Statue of Mary and Jesus overlook Sisters of Bon Secours provincialate

To hear God’s call, Pope Benedict urges “…local Churches, groups within them, and religious communities to create the conditions to permit many young people to say “yes” in generous response to God’s loving call and to provide helpful guidance and direction along the way. Young people are encouraged to attend Eucharist; to share sacred Scripture, to pray both personal and in community so that it is possible to hear God’s call amid all the voices of daily life. These will be places where vocations are carefully discerned and their authenticity tested; places where young men and women are offered wise and strong spiritual direction.

Pope Benedict sends his Apostolic Blessing to all of us: and especially the young men and women who strive to listen with a docile heart to God’s voice and are ready to respond generously and faithfully.

The Sisters of Bon Secours join the Pope in praying for individuals discerning God’s call to consecrated life. We offer our guidance and direction to all who want to understand if their call is to religious life as consecrated women. Can we help you in your discernment? Contact us.

Link to Pope Benedict’s full message on World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Earth Day Prayer

Maheo, Lord

Whose breath gives life to the world—send your spirit.

Great Spirit,

We look to the Four Winds:

To the East  where Father Sun rises to bring us light for our path.

To the West where he sets giving us darkness to search.

To the South from which Brother Wind sends warmth for Spring and Summer.

To the North from which he sends cold for Fall and Winter.

We send these words to you, hear our prayer, Maheo,

That as we think on light and darkness, and the movement of seasons,

We remember the times we live with and without you in the seasons of life.

Let us love and keep you in all things; let us walk in your beauty all our lives, from the rising to the setting of the sun.

Amen.                          (from Nicholson Family)

Dear Sisters and All,

The prayers for April from UNANIMA are for our indigenous sisters and brothers. We know so many stories of oppression, abuse of land, water and air and of the people themselves – let us pray in solidarity with those throughout the world who minister among the “first peoples” of every country!

In gratitude,

Fran

 To view the prayers, click below:

UNANIMA Prayer for Anniversary Year 2012 – ENGLISH

UNANIMA Prayer for Anniversary Year 2012 – FRENCH

UNANIMA Prayer for Anniversary Year 2012 – SPANISH

Sr. Pat shared her thoughts about the journey: “My trip to South Africa and Tanzania was marvelous. Sr. Rose Marie  [Jasinski] joined me for the South Africa portion and Sr. Marie [Ryan] for Tanzania. We were blessed to see the ministries of our sisters. Their lives are very simple and focused on those they serve. The Clinic is changing with the requirements of the funders, it will continue to be an important ministry for us. The ministry of the sisters in the parish and township continues to grow. It was good to just be with the sisters. We also had a fun trip to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. It was exciting to see some of the BIG animals. Sr. Esther’s [Murray] work at the University in Tanzania is pretty amazing. She is loved and respected by faculty and students. It is difficult to describe the breadth of the University and the work being done there. Truly, it was a GREAT trip!”

Sr. Rose Marie Jasinski, CBS, United States Country Leader, also shared about her trip to South Africa: “I visited the AIDS clinic as well as the boys’ shelter and the town of Tshikota where our sisters visit people in their homes bringing them food packets, prayer and attention to some of their other social needs.  My time in South Africa was blessed with the many smiling faces not just of our sisters who we visited but of the patients, children and strangers on the street whose smiles portrayed joy, warmth and welcome!”

What an important ministry our Sisters of Bon Secours are providing in this area of the world. For more information about their work in Limpopo, South Africa, please our short video, A Mission of Hope & Healing in South Africa.

Here are the words to WYD 2011 hymn:
Your hands, they hold us when we have been wounded,
Your eyes, they purify the way we see things,
Your lips, they speak to us words of forgiveness,
Your feet, they guide our steps to find life´s fullness
Oh, Christ, you are our brother,
Oh, Christ, you are our friend, you are our Lord,
¡Make us firm in the faith, make us firm in the faith!

Sr. Mary Regina has worked as a staff and head nurse at Bon Secours Baltimore Hospital and St. Francis Country House in Darby, Pa. She also was a clinical director in the Bon Secours School of Nursing and served as vice president of mission and associate director at Bon Secours Hospital in Baltimore.

A past president of the Sisters of Bon Secours, USA, in 1999, Sr. Mary Regina was elected to the Congregational Leadership Team in Paris, France. She retired to Venice, Florida in 2005 upon her return from France and returned to Marriottsville, Maryland in 2010.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours, a religious congregation of Roman Catholic women founded in Paris in 1824, brings compassion, healing and liberation to those it serves, especially those who are sick, suffering, poor or dying. Whether in health care, education or social services, in hospitals, senior care facilities, clinics or parishes, in towns and cities or isolated