Charity Reflections
Spiritual reflections by Sisters and Associates
Third Week of Lent Reflection 2023
Pope Francis invites us to: “Fast from worries and have trust in God.” We frequently worry about next steps, what others think, dangers ahead. We worry about illness in our families, war in our world and the decisions we make. Pope Francis urges us instead to trust in...
First Week of Lent Reflection 2023
“Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” Psalm 51 This first week of Lent, let us look at the ways we have fallen short. What have we done or failed to do to become the person God has called us to be? Can we with humility, ask God to transform us? Do we trust that...
Every Tribe and Tongue and People and Nation
Photo credit: Church of the Epiphany, Manhattan, NY Reflection on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, Jan. 8, 2023 My heart aches – I’m sure yours does too – when I hear about the persecution of one ethnic or political group by another. Front and center...
Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Sunday, June 19, 2022
A reflection for the feast of Corpus Christi By Sister Regina Bechtle CALL TO PRAYER Leader: As people formed by the Eucharist, we seek to live in grateful thanksgiving. All: May Charity...
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — Speaking the Language of Tenderness
By Regina Bechtle, SC The following is from the Winter 2022 issue of VISION. After Pope Francis’ July 2021 hospital stay, a headline in Catholic New York read: “Pope, recuperating from surgery, shows tenderness to fellow patients.” (Catholic New York, 7/15/21). In...
Prayer: The Feast of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
On January 4th we celebrate the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.The following prayer was prepared by Sisters Judy Mertz and Kathleen Flanagan, Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, New Jersey. Celebrating Saint Elizabeth Ann SetonGod’s Presence in the World...
January 2, 2022, Feast of the Epiphany
Blame it on this year’s calendar: the Scripture readings for the 2021-2022 Christmas-Epiphany season could give us whiplash. It’s like the rapid pivoting we’ve all had to do with the COVID-19 virus and its fast-moving variants. December 26, the day after we...
Against All Odds – 175 Years of the Sisters of Charity of New York
December 31, 2021 marks the 175th anniversary of the beginnings of the Sisters of Charity of New York. It’s when “the first election of community superiors was held in the chapel of the Prince Street asylum.” (Walsh 1, 137). Sister Elizabeth Boyle was...
Reflection for December 19, 2021 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
“Silence has a special place during Advent, a time of waiting and expectancy. Two women who are central to the unfolding Christmas story – Elizabeth and Mary – are themselves in a state of waiting. They are pregnant. And like women the world over, they are tuned to...
Reflection for December 12, 2021 – Third Sunday of Advent
“Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!... the Ruler of Israel, the Holy One, is in your midst, you have no...