Religious Life: Making the World a Better Place

Many times women who feel called to religious life want to make the world a better place to be!  I would like to share with you how Sister Julie Marie Peters, a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother and a group of her fellow Sisters and lay collaborators (professionals) do just that in the Caribbean.  Sister Julie Marie, a Family and Marriage counselor,  is Director of the Franciscan Institute for Personal and Family Development, Inc.   The Franciscan Institute for Personal and Family Development in collaboration with the Archdiocesan Family Life Com mission (AFLC) offers Common Sense Parenting (CSP) programs.  Common Sense Parenting (CSP) seeks to provide parents with six basic skills: organizing family, safe home rule, effective praise, preventive teaching, corrective teaching and teaching self-control.  CSP is an internationally acclaimed parent education program.

In the Caribbean, the Franciscan Institute has trained 190 parents to teach the course, has reached 18,000 family members, has educated 3,800 parents, has delivered 300 Common Sense Parenting programs, and has involved 100 schools in the training. Sixty (60) churches, mosques, NGOs and other organization have also participating in the educative process.

One of the parents who went through this program stated: "Fifteen years ago I became a mother, but I finally became a parent." She was now talking in such a way that her children were listening and she was no longer shouting and throwing things.

Feel called to make a difference in the world as a woman religious, call Sister Dorothy Ann Dirkx at 920-230-6157 or email her at ssmvoc@gmail.com.

VITA CONSCRATA--THE CONSECRATED LIFE

VITA CONSECRATA—CONSECRATED LIFE

REFLECTION VII

Religious life is a gift to the Church.  Every person called to consecrate her life to the Lord comes with a variety of God-given gifts. The gifts we each receive from the Spirit are given for the purpose of bearing fruit on the “tree” of the religious community planted in the Church’s vineyard.  The community and the mission of that community grow stronger through the ministries of each person called to that community of faith.  Over the next months, I will reiterate the gifts God has given to the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in its membership. 

Let’s begin with Sister Thomasina Gebhard, who has a doctorate in social work. She is Director of Partnership for Social Services Family Center in Franklin, NJ.  The mission of this organization is to provide social services that address the needs of individuals, families and groups, especially the poor, to advocate for justice and to convene other persons to do the same. Each year more than 36,000 individuals and families take advantage of it clinical, educational and community service and action programs.   The agency offers special services to emotionally troubled children, adults, aging persons, unmarried parents, residents of urban housing development and non-English speaking persons.

Her work in collaboration with a lay staff furthers the mission of Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, who “participate in the mission of Jesus to bring fuller life to others by revealing the love of God to all, especially the poor.”  We have been doing this since 1883!