Signs of Hope

Marion Honors csj used with permission

Signs of Hope

Spring Dialogue  by Marion Honors CSJ

It is planting time.

The woman encourages her seedling to be strong and courageous.  

She asks the soil to be welcoming.

She promises them her vigilance for foes and the harsh weather.

She promises as well, an appreciative eye for their beauty.




April always speaks to me of birth. It is a month full of surprise. We are encouraged to participate in welcoming the new.

In her “Spring Dialogue” Marion Honors’ woman is deeply in touch with the realization that she is part of this garden. She is full of hope and confidence that each element is doing its part to support the growth of this seedling in her hand. Her bare feet are planted firmly on the ground. Her experienced hands know how to feel for just the right depth of soil to place this one. The pattern of her skirt is a visual of the field of flowers that will bring their beauty to that meadow over time. She wears what she is about. She is preaching without saying a word.

In late March, thirty two Sisters of St. Joseph who are engaged in Vocation and Formation ministry around the country met in Latham, New York. “Moving Forward in Hope as Sisters of St. Joseph” was our theme. One morning we prayed with this image and shared with one another new signs of hope that we are seeing in religious life. One person reflected that the roots of these seedlings would soon intertwine and grow to be a support for one another. This calls us to network more. We reminded each other that our charism is permeating what we do, working its essence through us and among us. It is helping us to see who we are and is calling us forward.

We asked ourselves and ask you to take the time this spring to notice what is emerging that is new. What is present though not visible? What has died? What is already being born? What does Resurrection look like? Where are the links?

We offer an invitation to pray in a new way with your signs of hope for new life among us. Making friends with the current reality, ask
Dearly Beloved Charism,
What does this mean? What is your guidance?

Quiet your mind and have no preoccupation with an answer.
What is the inner knowing?

Please share what comes forth from your place of wisdom.

Hope Springs Eternal

      March 15, 2013

Hope Springs Eternal: A Dialogue

“Moving Forward in Hope” is the name of the program Sister Carol and I attended last week in Latham, New York. This program of the National Conference for Religious Vocations (NRVC) was strategically designed for vocation and leadership personnel from congregations of religious women throughout the United States. Around our tables we began by sharing with one another what gives us hope in religious life today. As we dialogued together it became obvious that there is expectation in the air that something good is on the verge of showing itself. Someone at my table likened this moment to the song from West Side Story, “Something’s Coming”.

“Could it be? Yes it could...Something’s coming, something good….
The air is humming … and something great is coming…Who Know? It’s only just out of reach.”

“Moving Forward in Hope as Sisters of St. Joseph” is the theme of the meeting I will be attending next week in Latham, New York. Thirty women devoted to vocation and formation work within the Sisters of St. Joseph Federation will have the opportunity to dialogue with one another about the hopes we see emerging in our congregations.

Two weeks ago I wrote:
“Our Church hovers in the realm of possibility as we await the selection of a new Pope.”

Last Wednesady, white smoke over the Vatican had the air a humming as millions of people awaited with the Catholic world the emergence of someone, just out of reach. The feeling of expectation was palpable as we waited with the thousands in St. Peter’s Square the emergence of the one who has become Pope Francis. We continue to hold great expectations and prayer for this new springtime in the Church.

We invite one another to dialogue about religious life emerging in this new environment. Our world is moving forward and spring is in the air. It is a time for nurturing and tending the new that is still in the realm of expectation. I choose to link all of the above reflections with a picture.

“Spring Dialogue” is the title of a print by one of our dear sister artists, Marion Honors, who has her studio on the campus of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Latham. It depicts a woman planting a seedling. I perceive the soil to be religious life and those who live it faithfully in today’s world. The woman represents those who hope in the future of religious life. The plants are those called to be the future of religious life.
Marion speaks of her Spring Dialogue in this way:

“It is planting time and the woman encourages her seedlings to be strong and courageous, and she asks the soil to be welcoming, as she promises them her vigilance for foes and harsh weather as well as an appreciative eye for their beauty.”

As we enter this season of Holy Week and begin preparing our seedlings may we feel the hope that springs eternal. Please share the signs of hope you see.

Dwell In Possibility

A World within the Word

What a delight it is to listen to the everyday stories of people for glimpses of God shining through. Often a simple question can open up a whole new world for people. Through this blog, “The World within the Word,” I hope to explore new windows through which to look at the meaning of religious vocation today. This is designed to be an interactive space for you to enter a conversation that wants to happen. Dear Reader, I invite your response as I eagerly await the mystery that will unfold.

“I dwell in possibility”- writes Emily Dickinson and so do we.

Many years ago I attended a special evening at Genesis Spiritual Life Center at which I experienced a process called soul writing. The practice allows us to open our consciousness to the deeper meaning of a word that wants to engage us. You begin by writing the word in the center of a piece of paper and then circle it. Sitting with your word, you let emerge other words that are evoked. Drawing a connecting line from the center to each one, you write what comes to you using as many of the words as you can. Sometimes these words have become prayers for me; other times they have opened up new ways of seeing and other possibilities as to why that particular word surfaced.


