and generations....that's what it's all about!

Total Formation with Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS

Trying out the selfie stick! (everyone in formation w/ Sr Simone)

Last month, we gathered with others in formation (and our directors) for a Total Formation weekend. It is a great time for us to share community with our peers in other communities. Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS presented on Catholic Social Teaching. The weekend was both inspiring and challenging.

For me, the weekend helped me see my own passions in a different light. Sr. Simone encouraged us to pray the news as we each thumbed through local newspapers and read articles against the backdrop of Catholic Social Teaching. In light of all the darkness in the world, this exercise helped me see glimmers of hope, as well as guide my prayer and action.

Sr. Simone ended the weekend by sharing her 4 virtues for the 21^st century:

1) Have and practice a modicum of joy.

2) Practice holy curiosity.

            I want to know your story—what moves you? What is your experience?

3) Sacred gossip.

            Share what you have found out.

4) Do your part.

            Where are we called to bring hope? Where are you lead when your heart is broken open?

Sisters & brothers in formation + directors with Sr. Simone

The Scenic Road Home

Who I had been was no longer who I was.  In 2004, at the age of 45, I found myself widowed.  It was an invitation to discover who I would be for the rest of my life… who I am in God!  I was afraid and very doubtful, but in 2009 I entered a religious community.  After more than three years, I knew that it was not where I belonged.  I asked God what we were to do with God’s call now.  God brought me to the Sisters of the Humility of Mary.  My journey has taken me from North Carolina, to Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, back to North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and now back to Ohio again.  Each step has brought me closer to God and finally now, it has brought me home to the community where I belong.  I am not afraid anymore.  More and more I am learning who I am in God.  God wants each of us to live our true calling.  For me that is to be a woman religious and a Sister of the Humility of Mary.  On September 6, I professed first vows.  I look forward with deep peace and joy to the day I am able to profess final vows.  Deep peace and joy is what God offers.  Do you hear God’s invitation?

~ Sister Audrey

Growing up, I wanted to be an elementary teacher AND the starting shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. For a while, I wanted to be a lawyer and then a high school English teacher. In college, I majored in English and took courses in creative writing, Peace Studies, and history. I decided I wanted to be a journalist and wrote for the school paper. I graduated and applied for jobs in a variety of fields (but that would use my English degree). They all looked good on paper, but I had a nagging thought, “I want to work with people.” What did that mean? The thought called me from a comfortable job and dropped me in Central Minnesota and work with Somali refugees. It was there that I learned what “working with people” looked like in my life. There was still something missing.  I returned to Villa Maria and the HM Sisters for the JOY (Just One Year) live-in program and felt at home as I studied spirituality, service, and volunteered. It took me another 2 years before I began the process to enter the Community. Today, I work as a Refugee Resettlement Case Manager and am a Novice with the Sisters of the Humility of Mary.

-Eilis

Welcome
Welcome to our formation blog.  We hope to share some insights, joy and a few light moments with you.
~ Sister Audrey

Welcome

Welcome to our formation blog. Join us as we continue our journey with the HM community.
-Eilis