More Alike than Different"

By Janice Burns-Watson - Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin, OH Novice

As I prepare to leave ICCN I have been pondering what it is that I am supposed to

take away from this time of formation. In many ways it has been a whirlwind year

with an immense amount to take in and process. In another way it has been the only period of my life thus far that has allowed me a full day of prayer every week. What a blessing.

One of the challenges of the intercultural experience this year has been the fact that we come from different Charisms: Franciscan, Dominican, Charity, Loretto and Good Shepherd. While it certainly has been a challenge to learn as much about our

individual charism as those who went through their novitiate with those from their own community or charism group it has been enlightening in a different way. I feel that I have a much broader understanding of what religious life is like. Half of our group comes from Charisms that ultimately had their start hundreds of years ago in Europe and the other half had their start on the American frontier. Each of us are passionate about the story behind the community we joined and why we chose it. At first we attempted to pray together in the morning, but ultimately we decided it was more important to each of us to use the prayer book from our community to help us stay connected back home. Don’t worry though we prayed together in the evenings. It remained a dance to retain our individual charism and a sense of unity and community throughout our time here.

As I started pondering what to write I asked each person what their favorite short

quote was from their charism. Below are the answers. What I garnered from these

short sayings is that we are more alike than different. I see what ultimately unites

them is Love. A love that grows from our faith and leads us out to serve our

neighbors.

• “Never forsake Providence, Providence will never forsake you.” --- Motto of Fr. Charles Nerinckx

• “Go to the Poor; you will find God.” --- St. Vincent de Paul

• “Certainly, I have no money, no talents nor outward appeal I just loved our girls

  always, and I loved them with all the strength of my soul.” --- St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

• “Remember who you, are and whose you are.” --- Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman

• “A heart filled with Charity is a sanctuary in which God loves to dwell.” --- Mother Margaret George

• “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” --- St. Catherine of Siena

• “We devote ourselves entirely to God and neighbor. We serve, we teach, we love.” --- Adapted from I Am the Way, Loretto’s Constitution

• “Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength,

  trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet

  others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. --- St. Francis of Assisi

As I pondered this process we lived out, it brought me, as a Franciscan, to the guidance St. Clare offers to us as part of our faith journey: Gaze, Consider,

Contemplate and Imitate. Over the last 10 months we have had the opportunity to gaze into our faith in a very intercultural way, opening up to new ways of thinking and being from an intergenerational, ethnic, national level as well as from different

charisms. Throughout this time we have held many a conversation that has opened my mind up to new ways to consider things. We have been granted the opportunity to contemplate this new found wisdom. And now! Now we are headed home for what is the Apostolic year for most of us. We will need to start discerning how we are going to imitate Christ in our ministry!

While there is no direct quote of St. Clare that states we can see the face of Christ in

the mirror or in the face of another, there is a statue of St. Clare at my Motherhouse

in Tiffin, OH that I dearly love. I have contemplated with this image from many

angles about what it means to see Christ in myself and if Christ is in me like Christ is

in you. When we went on pilgrimage to Kentucky I met a Sister in the church at Nazareth. She told me how she comes to the church after every meal to hold the hand of a statue of St. Vincent de Paul and how it reminds her of her vows and love for Christ and serving others. After she walked away, I held St. Vincent’s hand myself.

This year has reminded me strongly that our charisms are more alike than different.