“Bless us with endurance, patience and trust to live in this time of unknowing,” Sister Valerie Zottola says, looking out upon a sea of Sisters from across the region who’d come to Baden to mark the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life on Sunday, Feb. 2, through a service of prayer and reflection. “Grant us perseverance – but more – deep passion for all that your son and our brother, Jesus, lived and died for,” she prayed.
The ‘Celebration of Light and Hope’ that Sister Val helped to organize, along with Sister Mindy Welding, Delegate for Religious at the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and Sister Caryn Crook, Vocation Director for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, began in darkness, an acknowledgement of the heaviness of our times. Out of the stillness, a chorus of somber and soulful voices rose, singing:
Christ, be our light, shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness. Christ, be our light, shine in your church, gathered today.
Candles flickered as Sisters were encouraged by gospel readings reminding us that it’s the way of the peacemaker, the merciful, the poor in spirit, of those who mourn and hunger and thirst for justice who “are a light for the world.” After each verse and Scripture reading, a set of chapel lights clicked on, until all could see clearly.
Sister Kristin Matthes, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, and Sister Wendolyn Lopez-Santos, a Sister of Divine Providence, delivered a large tub to the front of the chapel filled with donations of snacks, socks, personal hygiene items, hats, and other non-perishable necessities from those gathered to help our local unhoused population in the region. Items will be put in 100 backpacks and handed out to those who are on the streets as a service project for young adults.
As the service drew to a close, Sister Adelina Garcia, a School Sister of St. Francis, acknowledged the unique responsibility women religious carry to be a sign of hope, and Sister Caryn asked all to consider how we might be and bring light to our dear neighbors who are suffering, isolated, fearful, and exhausted, inviting Sisters to share their intention on a slip of paper.
Again, voices rose, this time, tinged with resolve, as Sisters processed to the front of chapel to deliver their commitments:
We are the light of the world, may our lights shine before all.
That they may see the good that we do, and give glory to God.
As we prepare our hearts to enter this season of Lent, seeking to walk more closely with Jesus in the darkness he faced, for us, let us carry the hope of the gospel with us, knowing, trusting that “light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.”