Two Faiths, One God

In 2005, the Lay Dominicans in the Province of Saint Joseph held a Congress.  We hired a bus to take those who were going from New England to Washington, DC, where the Congress was held.  I said then, at that time, that one of the most memorable moments of the Congress, was riding on the bus.  I loved the camaraderie, praying in community, meeting new friends, having intimate conversations with good friends that I haven't seen in awhile, eating together, singing together, sharing opinions, sharing ideas, etc.

Likewise, this past trip to the Provincial Council meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.  BTW, it wasn't at the friars' novitiate.  It was held at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center, in Norwood, Ohio.  It was like staying in a museum.  There was no end to the statues and paintings.

There will be more postings on the place, and "goings-on", later.  I'm tired.  I have five days of emails to catch up on, besides, the theme of this particular post, is community.

As I was saying, like the bus trip to the 2005 Congress, the ride to the PC (Provincial Council) meeting, was very enjoyable.  There were three of us.  We prayed the Rosary, the Divine Office, we stopped to eat and stretch,
and we took turns sleeping.  The drive was 16-17 hours.

At one stop, I saw an orthodox Jewish family off to the side, at a picnic table.  I could see that one man was praying.  The others were probably praying, also.

So were we.  We spread our Divine Office books on a picnic table and sang the hymn, and chanted the psalms--antiphonally, mind you!  Nice huh?  Two faiths, one God.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Great is the name of the Lord among His people.

Cincinnati Bound

Mrs. Cosette Heimann, O.P. 

You won't be seeing any posts from me until Monday, September 30.  I'll be at St. Gertrude's priory in Cincinnati, Ohio.  We, the delegates representing our respective regions in the Lay Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, will be meeting.

This is a business meeting.  We're meeting at the friars' novitiate.  I'm not bringing my computer.  This is not exactly like a papal conclave, but it is a plenary session for the Lay Dominicans in St. Joseph's Province.

Besides, you wouldn't be interested with the "goings on"; what would I have to post?

I could use prayers for safe traveling, and the wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen.

This is Cosey, my regional president.  We're traveling together.  

Helping Lazarus

Father Al came to Bible study, tonight.  We were preparing for Sunday's readings (Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time).  The Gospel is about the rich man and poor Lazarus.  (Luke 16: 19-31)  We were wondering about life in heaven.  But Father Al, said to forget about that.  We should concentrate on making our lives blessings for others.

He has a point.

The Gospel calls us to heal, fix, and mend, and put everything in good order.

To fail to do so is to risk becoming as self-absorbed as the rich man in the parable.

Bethanien Spirituality

Here's the passage from Pope Francis's interview I wish media outlets had highlighted.  

I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.

 Fr. Lataste would agree.  This paragraph defines Bethanien spirituality.

Easy99.1

4:00 AM is the time Sister Pauline had to be at the airport.  We got up an hour earlier.  Everything worked out fine.  There's no traffic at all.  All in all, it was an enjoyable trip.  Except of course, the goodbye part.

Coming home I was pleasantly shocked, to hear the Rosary being prayed on a secular radio station.  I had no idea.  I felt like gentle, easy music, to listen to at 5:00 AM.  I surfed the stations and settled upon WPLM-FM, Easy 99.1.  I was listening to Paul Simon, Diana Krall, et al.  I was happy as could be.  I had the road to my self.  I had just finished a wonderful time with friends.  The weather was cool, and mild.  The sun was getting ready to rise.  And I heard the radio voice say,

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

As the voice continued, I thought it was praying the Rosary.  It was 5:30 AM, a secular radio station, and it was praying the Rosary.  I have seen many marvelous things, but now I can say, I have heard a marvelous thing.

So I turned off the highway, towards a back road, and took the long way home.  There's no way I'm going to ignore a hint from God.  I prayed with Easy99.1.

The Order of Preachers Without Bethany

"May I tell you today that, without Bethany, the Preachers' Order (Dominicans) would miss something essential." These are the words of the  Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno Cadore, OP., on the occasion of the beatification of the Apostle of Prisons, Father Jean-Joseph Lataste, OP.

