current reflections...
Pandemic 2021
Yesterday and Tomorrow
This pandemic can help us to take the time to review the blessings that we have experienced in years past.
Recently I was reading some letters that my mother wrote in 1944. She told about simple things that were occurring in daily life. Yet, the men and women that she was in correspondence with were very much aware of the growing death counts and fears that went with living in war time. Many of the letters were from my father who was a glider pilot stationed in England. Before going into an invasion in which he knew that many of our soldiers would not survive he wrote to her and expressed his love but also asked that if he were killed, she should briefly grieve his passing as he wished her to remarry because she was young, and he wished her future happiness. Thanks be to God he was able to return and they were able to raise a family. Yet those years left a deep impression on my parents and on all their friends and family.
Today we also live in a time of chaos and uncertainty. We are also called to place our own future in the hands of God, and we are further called to look to others with love and concern. We are keenly aware that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Yet, as we grow in HOPE, we know Who unites us in His Love and Peace.
Keeping Alfred Lord Tennyson’s quote from yesterday in our hearts, we look forward towards tomorrow knowing that:
More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of
Sr. Miriam Hogan, O.C.D.
Christmas Season 2021
Today we pray for our Country, while we remember the Magi who had to take another route back to their land in order to avoid King Herod's men. Politics even threatened the "Prince of Peace" and Mary and Joseph had to flee into Egypt in order to save His Life.
Our prayer today is that this deep peace of Christmas may take root in our own hearts and in the hearts of all our brothers and sisters as we approach a new chapter in the history of Our Country. Let us not forget that all people are God's children and we are all called to love each other.
Sr. Miriam Hogan, O.C.D.
Christmas 2020
Thanksgiving 2020
A time to remember Jesus who will be present at our table and share in the celebration. We realize that it may be extremely difficult for many families that are unable to be together because of the Pandemic and/or are suffering the loss of loved ones. Our prayer is for all those who can be present and for all those that we have known and loved and that have gone before us into heaven.
Yet, some may find it hard to pray because of the chaos and difficulties in our present day life situations. Still, I like to remember what my father once told us about praying during WWII. He said that the closer “the bullets/bombs came the easier it was to pray!”
May this year bring a special grace to all of God’s people and may we respond in love and gratitude for God’s presence and love in our daily lives and in our celebration of Thanksgiving 2020.
Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude. St. Thérèse
Sr. Miriam Hogan, O.C.D.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2020
From The Writings of
Sister Mary Jo Loebig, O.C.D.
Picture by Sr.Mary Romain, O.C.D.
Summer 2020
We are praying for all of God's children, including those who are suffering from the loss of a loved one, from sickness (like the covid-19 virus) or poverty or racial injustice. May we hold all people in our hearts and prayers as we know that all are held in God's heart and in the heart of His/our Mother.
Finally, in spite of all the chaos and confusion being reported in our daily news, may we also remember to give thanks for the goodness and grace that is given to us each day.
Easter 2020
Christ is Risen. This means that the Risen One first descended into all that is of earth. The Risen Jesus went down into ultimate lostness, down to the source where all tears have their origin, down to the innermost center of all disappointments.The Living Christ has become the heart of the world, its secret and inward strength. Weakness, suffering, pain, and even the service of death are not final.
This Risen Jesus is in everything. This One of God is with us when we struggle to give birth to the message that might benefit others. The Risen Jesus is with us when we attempt to proclaim the Resurrection with feeble words which could be phrased so much better.
The Risen Christ is present in our world even in the message not heard or accepted. No one can really shut the door to this Risen One, Who quietly and secretly enters the human heart anyway and makes it restless until the message is heard and heeded. Chaos and restlessness are merely signs that the power of the Resurrection is at work.
Thus, everyday we can awake with eagerness and say, "Today, I shall see God. What I have been hoping for has happened. I need not fear or be afraid of anything."
From: Sr. Mary Jo’s article entitled “Embracing and Experiencing New Experiences of God"o
