Month: February 2016
Letting Go of Taking Life Too Seriously
Editor’s Note: Development Associate Sarah Sokora shares how the precarious walk to work after a recent snowstorm led to some deeper realizations and a reminder not to take herself so seriously. The Lord often shows Himself to me in little ways: an unexpected breeze, a warm sign of peace from the little old lady at mass…
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Letting Go and Expanding Your Capacity for Love
Editor’s Note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan shares how she’s had to shift her concepts of family life during her transition from her home in the United States to her new home in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I have always been very close with my family. They were my first prayers upon waking, my last prayers before sleeping, and a…
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Letting Go of the Future to Embrace the Present
Editor’s Note: Missioner Tom Little shares how for him, Lent has been a time to let go of worries about the future and instead focus on the people and places of the present. There are a lot of things that you have to let go when you go on mission in rural Bolivia: friends, family, hockey, decent…
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Letting Go: The Power of Just Being There
Editor’s Note: Returned missioner Claire McGarry reflects on letting go of the desire to “fix” problems and instead using that energy to focus on the importance of accompanying others and presenting them with hope. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galations 6:2 As long as I…
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Shall We Dance? A Color Meditation on Letting Go
Editor’s Note: Returned missioner Rosanna Ferraro-Jensen uses color and creative expression to reflect on the idea of our relationship with God as a continuous invitation to dance. “Every Child Has known God” (Hafiz, 1320-1389) Every child has known God, Not the God of names, Not the God of don’ts, Not the God who ever does anything weird,…
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Letting Go and Being Remade
Editor’s Note: Programs Associate Katie Rotterman reflects on how her experience as a crafter challenges her to let go of her ideas for her life and instead let God form her in Christ. “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should…
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Finalists for Annual San Damiano Servant Leadership Award
We are delighted to announce the three finalists for this year’s San Damiano Servant Leadership Award. This award recognizes a faith filled college junior or senior who has a demonstrated passion for and dedication to service, social justice, and leadership. The winner of the San Damiano Servant Leadership Award will receive a $500 scholarship and…
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Letting Go of Our Insecurities
Editor’s Note: Nonprofit Servant Leadership Coordinator Mercedes Matthews reflects on the truth that all too often, we get caught up in our own insecurities and can’t manage to see ourselves the way God sees us. In Spring 2015 I was part of a parish mission trip to visit orphanages in Nicaragua. Most simply, our mission was…
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Letting Go: All We Can Do
Editor’s Note: Missioner Maeve Gallagher reflects on the deeply rooted violence in Guatemala and how it has challenged her to let go of frustration and instead focus on being an example of love for her students at Valley of the Angels school. I spend a lot of time on mission feeling helpless. Living and working…
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Letting Go of What Doesn’t Belong to You
Editor’s Note: Vocations director Sr. Sheila Lehmkuhle, FMM reflects on the idea of letting go of our burdens and offering them up to God. Sometimes, in work and life I feel inadequate and anxious. I don’t know what to do. When I was in the novitiate, I remember my novice directress telling me to take…
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Letting Go and Healing My Brokenness
Editor’s Note: Missioner Janice Smullen reflects on the gifts of Lent and the opportunity that it offers for healing of our broken human nature. Is it possible to love Lent? To love 40 days of fast, reflection, soul searching and acts of mercy? We spend a lot of time during Lent reading and contemplating Christ’s recognition of suffering…
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Letting Go and Choosing the Adventure
Editor’s Note: Missioner Allison Dethlefs reflects on the journey of being at peace with the people and things she had to say goodbye to at home in order to embrace the new phase of life as an FMS missioner in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Every new beginning is an ending of sorts. Every time you set out…
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Letting Go Of Preconceived Notions
Editor’s Note: Returned missioner Claire McGarry reflects on learning to embrace life for what it actually is instead of getting caught up in what she thought it would be. “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” Matthew 11:13-14…
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Letting Go: Let Your Old Life Fade
Editor’s Note: Missioner Erin McHugh reflects on the truth that sometimes, you have to let go of your old life in order to fully enter the life that God has intended for you. Although this realization is never easy, this act of letting go ultimately allows us to be our authentic selves. “Let Go and…
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Letting Go of Being Thought Good
Editor’s Note: Missioner Annemarie Barrett reflects on how her views of lay mission have changed since she first arrived in Bolivia and how the friendships she’s formed there have challenged and inspired her. Francis of Assisi was known to say, “We must bear patiently not being good and not being thought good.” The first time…
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Letting Go of Expectations
Editor’s Note: Missioner Patrick Montine shares a story from mission that stresses the fact that no matter how much we plan and prepare ahead of time, life often does not follow these plans. In these moments, it is important to realize that we can’t do it all by ourselves. A couple of months ago we…
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Letting Go of the Things We Can’t Control
Editor’s Note: Missioner Amanda Ceraldi shares how she’s been challenged to let go of cultural problems outside of her control while serving on mission at Valley of the Angels school in Guatemala. It seems like every other day one of my students shares a tragedy they’ve experienced in their lives with me. These tragedies range…
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Letting Go of Anxiety
Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble shares how the beginning of her time on mission in Bolivia has challenged her to let go of anxieties and the desire to be in control. Through this process, she is discovering great freedom. Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. Even though it is often a…
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Letting Go of the Need to Feel Joy in Prayer
Editor’s Note: Former FMS development associate Christine Landau shares her reflections on genuine prayer, especially during times of great struggle. For my entire adult life, from the age of seventeen on, personal prayer has been very special and important to me. I have joined prayer groups, spent time in monasteries, involved myself in liturgy, gone on…
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Letting Go: Daily Surrender
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member Julie Bauerle reflects on her journey before she arrived at Franciscan Mission Service and the realization that striving to follow God’s will applies to daily life as well as the extended future. In my life, I have always tried to do the will of God. A few months ago…
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Lent 2016: Letting Go
“You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” -C.S. Lewis What happens when we release something we were holding on to so tightly? What happens when we step back and release our expectations? During Lent, there can be a lot of pressure to “fix” ourselves. There can be pressure to…
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Welcome Associate Director Meghan!
When she first met former Franciscan Mission Service missioner Nora Pfieffer, Meghan Meros had no way of knowing that this brief introduction to FMS would reappear several times years later. Meghan first met Nora in 2009 when the two were placed in the same small group during the Catholics on Call Conference at the Catholic…
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The Little Things: The Power of Shared Experience
Editor’s Note: In the conclusion of “The Little Things” series, communications associate Maria Beben reflects on the communal nature of the human person and the power behind this shared experience of humanity. Recently, the phrase “Make me a channel of your peace” has been stuck in my head (Franciscan problems…) Without fully realizing it though, I’ve started to adopt…
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