As I sit with the word possibility, out radiate the words: new, awesome, pregnant, option, wonder, mystery, maybe, tip toe, selection, choice and possible.

Standing on tiptoe, I peer over the edge of a world disappearing. Maybe some of what has been will come back in a different way. Close to forty years ago our Sisters left St. Joseph’s School in North Adams. I recall someone telling the people that they would return in a new way.


Standing on tiptoe, I peer over the edge of world emerging.
I am in awe at what is appearing. I stand in wonder as I recognize the options that have opened for me. The choices I’ve made have been part of fulfilling that promise. It is mystery to me that I have found new life living and working side by side with and among the dear neighbors living in poverty, as I walk the very streets the early sisters walked. Though I do not resemble them in appearance, I am pregnant with the charism that they carried. This leads me to wonder at what will be born of the lives we are living.


In the next few weeks, our Church hovers in the realm of possibility as we await the selection of the next Pope. Who will the Spirit inspire? Will a new pope invite us to stand together on tiptoe and share what we see as we peer over the edge of our world? What will tomorrow’s sister look like as a result of our choices?

I offer an invitation for us to consciously dwell in possibility these days.

Good Pope John

The World within the Word

A few key words from last week’s blog that have manifested in my life this week are window, Pope John, and 50 years.

The image of Pope John the XXIII standing at the open window is etched in my memory. I remember my tenth grade religion teacher, Sr. Therese Marie, telling us that our new Pope was getting ready to open a Vatican Council that would have great impact on the world. She made us curious about it.

I remember the years of the Council when Bishop Weldon would come to Mont Marie and share with us what was going on. He talked about Brother Roger and the Taize Community. He brought Bishops from other countries to speak with us about the developing Church and how they adapted and integrated the customs of the people.  Those relationships paved the way for Sisters Vincentina and Immaculata to live with us for two years. I think they were from Korea. They gave us a window on their world.

This past week I reluctantly finished reading “The Good Pope” by Greg Tobin. The title of the Preface is “The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of a Church.” I recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the breadth of this man and what it was like when he was elected Pope. He died 50 years ago this June 3. 

Monday morning I turned on the TV to catch a weather report and heard: “Breaking news, the Pope has resigned.” I could not believe that I was hearing correctly. When I switched to the network channel, I heard that this was true and that there will be a new Pope by Easter. 50 years ago the Cardinals assembled and elected Pope Paul VI.

What do we see as we stand at the open window and look out?  It’s always a surprise. We are called to respond in some way. This week in the dark of the night as I looked out at the sky, I saw a fire coming out a chimney and made a phone call. I saw new fallen snow and took time to delight in it.

What are you seeing from your perspective as you look out your window on the world?  What memories are being evoked in you?  What is being stirred in your heart?  How are you responding?

Please share with us.

Beginning a Blog

A World within the Word

What a delight it is to listen to the everyday stories of people for glimpses of God shining through. Often a simple question can open up a whole new world for people. Through this blog, “The World within the Word,” I hope to explore new windows through which to look at the meaning of religious vocation today. This is designed to be an interactive space for you to enter a conversation that wants to happen. Dear Reader, I invite your response as I eagerly await the mystery that will unfold. I am Sister Natalie Cain and I approve this invitation.

February 4, 2013

Beginning anything takes courage. As I begin this blog, I feel like a child opening a present. It has my name on it. The message says that I will have fun with this. It invites me to explore.

A number of years ago I spent a few years in an Expressive Arts program in Albany. One day we were directed to tape a large piece of paper on the wall, choose three colors and begin to paint.  I experienced utter terror. This increased as I looked around and saw my comrades apparently enjoying themselves. Eventually I began.

I’ve always learned new things about life when I was willing to take a chance and at least try something new. For over a month now I’ve prayed about this blog. What will I call it? What will its purpose be? How will I begin? 

Words fascinate me. It’s not so much the definitions as much as words that I see within words. They open up whole new worlds of meaning for me. One day, years ago, I looked at the word HEART. I saw EAR in the center. HEAR in the beginning and ART at the end. What emerged was learning the ART of HEARing with the EAR of the HEART. I developed a four week course on this which I called “Listening to God and Others.” So for now I have decided on the name “The World within the Word.”

My purpose is to provide a welcoming space for us to explore the meaning of religious vocation from many angles. This morning as I was praying about how to begin, I found myself in the presence Blessed Beloved Pope John the XXIII. In 1962 at the age of 80, he had the courage to open the windows of the Church, inviting all to look at the emerging world that Christ was calling us to shape. All of us who lived in religious communities through the past 50 years have been shaped by and have helped to shape this world in which we now live.

As we move along through this 21st century global world, it is our turn to stand at the open window. As we look out, what do we see? Who will be the shape shifters of the next 50 years? What is our role in inviting and accompanying other into new dimensions of religious life? Just as we do not resemble those who provided the foundation for us to grow into who we are today, so those who choose to live our charism into the future may not resemble us.

The conversation is open. The blog has begun. Do these thought evoke anything in your experience? Please come in and share your words within this world.