By Bethany, Father Cadore means the Bethanian tradition of mercy, forgiveness, and friendship.  Bethanian spirituality was taught by Pere Jean-Joseph Lataste.  It believes in the very idea of human dignity in human societies.  What Lataste meant regarding rehabilitation, more than prisoners individually considered, he included all of humanity, and forgiving all.  God offers communion with Him through friendship with Him.  Lataste thought of the Order of Preachers, as founded upon friendship with God.  The Order is a friend for all human beings and announces to everyone that they are saved by God's friendship.  Hence it is merciful friendship.

Without Bethany, the Order of Preachers would not be Preachers of grace.

Vacation, Praying, Pauline, Bethany...Oh My!

Sunday Snippets, again. Follow this link to the Catholic Carnival of posts.  Read what interests you and find some new blogs to check in on.

This week's question is what I like about my parish.  I like that St. Mary's in Franklin, MA,  offers me different opportunities to pray.  They have Mass, of course, but they also have Eucharistic Adoration, and my dear Our Lady of Hope Prayer Group.  They also have Legion of Mary, and some other devotional groups, which I'm not part of.  But what I like most is the convenience.  It's my home parish (closest)  and it offers different Mass times that usually fit my life.  Although, my favorite time for Mass was 7:30 PM.  Now when I need that Mass time, I have to travel to get to another St. Mary's, in Holliston.  We did offer that time, but I guess not that many attended, so it was dropped.

This week I posted about my vacation, praying, Sister Pauline, and the Bethany celebration.  I have Sister Pauline visiting with me for five days, so I'm busy.  Too busy to write much.  Next week will be even busier.  Lord help me.

Bethany Day USA

This is a picture of the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. (John 11)  And today, we celebrated Lazarus being freed.  We, are a group in prison ministry.  We follow Bethanian spirituality, which is the spirit of Father Jean-Joseph Lataste, OP.  The Prioresses from the Dominican Sisters of Bethany came over to celebrate, Sister Sara Bohmer, OP and Sister Pia Elisabeth, OP.  Of course we celebrated Father Lataste's beatification, last year.  We saw most of these same people, at the beatification of Pere Lataste, the Apostle of Prisons.

The story is being re-enacted here.  See there's someone seated and wrapped in a white sheet, representing a shroud.  Jesus will free him from death.  Just like we work and pray to free all those in bondages of all kinds: drugs, alcohol, anger, etc.

Sister Pauline's Habit

Since I've known Sister Pauline Quinn, op, she has worn her religious habit in public.  She does have a work habit that she sometimes travels in, but she's always in habit.  She walks around the house without the veil.  I've gotten use to her and I don't pay attention to what she's wearing, anymore.

Well, tonight we went to my St. Mary's Catholic Women's Club.  When we walked in, I noticed that everyone stopped talking and stared at us.  I said "hello," and continued walking through.  People made a path for us.

I thought this odd, and then I remembered.  Pauline is in a religious habit.  That's what everybody is staring at.  I had to laugh.  I was wondering why people were  looking at me.  It's not me they're looking at, it's Sister.

This morning, we went to the women's prison.  Her habit is noticeable.  One person came up to her and asked for her blessing because she was leaving the prison soon and needed all the grace she could get.  But another woman yelled at her that she was no Mother Theresa.  I prayed for the person who was screaming at Sister.  She probably has mental issues.

I learned that wearing a religious habit can be an advantage and a curse.  Everyone definitely notices.  Depending on their frame of references, they might react positively or negatively.

Either way, wearing a religious habit is a public witness to Jesus Christ.  It sets you apart.  It keeps people away, which may be an advantage to the wearer.  But I bet if the religious went among these same people without the habit, once, these people would come up to the religious and want to know what was going on, where's your habit, how come you're not in habit, what does it mean, etc.  Now that's really giving witness to Christ.

Sister Pauline

It's almost here. Bethany Day, a Day of Prayer and Reflection will be in a few days, Sept. 21, 2013.  This is a day of reflection on the work of Blessed Jean Joseph Lataste, O.P., and the Cadillac Prison Experience Today.

