Summer is also traditionally the time when all members of our community make their private annual retreat. The Church asks all religious to take at least one week each year to make a personal retreat, and what a gift this time always is! Our current practice allows for all members to make personal private retreats…
Author: Franciscans of the Eucharist
Summer at the Mission – Part 1: Summer Volunteers
Alas – once the calendar page or calendar view switches to August, it is clear that the new school year is on the way, and the summer is winding down! Although the Chicago heat will stay with us through September, some transitions are already happening. Our school-teaching Sisters are in the midst of last-minute lesson…
Let your Eucharistic pilgrimage begin today!
Reflection by Sr. Alicia Torres A couple of Sundays ago, I had the chance to make my first official “at-home” Eucharistic pilgrimage. It was a torrentially rainy day in Chicago — as a matter of fact, if you had a basement, there was a high chance you experienced significant flooding. Despite the intense rain, however,…
Flooded with Adventure
Reflection by Sr. Jess Lambert We have long joked that water is a part of our charism – part of the work of the Church entrusted to our little band of Franciscans. When Bishop Bob moved to Chicago around 2005, there were a lot of water features in all of the buildings of the former…
Charlie, the Eucharist, and Our Forever Home
Reflection by Sr. Alicia Torres I love dogs. Not like I love my family, or like I love Jesus, but I really do have a strong affection for dogs. A few months ago, I came home from teaching and was welcomed by an unfamiliar, and rather unpleasant, smell in the convent. Entering our large dining…
Seminarians and Seniors – an unexpected and beautiful friendship
Throughout this past academic year, we have been so blessed to welcome 15 seminarians in Mundelein Seminary’s Spirituality Year to help us with our apostolic works each Wednesday. During their Spirituality Year, the seminarians live together with in community near Holy Name Cathedral and spend the year focusing on human formation, growing in their lives…
Mother’s Day Brunch with Our Neighbors
On May 13, we hosted a beautiful Mother’s Day brunch for about 200 of our neighbors. The event started with a simple prayer service and reflection on motherhood and the special role of Our Lady in our lives in the upper church, and then everyone headed downstairs for a delicious, home-made meal of ham, green…
Reflections on Teaching
By Sr. Stephanie Baliga Teaching at St. Sylvester School in Logan Square has been one of the most formative experiences of my religious life! I’ve been teaching at St. Sylvester’s since 2017. Our teaching apostolate focuses on going into under-resourced Catholic schools to provide direct religion instruction and whole school faith formation support – all…