Listening with Compassion
This Lent may we take time and reflect on both the hardships and blessings in our lives. In many ways, our daily lives resemble Jesus’ journey in the desert. During those 40 days He was tested over and over. We too are tested; by the desire for power, success or to be seen as great by those around us. Jesus turned to prayer, asking and listening for God’s guidance throughout those 40 days.
We live in a world that is hurt and wounded; people are struggling, our Earth is struggling. We invite you to take some time and learn about those who are hurting, from our neighbors right here in South Dakota, to those at the border, to those in Ukraine who are trying to save their families and homes. May we look beyond ourselves, pray for those in need and truly listen with a compassionate heart, just as Jesus listens to each of us. Together may we “hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” Pope Francis, LS 49
We welcome you to join us as we work for justice, believing in the sacredness of life and rights of all people. Our Congregation continues its partnership with mission-centered businesses and individuals, listening and responding to where there are unmet needs in our communities.
Uniting together, let us listen to ourselves and one another, praying for justice, peace and hope throughout our world as we walk with Jesus through his life, death and resurrection.
Easter Sunday
April 9, 2023
They saw and believed! We, like them, need to run to the tomb and see the symbols of Holy Mystery … He is risen!!
In my youth, Easter held a number of reasons to celebrate. Yes, the Sisters taught us to rejoice since that horrible crucifixion was not the end of Jesus; he fooled them all and rose from the dead … which also meant we could rise with Him in eternity. Easter also meant Lent was over and we could eat candy again! Besides that, the women got new Easter outfits which included new hats, so on Easter Sunday the church was alive with color and Alleluias.
Now, to today … it takes some strong faith to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as the media blares violence and division and evil-making in every part of the globe. I notice, today’s gospel opens something like our world right now. On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, … Note … early in the morning, while it was still dark … light had not come yet; it was dark. Mary and all who knew Jesus were in deep grief and fear. They had seen Jesus defeated; Jesus, in whom they had hope for new times for their people! They had witnessed the worst violence and evil-making, as Jesus was crucified. Hope was probably gone! For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
Mary and the women went to the tomb … to anoint the dead, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. And from that point forward, the Holy Mystery began to unfold before them. Peter and John raced to the tomb and saw the burial cloths there. Death has been conquered. They saw and believed! We, like them, need to run to the tomb and see the symbols of Holy Mystery…He is risen!!
As Jesus said so often to the broken who sought him out, Your faith has saved you! Do we believe? On this Easter Sunday we hear in Acts of the Apostles, This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify… [Acts 10:41-42]
Note this, by Charles Jordan:
“The good news of the resurrection of Jesus is NOT that we shall die and go home to be with him, but that he has risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick prisoner brothers [and sisters] with him.”
There is light, and light conquers darkness. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Let us pray today with the Church:
Look upon your Church today, O God, with unfailing love and favor, so that, renewed by the Paschal Mysteries,
we may come to the glory of the Resurrection … through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Sister Lynn Marie Welbig, PBVM
Presentation Sister and Board Member of Avera St. Anthony and St. Mary’s
Palm Sunday
April 2, 2023
It is a time to fully celebrate and remember Christ the King
In a bustling city of over 2 million inhabitants, the traffic congestion is ubiquitous; 24/7! Therefore, during my first Holy Week in Managua, Nicaragua in 2013, I was shocked to see the city busyness drop to a trickle. Where did those people go?
It was explained to me that starting the Saturday before Palm Sunday, and for the duration of Samana Santa (Holy Week), it is a week of vacation for everybody in the country of Nicaragua. Businesses, financial centers, government offices are shuddered and locked. It is a time to fully celebrate and remember Christ the King and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The importance of Holy Week is observed religiously allover Latin America. For many in Nicaragua, the religious observance goes to the point where cooking tamales, without meat, for Holy Week is done the week before so that no cooking is done during Holy Week. It is a time to remember and celebrate, and set aside normal daily activities for a week.
When you think of the Lenten season and each of the days leading up to Palm Sunday, what does Holy Week mean for you and your family? Would you plan everything ahead of time and set aside all normal daily activities or distractions, so that you can remember and celebrate the Triumphal entry of Christ the King into Jerusalem?
If we stop to think about Palm Sunday, we see that Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a chariot of gold. Yet, in John 12:13, “They took him branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosana, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Blessed is the King of Israel.’” They dropped everything and went out to celebrate.
As you prepare to celebrate this Palm Sunday, remember the passion in which the people left their daily activities behind to celebrate the triumphal entry of the King of Israel. Those in the biblical story; in Latin America and in other parts of the world where people stop to remember and celebrate!
