Hi Cheri,
Yes, I remember meeting you! Enjoy Cravings. Let me know what you think of it.
Peace,
Mary

You had me right from the get-go. You were raised by a devout Irish Catholic mother. I was blessed to have two devout Italian Catholic women in my life: my Mom and Grandmother. I never questioned or rebelled against any of our Catholic teachings.

Death was part of life to me. Coming from a large Italian family, we kids were expected to attend the funerals of relatives and friends. My grandmother passed away when I was in my thirties. When my mother died after battling cancer for five years, I came face-to-face with the greatest challenge of my faith life. It was then that I truly owned my faith. The beliefs that I had professed throughout my life became a realization of truth. These beliefs would sustain me in the days and years ahead. In retrospect, I had taken them for granted. In order to live through the loss of my mother, God finally had my full attention. Does this sound familiar? He got it again when my husband of 36 years suddenly died.

I’m now 72 years old and enjoying my days of retirement. As a matter of fact, prior to retiring I had been the Pastoral Associate at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Madison for 13 years. The job description for this position is different from parish to parish and even from diocese to diocese. At St. John’s, I was responsible for directing the religious education formation/education of our members. In the world of Directors of Religious Education, the acronym DRE has been defined as “directly responsible for everything”. While working there, I also helped with the coordination of parish ministries and the programming for liturgical seasons. Your sentiments about our parish pulled on my heart strings. It was an affirmation of what so many people have worked toward accomplishing! Under Fr. Phil’s leadership, opportunities to minister to the needs of our parishioners are more available. He is not afraid to use parish resources to hire the qualified staff members to provide this direction. When I retired, there were two full-time staff members and three administrator. And, there were already about 1800 families. Today, those numbers have tripled. He is a visionary and recognizes the need for leadership in the respective areas of ministry. He also encourages those leaders to enlist the talents of the lay people to develop the ministries.

Some thirty years ago, I was asked to help out as religious coordinator in a newly formed parish in Huntsville, Al. We had just moved into the area. Little did I know what God had in store for me. I grew up during the forties in a Philadelphia suburb and graduated high school in the late fifties and was a college student during the early sixties. Lay people just did not work in the Church during my formative years. I have had the ride of my life. I still question, why me God? There have been up days and yes, there have been down days. I often had to go to my room at home and lock the door to find a quiet place to pray.

The greatest blessing to my prayer life has been the practice of Centering Prayer. It is a prayer form that speaks to me. I can pray anywhere, any time and any place. Except, of course, while driving. Driving with eyes closed would definitely give me the opportunity to arrive at the pearly gates in a hurry. There are days, though, that I take this beautiful prayer form for granted. Thank you for reminding me of the need to step away from the busyness of life. Thank God for the gift of Thomas Merton. Climbing his ‘seven story mountain’ has been worth the effort.

Mary, I have totally connected with you. I look forward to another opportunity for our paths to cross. I have two friends who live in Albany. They are Sisters of St. Joseph of Chrondolet. Do you live close to that area? Sister Marilyn Vassallo, who is a canon lawyer and believe it or not, also, a spiritual director would be someone, I think, you would enjoy getting to know. I know, I know, I only met you once and now, I am suggesting a spiritual director for you! Kind of like those folks who want to help you become less rosary-challenged. She and I have directed retreats together.

By the way, when you talked about your first silent retreat, I had to keep myself from laughing out loud. I completed my first seven-day silent retreat this past summer. You are so right, it takes two days to develop the rhythm of the experience. It was in the ordinariness of those days that I encountered my God in what you were calling ‘a conversion’ experience.

Thank you for saying “yes” to your calling. God has blessed you abundantly, Mary. And, like Mary, our Blessed Mother, He is pleased with you and the way you are helping spread the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I will keep you and your family in my prayers. Whenever, I hear a gong, it will be a reminder of your little girl, Chiara, yelling out, “it’s time to pray.”

My silent retreat was at The Chiara Retreat Center, a Franciscan place of spirituality in Springfield, Illinois. Another New Yorker, Andre Cirino, OFM and Josef Raischl, OFS (Josef lives in Germany) directed us through a “Journey Into God” by St. Bonaventure.

The song goes on…in the hearts of all who wrestle with God.

Sincerely,

Terry

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My oldest also goes to SJ school, and it really is incredible and unique in its spirituality.

Thank you so much! I remember you because of the CO reference. 🙂
You were all so welcoming. It was a great weekend. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced that kind of joy in a parish setting.
Peace,
Mary