Attending the day, is Sister Pauline Quinn, O.P.  She's my guest for a few days.  I'm very excited for her to stay with me.  We roomed together in Paris, when we went to the Apostle of Prison's beatification.  She is the person who started the prison dog program.  A movie was made from that experience.  It's called Within these Walls, and it starred Ellen Burstyn and Laura Dern.

It's going to be a great day for Bethanians (people who follow the spirituality of Blessed Lataste).  Pray for its success.  You might want to pray our Litany.

                             Litany to the Saints of Bethany

Litany to the Saints of Bethany

Martha, always willing to

welcome Jesus at your home    

                                                                                                           - teach us confidence

you have stuck to Jesus,

when your brother had died                                                                   - teach us confidence

you have tamed the dragon                  

                                                                                                           - teach us confidence

Mary, friend of understanding                                                                - teach us devotion

Mary, regardless of the talk of the others                                                 - teach us devotion

Mary, tender and lavish                                                                         - teach us devotion

Lazarus, friend of the Lord                                                                      - teach us friendship

Lazarus, having come alive through Jesus                                                  - teach us friendship

Lazarus, generous and inviting                                                               - teach us friendship

Siblings of Bethany                                                                                - teach us how to love

Mary, mother, who sticks by her child                                              - teach us how to believe

Mary, sister of all who are powerless,

who believe and struggle                                                                             - teach us how to believe

Mary, who loves chastely                                                                             - teach us how to believe

Magdalene, freed to love by

the Lord                                                                                    - teach us not to give up on anyone

Magdalene, who has followed

Jesus to the cross                                                                       - teach us not to give up on anyone

Magdalene, herald of

the risen Christ                                                                        - teach us not to give up on anyone

John, the Lord’s favorite disciple                                                                     - teach us reliability

John, who has stuck with Jesus,

when all others fled                                                                                       -teach us reliability

John, to whom the Lord could

entrust His mother                                                                                       - teach us reliability

You women and men under the cross                                                          - teach us how to love

Joseph, you protected Mary and her

child from all suspicions                                                                                - teach us loyalty

Joseph, you followed the hints of God,

even if they thwarted your plans                                                                - teach us loyalty

Joseph, full of concern to the vulnerable                                                 - teach us loyalty

Fr. Lataste, converted converter                                                           - teach us inner freedom

Fr. Lataste, you returned their dignity

to the prisoners                                                                              - teach us inner freedom

Despite so much resistance, you have

defended Bethany as God’s deed                                                         - teach us inner freedom

Fr. Boulanger and all friends and

benefactors of Bethany                                                                      - teach us solidarity

You have helped Bethany out of so

many difficulties                                                                                     - teach us solidarity

You have taken an interest by sharing                                                    - teach us solidarity

You, whom Bethany owes its existence to                                               - teach us how to love

M. Henri Dominique, mother and sister

of all who have been entrusted to you                                                    - teach us mercy

M. Henri Dominique, you have led

Bethany with much courage and

knowledge of human nature                                                                        -teach us mercy

M. Henri Dominique, you have trusted

in God in all difficulties                                                                              - teach us mercy

Sr. Noel, you have nearly despaired

in your powerlessness                                                                   - teach us, not to predefine anyone

Sr. Noel, justified, because you

were willing to forgive                                                       - teach us, not to predefine anyone

Sr. Noel, you symbol that a

new start is really possible                                                              -teach us, not to predefine anyone

You sisters, who have built up

Bethany, you committed yourself

for it with heart and soul                                                                               - teach us perseverance

You have suffered so much and

experienced so much joy                                                                                - teach us perseverance

You lived together and for each

other in the enthusiasm of Jesus                                                                       - teach us perseverance

You founders and sisters of Bethany                                                                 - teach us how to love

Jesus, God, who became a human

being, in order to live with us                                                                             - love in us

Jesus, human being, who became

bread so as we may live                                                                                     - love in us

Jesus, center of our community                                                                          - love in us

*  Credit to Sister Hannah Rita Laue, O.P., a Dominican Sister of Bethany, for her drawing used with this Litany. 

The Value of Prayer

Catholic Scholar, Maryann Cusimano Love, asks the question, "Shouldn't we begin with prayer?"  She gives the example of the genocide in the Sudan being stopped.  And now, we had a president who wanted to send in the troops, and the world prayed.  Now the president is listening.  He is considering other options.

