*Before beginning, place a cloth on the prayer table. Items will be added as we pray.
Introduction
Leader: Today we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, the foundress of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. (Place a picture or statue of Marguerite on the prayer table) In 1653, Marguerite Bourgeoys, a native of Troyes, France, came to a tiny and beleaguered Ville-Marie, (now Montreal, Canada) still undergoing its birth pangs. In 1659, when Marguerite's first companions joined her on a return voyage, her Congregation of Sisters began to educate and guide the children and women in New France. Marguerite, an Extern (type of Associate) with the Congregation of Notre Dame Sisters in France taught poor children and brought the spirit of that movement to the women in New France
Wishing each of you a Christmas filled with peace, love and joy.
Books: Sister Joan Chittister
Many of us have followed Sister Joan Chittister’s inspirational and challenging writings for many years. Two of her more recent offerings I have enjoyed are The Sacred In-Between (Spiritual wisdom for life’s every moment - 2013) and Our Holy Yearnings (Life lessons for becoming our truest selves – 2014). These little books – small in size (4”x61/2” with 100 pages, and costing around $15) are packed with little gems of wisdom from a wise woman. “Life in our times demands new respect for creativity. We must now begin to earn our bread differently, live differently, learn differently, and imagine the future differently.” And about doing something everyday that makes one joyful: “To live life on joys remembered rather than on joy in the here and now is to abandon the very meaning of ‘life.’”
Sister Joan has much to share and her brief meditations really do fit everyday living, helping us to be our best selves, wherever we are and whatever we’re about.
