News from Visitation Province (Canada)
Visitation Province
St. FX University Sports Hall of Fame Awards
I was happy to be able to go to Antigonish to attend Jane (Hanley) MacGillivray’s induction into the St. FX University Sports Hall of Fame as a "Builder" as she is credited with "building" the women's intercollegiate athletic programs at X. Most of us know that the foundation was laid when she was hired to coach basketball and volleyball and to teach Physical Education in Gilmora Gym and classrooms at what was then "Mount St. Bernard College."
The citation read at her induction by Dr. Peggy Gallant stressed the important role Jane also played in ensuring that the women's programs were deemed "worthy" of being part of the intercollegiate scene. I was pleased that the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame were mentioned and it was stated that a member of the Congregation was present and I was named; not that I wanted that! Even if it took 50 years, it was a credit to former team members and other interested X people that this finally happened.
Anne T. Gillis, CND
Listening and Learning
For those who don’t follow Richard Rohr’s daily reflection, the piece for October 4 is worth looking up. “I am told,” Richard writes, “if you take all of the information that human beings had up until 1900 and call that one unit, that unit now doubles every ten years.” “We cannot settle today’s confusion by pretending to have absolute and certain answers. But we must not give up seeking truth, observing reality from all its angles.” The article is not a lengthy one; it is packed with what I call “one-sentence wisdom.”
Eleanor McCloskey, CND
Associates’ Retreat Time at Mabou
Some of us had the privilege of being at St. Joseph Convent in Mabou on the weekend of September 28-30 to share in the final retreat experience to be hosted there. Sister Eleanor McCloskey and Anna Rowley, associate co-coordinator, facilitated “Sparks of Sacred Fire.” It was a joyful time of learning, reflection, discussion, rituals, prayer together, sharing stories, looking at photos, remembering and looking forward. A “special” guest came to bring laughter to our social time. We even had a “kitchen party” arranged by Sister Catherine MacEachern with a neighbouring family; square set included.
The building has been sold and soon it will have a different life. Since 1887 the Congregation de Notre-Dame Sisters have lived and worked among the people in this area. Their spirit and the spirit of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys will continue to be here. The Mabou Associates are proof of that! Thanks to all for your wonderful Cape Breton hospitality!
Development and Peace – Caritas Canada
Another beautiful autumn season and time for Development and Peace - Caritas Canada to launch the Education and Action campaign. This year we are joining Pope Francis' Share the Journey campaign launched in September. Its focus is to create a 'culture of encounter' by educating the public to the realities of those forced to flee their homes and creating opportunities for encounters between them and local communities. (See http://www.devp.org)
We invite you, your families and friends to get involved, walk, raise funds, or sign the Action Card addressed to the Prime Minister, in solidarity with those forced to flee their homes due to armed conflict, the consequences of climate change, development megaprojects, persecution, or extreme poverty. In Pope Francis' homily of July 6, 2018 he reminds us that "Before the challenges of contemporary movements of migration, the only reasonable response is one of solidarity and mercy.”
Thank you and blessings,
Dorena Hall, Associate
Movie Review
Another movie to watch for is Anthropocene, a documentary whose title refers to the age of our human activity as a major determinant of Earth's current evolution. I haven't seen it yet but it gets great reviews. It is also a photo display at both the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the National Art Gallery in Ottawa. Looking forward to seeing both movie and display when I'm back in Ottawa.
Kathy Kelly, Associate
Back to the news index All the news