Prayer works.

How I Spent My Fall Vacation

Fountain in front of Eastern Slope Inn Resort, N. Conway, NH

It's Sunday Snippets time, A Catholic Carnival.  A group of bloggers review their posts on Sunday, at RAnn's place.  Go over there and read some.

First, a couple of my favorite blogs are My Way/God's Way and Stepping Stones.    MY Way/God's Way is sweet.  It's written by two elderly twin Dominican friars.  They only post once a week.  They're sweethearts.  Stepping Stones and Signal Fire is written by a Mom, a prison ministry advocate, and a Boston College professor.  She writes daily reflections.

This week I'm on vacation.  We chose to go to New Hampshire because my daughter and son-in-law were in a relay, up there.  So it was a way to enjoy the fun and be there for them.

Monday -- I posted about the death of my husband's good friend, Dave, my "cloistered brother", Br. Paul Mary, and my neighbor, Don, in God is so Good.

Tuesday -- In hiking around here, a common refrain is "There's a Pub at the Top!"  This post is about my climb up to Arethusa Falls.

Wed. and Thurs.  I didn't post because blogger was giving me trouble.  Coupon Drop Downs have infected by blog and I can't get rid of them.

Friday - We drove up to the Summit of Mt. Washington.  We did it the day before but I couldn't get to the page to draft a post.  Friday we also dropped Cheryl and Jon off at Cannon Mountain, to begin the relay.

Saturday - The Relay to the Beach was completed.  \0/

And here we are today, going home.  The vacation is over.  

Reach the Beach Relay

I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!      2 Timothy 4:7

The 24 hour lasted more than that.  For us, it was well over 30 hours.  It seems that some of the faster runners dropped out for some reason, and their replacements were slow.  However, the times couldn't be changed, so the fast time was the recorded time.  The slow ones started and held everyone up.

But it's done.  Everyone did the best they could do.  They finished.  Congratulations Running Waters!

Running Waters

Chery & Jon Turner

Running Waters

Running Waters is the name of Cheryl and Jon’s relay team.  They are running the Reach theBeach Relay in New Hampshire.  The relay is from the mountains of New Hampshire (Cannon Mountain), to the coast (Hampton Beach).  That’s 200 miles.  That’s over 24 hours of running.

  Take heart.  This is not a marathon.  It’s a relay, so Cheryl and Jon are part of a team from work, which is taking part in the race.  They work for Waters Corp. inMilford, MA.  Waters is a publicly traded laboratory analytical instrument and software company. Since Waters’ believes in the best quality of life for everyone, they contribute and support charitable efforts to improve the quality of life in the communities we live. 

  There are 12 runners on their team.  The girls are wearing pink, the guys’ fluorescent orange.  Their team shirt has the outline of New Hampshire with the mountains at the top and a course line going down to the beach. A list of the individuals on the team, is to the right. 

Hubby and I are here to support Cheryl and Jon (daughter and son-in-law).  Hubby and I drove them up to Cannon Mountain, this morning.  Tomorrow, we’ll pick them up at Hampton Beach. You can see the course here.   We were astonished to see the craziness at the starting line.  People were dressed up in costume.  Their vans were decorated, too.  There even was a van decorating contest.  These vans follow the runners carrying the next relay runners.  On the van are water and medical supplies.  The runners rest (probably sleep) in there, as well.

I am impressed with the organization.  Just read Marc Chalufour’sblogging about the event.  It’s been going on for 15 years.  The history is on Wikipedia.  Marc has everything nicely catalogued.  Note that its run on volunteers! 

And they’re off…

The Summit

Note the chain to hold the house down.

He formed the mountains, and created the wind,
    and declares to man his thoughts;
He made the dawn and the darkness,
     and strides upon the heights of the earth:
the Lord, the God of hosts by name.
All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord.
--Praise and glorify him for ever.
         Amos 4:13

I did it!