Matthew Tschetter
Presentation Convent employee
5th Sunday of Lent
March 26, 2023
Universal Call to Holiness
As we are already beginning the 5th week in season of Lent, I am aware that sixty years ago we were in the midst of the Second Vatican Council. It was a historic moment and I am grateful that my entire life as a Presentation Sister has been immersed in the preparation for and aftermath of Vatican II. Pope John XXIII announced the Council in January of 1959 and it lasted from 1962-1965. Those meetings and the dialogue and documents resulting have framed our lives ever since.
The most important statement for me is the “Universal Call to Holiness”, a call especially focused on the laity and extended to all of the People of God, however their faith might be expressed. The emphasis of this teaching on the role of the laity, along with an emphasis on ecumenism continue to challenge us to learn from each other and reconcile the divisions that are so prevalent today. During this season of Lent, perhaps we can focus anew on the realization that every person is beloved by our God who is our Source of all Being, calling each and every person to holiness and wholeness.
Let us pray:
“O Wisdom, O Holy Word of God, You govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.”
{Bless Space Between Us}
Sister Kathleen Bierne
Presentation Sister
4th Sunday of Lent
March 19, 2023
Jesus and the Blind Man
In today’s Gospel, we read the story of a man who was blind from birth. The disciples ask whether it is the man, or his parents, who sinned and caused his blindness. Jesus explains that this is the wrong question to ask. The man’s blindness was not caused by sin, but provides an opportunity to learn, and be a witness to, what God can do.
Jesus goes on to remind the disciples that, “we need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.” (The Message Bible translation) Jesus is telling the disciples that he will not be there forever. There is work that needs to be done while he is here. God’s work. We know that there is still work to be done in our communities. Jesus provides the example of loving and caring for our neighbors, whoever they are.
The blind man did not know who Jesus was, but followed the instructions he was given and was cured of his blindness. He then sees the Light of the world in Jesus. He believes in Jesus. Our spiritual knowledge does not need to be deep in order to believe. Like the blind man, we know we are not perfect in the world, but Jesus can heal our blindness, our brokenness. We too, can see the Light.
Holy Creator of the Universe,
As we journey through Lent, we seek to become closer to you. Help us to be aware of opportunities to do your work ‘while the sun shines’. Help us to serve others with compassion and remind us when there are chances to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our broken world. We believe that your Son is the Light of our world. Through our encounters with Him, and in His name, may we not only help others, but be healed of our own spiritual brokenness as well. Amen.
Carrie Hansen
Presentation Sisters Cojourner Coordinator, Employee and Justice Contact
St. Patrick’s Day
March 17, 2023
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
We who are Irish Catholics all smile at these words… “St. Patrick’s Day is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation.” Oh, No?
As for me, I was raised in a totally Irish family, almost totally Irish parish, and then joined a Religious Order of Presentation Sisters founded by Nano Nagle, the Irish “Saint” right next to the great St. Patrick of Ireland. Yes, St. Patrick’s Day is right up there on the edge of Holy Days … close to being exempt from Lenten practices … not at all like any other Lenten Day to be sure!! (Say the Irish!)
However, among all the green, all the partying, all the shamrocks and leprechauns, we have the great St. Patrick himself. On March 17, we remember. He was captured, abducted, and taken to Ireland as a youth. He then grew, not only to love the Irish rural people, but also to gain their trust and admiration. He told them of our Great God of the Universe, of our God who is so close to each of us, of the Three Persons in Our One God who can relate to each of us in our needs and wants. And because of this young Patrick, the love of our God grew strong among the Irish people.
As with many others who leave Ireland when he was freed and able to go, Patrick did, but came back! Now, though, he was a young bishop and spiritual leader of the People of Ireland because his heart had been with them for so long.
St. Patrick’s liturgy may be used today instead of Lenten readings, and so we hear Patrick say with Ezekiel, “Speak true words in the light — Proclaim Goodness on the Housetops.” And from Luke… (although not St. Patrick’s exact words to the Irish and modern fisher people), “Catch fish if you must, but your real efforts must be to focus on our dear people!”
And so today, we rejoice with this great Saint who so loved Creation, who so loved the Triune God, and who taught us through the ages, “Be hospitable to all, use your gifts to help others, and never forget, ‘Christ is in you, Christ is at your left, on your right, and in the heart of everyone you meet!’”
Bless all of you, Irish or not, we love you all!!
Sister Patrick Leonard Murphy
Presentation Sister
3rd Sunday of Lent
March 12, 2023
Jesus and the Woman of Samaria
“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7-10
I share with you some lessons I learned from the story of the Samaritan woman at the well:
Jesus did not judge the woman at the well. In those times, we are told, that Jesus should have not been talking to her due to her status – she was a Samaritan woman with a past. Jesus chose this woman to tell the story. He did not judge her based on who she was or on her past. Do not judge as Jesus does not judge.