View from Mt. Washington

There's a Pub at the Top

"There's a pub at the top." is a common refrain as hikers pass you, going down the mountain.  It's a joke.  There's no pub; they're just saying that to encourage you to keep on walking.  We didn't meet any hikers coming down, today.  It was raining.  We were the only fools hiking.  It's rather dangerous to hike in the rain because the ground can be slippery.  So we had the entire mountain to ourselves.

We hiked up to see Arethusa Falls in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  We took our time and were very careful.  The trees were an excellent canopy over head, so the rocks, logs, leaves, and ground weren't slippery at all.

As we were climbing, everyone was teasing me by saying, "Look, God must have put these here.  How thoughtful!"  I'm always giving Aquinas' argument of a priori arrangement of the universe, hence the teasing.  There were obviously man made steps and climbing aids, along the trail.

It was a three mile round trip climb.  It's approx. 200' high.  The trail climb was moderately steady at a nice grade.  The view was sweeping.  I want to say awesome because to me it is positive proof that there is a God.  Nature itself is awesome.

Arethusa was  named from the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem about the Greek nymph Arethusa who was turned into a fountain to avoid the love of the river god, Alpheus.  See even earlier civilizations acknowledge the divine, even if their theology was different than ours.

Isn't God So Good?

There's a saying that death comes in threes.  I've got my three this week.  Hubby's good friend, Dave, my "cloistered brother," Brother Paul Mary,  and a good neighbor and friend, Don.  As a Christian, I wonder why they're so lucky to go home.  It makes me jealous, sometimes.

I understand that many not on the same spiritual path as myself, can't comprehend my references.  I also know that I can't explain it anymore than you can explain rock n' roll to a Martian.

Today, I was reading in the Boston Globe an article an article, "You could see the comfort come," p. 1, Sept. 8, 2013.  It's about the priest who ministered to the family of the little boy who was killed in the Boston Marathon Bombings.  The priest, Father Sean Connor, tells of this experience.  To complicate the situation, Father Connor's friend, Father Brian Smith died at the same time.

These two priests were best friends.  Father Smith is the one who used to ask, "Isn't God so good?"
"'How come he gets to go home early?' he quipped about his departed colleague to another priest friend who had accompanied him to the cemetery, as they wept."

I see that I'm not the only one who thinks like I do.  We cry because our loved ones had become a part of us, and that part isn't there any more.  But we realize that they've just gone ahead of us.  It's like crying at your high school graduation.  You will never be a high school student, again, with these same kids, again, and the same experiences.  That part of your life has to die for you to move on.  Isn't God so good?

We have friends waiting to welcome us in heaven.  Isn't God so good?

Sunday Snippets -- A Catholic Carnival

It's that time of the week, again--Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.  We're Catholic bloggers who link up each week to share our posts.  If you have a blog, you can join, too, right here.  

This week's question is asking what my favorite prayer is.  That depends.  If in trouble, I just keep repeating, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus......"   If I feel anxious, nervous, or worried, I have a mantra: "All is passing.  God alone abiding."  All day, when I think of it, I pray the Jesus prayer, "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us sinners."  After Communion, I pray, Anima Christi.  Then of course, I pray extemporaneously, which means I just talk to God, all day long.

This week's posts are:

Sunday -- The Pope asking everyone to pray for peace  

Monday -- The priest took off and didn't tell anyone.  The church was all locked up--no sign or anything.

Tuesday -- I wrote a letter to the pope.  No it wasn't about the priest who didn't tell his parishioners that he took the day off.  But I had him in mind when I wrote the letter.  My letter was about communication.  The pope requested Sunday that he was declaring a Day of Prayer for Syria and the world, six days later.  Well, how in the world can a priest like the one who forgets to tell the congregation that there's a bake sale going on after all the Masses, and takes off for the Labor Day Holiday, and forgets to tell anyone, or even tape a sign on the door saying "No Mass, today," how is he going to get the message about the day of prayer a few days after he comes back;never mind get any kind of service together to have a time of prayer?  

Wednesday -- The vigil of my hero.

Thursday -- I posted twice.  One was about how I think that it could be a blessing to be in prison.  Another was a You Tube Video of the pope announcing his day of prayer and fasting for world peace.

Friday -- Friday is my TOPS meeting day, and I came from the meeting energized.

Saturday, the family celebrated my son's birthday.  My baby turns 30, Sept. 8.  He shares the birthday of Our Lady.  So I didn't have time to do a separate post for today.  I barely remembered that I signed up to pray for peace at 18:30.  And I was glad that RAnn at This That and the Other Thing called the Sunday Snippets, to order.

Energy Out > Energy In

You will only lose weight when your energy expenditure exceeds your energy intake.

There is no point in losing weight to a level that can't be maintained by your lifestyle.  That's what today's program in TOPS was about.  Sure, you can lose weight with most diets, but it's keeping that weight off when you go off the diet, that's the problem.  You have to change your lifestyle.  This takes perseverance.  That's the secret.  Slowly but surely.

Since I hate to exercise, I have to force myself.  I usually walk.  But I'm sick of the same old scenery, besides every single one of my routes has construction being done.  I don't like to walk by the construction workers.  So I went to Zumba.  It's OK, but I have to go when the class is scheduled, not when I want.  I might try line dancing; it's not so strenuous.

Whatever exercise I pick, I have to keep at it.  I've just got to MOVE!

Pope Calls for Peace

The Ninth Beatitude

Yes, I know that Jesus gave us eight blessings, in his Sermon on the Mount: (Matt. 5: 3-12).

Blessed are...

• ...the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:3)
• ...those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
• ...the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
• ...those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
• ...the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
• ...the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
• ...the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
• ...those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

Today, on this feast of Blessed M. Jean-Joseph Lataste, the Apostle of Prisons, I think we should add Blessed are those in prison.

Am I crazy?  

Before you judge, think about this.  Those who are in prison have been stripped of all pride.  They have lost all dignity.  They have no or little material goods.  They are forced to realize that they are nothing, in comparison to God.  

Is this not a gift?

May this invitation by the spirit change them from being forced into poverty to voluntary poverty.  Then, their life shall reflect God.

Vigil of Bl. Jean-Joseph Lataste

My cloistered brothers and I celebrated the Vigil of Blessed Marie Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P., the
Apostle of Prison.  We told our favorite Lataste stories.  We remembered our Brother Louis de Montfort and Brother Paul of Mary, in our prayers.  We prayed Lataste's prayer.  We answered questions that we all have had at one time or another.

IOW, we faith shared, sang, and prayed.  You know, all the Catholic stuff Dominicans do when they celebrate.

We are in awe at the work of the Holy Spirit.

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Letter to Pope Francis

Faith Calling

Your Holiness Pope Francis I,

Having the world pray for peace on Sept. 7, 2013, is a wonderful idea.  The best part of the idea, in my humble opinion, is not “pray for peace,” although that is important—very important.  I think having the “world” pray for peace is a great evangelizing tool. 

However, although communication over the internet may be instantaneous, having the word travel throughout the populace is not instantaneous.  Announcing your call to prayer on the weekend and expecting everyone to receive the message is unrealistic.  That is less than a week!

I would bet that my parish priest has not received word.  I bet his bishop hasn't.  Even if they were told, could they put together a prayer service in a few days to be ready for the Vigil of the Nativity of Mary?  Could they get word out for all the parishioners to attend, or pray along privately?  How could they possibly get the message out?

The message should be proclaimed from Sunday’s pulpit, but you haven’t given us enough time.

It is a stroke of genius to invite the entire world to pray.  You could invite all the religious leaders of the world to pray.  Imagine, the entire world praying for peace, at the same time!

As for me, of course I will pray on the Vigil of the Virgin Mary.  Tonight, when I go to Bible Study, which is in another parish, I will alert them to your prayer request.  So we have one parish involved.  Tomorrow night, when I go to my own parish’s prayer group, I’ll tell them.  Two!  That’s two parishes praying.  And before prayer group, I’m going to visit my “cloistered brothers.”  They are efficacious prayer warriors.  There, that’s three venues praying for peace in the Middle East, in Africa, in Syria, and the world. 

You are in my prayers, Holiness.  May God protect you, give you a long and blessed life.

Your sister in Christ,
InSPND,
Mrs. Faith Flaherty, O.P.