The Samaritan woman had courage to speak to Jesus and to ask specific questions of Jesus. Then she had courage to go back into the village and tell the people of her experience. She believed and spread the word. She made believers out of the townspeople. Have courage as the Samaritan woman had courage.
The Samaritan woman listened to Jesus and Jesus listened to the woman. How do I listen to Jesus? Do I recognize Jesus in others? Do I trust that Jesus speaks to me and wants me to tell the story?
Loving God,
Please use the story of the woman at the well to speak to me. Help me to remember that you do not judge and therefore, I should not judge. Help me to have courage like the woman at the well, to ask questions of others that help me to understand. Let Jesus work through me to teach others. Help me to listen to the vulnerable as Jesus listened to the woman. Use me to spread the good news of the gospel.
Amen.
Carmen Morrison
Presentation Employee and Cojourner
2nd Sunday of Lent
March 5, 2023
The Transfiguration of Jesus
This experience that Peter, James and John have with Jesus was one that practically knocked the three men into a super shock!!! Peter of course, wanted to live forever in this glorious experience and built three tents. I am sure he did not have the materials with him. But, Peter is Peter; it wasn’t meant to be.
I was watching out my east window early this morning and I saw a beautiful Gloria’s sunrise!! If one could imagine the transfiguration of Jesus, a sunrise like this morning would be close. It was full of reds, yellows, oranges even a patch of blue intertwined. All I could do was think of the transfiguration with Jesus and his two friends Moses and Elijah. No wonder Peter was astounded.
These three men, Peter, James and John, human as they are, received a very short important message. From above this huge cloud and splendor a voice comes through saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” Wow. The three disciples were in fear and Jesus had to say once again, “do not be afraid”.
The message for these three men, and us, is to LISTEN. How?
During this time of Lent, we are to listen. What did the disciples do? They walked with him, they talked and ate with him, they saw him do works of justice to the poor, orphans, widows, and women and anyone who reached out to him. We too need to need to answer the call to listen … in times of reflective prayer, celebrating the breaking of the bread, in times of family and communal prayer, and to realize that we too are beloved of God. We are called to listen to the Transfigured Jesus through one another.
In closing, remember now when you see a sunrise or a sunset, to recall the message of the Transfiguration. “This my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” We too are God’s Beloved and indeed, we must listen.
Sister Myra Remily
Presentation Sister
1st Sunday of Lent
February 26, 2023
Temptation.
“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” Mt 4:1-2
Just reading the word temptation brings about some anxiety. Temptation for me means I have a choice. Many times the choice is between right and wrong, good and evil. Sometimes the easy choice, may not be the best choice. Yes, it would be easy to sneak a cookie, even though I gave them up for Lent. Yes, it would be easy to put everything in the trash instead of taking an extra 2 minutes to separate things for recycling. Yes, it would be easy to look the other way when someone is in need. I may even have great “explanations or excuses” already thought out for why these actions would be ok.
However, the Gospel tells us Jesus did not make the easy choice and give in to the devil’s temptations. He resisted the offer of food, of power. It would have been so easy to say yes and give in to pressure that was right in front of him. But he didn’t.
Jesus came down to live among us, to live like us. He knows and understands that daily temptations will come before us. He also showed us that we can stand strong and overcome these temptations.
Dear Lord,
I know you are with me today and every day.
When you see me being tempted, give me the
strength to stand firm in what is right and just for all.
Amen.
Jenny Dix
Presentation Convent employee and cojourner
Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2023
Return to Me
Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God. Joel 2:12-14
Never before, when I have read this passage, have I felt so deeply God’s tender love for us. We know that we have failed to live up to the Covenant that our loving God has offered us: “I will be your God and you will be my People.” And yet, despite our lack of faithfulness, God continues to invite us, rather than reproach us with anger and punishment.
Again, this year during our Ash Wednesday Liturgy, we hear the words of Joel: “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning….”
I do not know what to say…. There are no words to describe so kind and merciful, so patient a God to call me back again and again into loving embrace. Your only ask, O Holy One, is that I return to you with a heart that manifests fasting from what takes me away from you; weeping for how often I do not include you in my choices; and mourning when I try to do good on my own, enhancing my own ego and forgetting that you are the Source of all Life.
O gracious and merciful One,
‘slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment’
stick with us as we turn around and open our hearts once more
to being a People who depends on you.
We ask this in the name of your Trinity of Love.
Amen.
Ruth Geraets, PBVM
Aberdeen, SD
Joel 2:12-18 ● Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17 ● 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 ● Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18