Year: 2021
Day 28: Incarnation
Editor’s Note: Merry Christmas! On this final day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” we invite you to reflect on the poem “Made Flesh” written by Luci Shaw as we celebrate the incarnation of God becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Made Flesh By Luci Shaw After the bright beam of hot annunciation fused…
Read MoreDay 27: Wait
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-seventh day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Overseas Lay Missioner Rhonda Eckerman, who is serving on the US-Mexico border, reflects on finding joy, hope, and grace in seasons of waiting. As I sit in my car in line with many other cars at the entrance into the United States,…
Read MoreDay 26: Quiet
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-sixth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” FMS’ Program Director Emily Norton shares a poem she wrote about the holy waiting, quiet, and sacred preparation of a personal Advent season she is experiencing in her life right now. How stunned I am As I realize God’s invitation for me…
Read MoreDay 25: Respond
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-fifth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” we invite you to ponder the responses of Mary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist in Luke 1:39-55 to the miracle of Mary carrying the son of God in her womb. “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill…
Read MoreDay 24: Remembrance
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-fourth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Grace Kueber shares memories of specific times of growth in her relationship with God. In honor of remembering you, I may not remember all of the moments of the day I came home from Korea, into the arms…
Read MoreDay 23: Wonder
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-third day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Lauren Barry discusses her experience with wonder and contemplation. I’ve always been curious about the world around me. When I was younger, the majority of my wonders consisted of ‘how’ questions. I would wonder: At this stage in…
Read MoreDay 22: Prophecy
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-second day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Victoria Wangler shares an original piece of prose that touches on the specific details within a person’s life at a given moment: “How small it can seem (arriving to a new life in a new city, understanding that our earthly…
Read MoreDay 21: Goodness
Editor’s Note: On this twenty-first day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” FMS’ Executive Director Liz Hughes reflects on the importance of seeing goodness in the world. Earlier this fall, Fr. Joe Nangle ended a homily in the FMS chapel with a poignant story and the reflection: “If people only knew how good they…
Read MoreDay 20: Gaze
Editor’s Note: On this twentieth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” FMS board member Teresa Redder reflects on the importance of gazing upon God’s creation with awe and wonder after a camping trip in Iowa, Nebraska, and North Dakota with her husband. While returning to my husband’s home state of South Dakota this…
Read MoreDay 19: Ponder
Editor’s Note: On this nineteenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Brigid Prosser, director of Catholic Charities Volunteer Medical Clinic, shares a poem she wrote that ponders the incarnation of Christ. Let us celebrate this season By contemplating the Incarnation The mystery of God’s humility In His unfolding of salvation. The Messiah…
Read MoreDay 18: Unknown
Editor’s Note: On this eighteenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Overseas Lay Missioner Julia Pinto reflects on the importance of relying on God despite the unknowns in her life, as Mary did. When Mary came to terms with the fact that the Son of God would be growing within her womb, she…
Read MoreDay 17: Humility
Editor’s Note: On this seventeenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Anna Metzger, who just completed her time on mission in Bolivia with FMS, shares what a bike injury taught her about humility. Nothing teaches us humility quite like the Christ child. God chose to come to earth as a baby…babies are the…
Read MoreDay 16: Promise
Editor’s Note: On this sixteenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” FMS Board Member Dr. Hans Dethlefs encourages us to place our hope in God’s promises. Promise is a powerful word as we await the coming of Christ during Advent. Promise is hope personified. When we receive a promise from another person, we…
Read MoreDay 15: Sojourn
Editor’s Note: On this fifteenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Christopher Zaragoza reflects on what it means to be pilgrims on earth. Advent is a time of reflection, meditation, and prayer. The Church gives us this season as an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the first coming of…
Read MoreDay 14: Eternity
Editor’s Note: On this fourteenth day of Advent, we invite you to reflect on The Visitation, a sonnet by Malcom Guite that inspired our Advent blog series theme “Hidden Joys.” The lovely artwork of Mary journeying to visit Elizabeth was created by DC Service Corps volunteer Joanie McMahon. The Visitation By Malcom Guite Here…
Read MoreDay 13: Praise
Editor’s Note: On this thirteenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Joanie McMahon collaborates with Sr. Meg Earsley, FSPA to bring you “The Canticle of Underappreciated Creatures,” written by Sr. Meg and illustrated by Joanie. Check out more of Joanie’s beautiful artwork on her website and Instagram. Back in…
Read MoreDay 12: Community
Editor’s Note: On this twelfth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” former DC Service Corps volunteer and current FMS House Manager Fatima Godfrey reflects on living in intentional community. I assume “community” is not a word commonly used on a daily basis for the average person. I can certainly say “community” only became…
Read MoreDay 11: Presence
Editor’s Note: On this eleventh day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Lauren Barry reflects on how living in community at Casa San Salvador (FMS’ house of hospitality) during her year of service is helping her appreciate the present moment. I have lived in Casa San Salvador for about four…
Read MoreDay 10: Grace
Editor’s Note: On this tenth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corp volunteer Grace Kueber shares how God’s grace has been revealed to her while learning to navigate Washington, D.C. A new environment keeps me unsteady Relying on Google maps to tell me when I am ready. To explore, Open the…
Read MoreDay 9: Shelter
Editor’s Note: On this ninth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Victoria Wangler writes a moving poem about God being a shelter throughout her life. Hold it in your hands. Touch it in the air. Inhale the breath and feel the earth as it slips in there. …
Read MoreDay 8: Accompany
Editor’s Note: On this eighth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Kim Smolik, Ed.D reflects on what the pandemic taught her about accompaniment. Kim serves as Executive Partner at Leadership Roundtable, an international Catholic organization based in Washington, DC. Prior to her current role, she served as Executive Director of FMS from 2009-2016, after…
Read MoreDay 7: Hospitality
Editor’s Note: On this seventh day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Overseas Lay Missioner Mari Snyder reflects on a hospitality practice that she is leaning into this Advent. I have 21 days to make my newly created Advent hospitality practice into a habit. This is the hardest time of year for me to…
Read MoreDay 6: Friendship
Editor’s Note: On this sixth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” DC Service Corps volunteer Victoria Wangler reflects on the gift of friendship from the perspective of being a triplet. A friend loves at all times. [Proverb 17.17] “Friend.” “Friendship.” “Best friend.” “BFFs.” “Bestie.” These are words that are used so commonly that…
Read MoreDay 5: Generations
Editor’s Note: On this fifth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Overseas Lay Missioner Victor Artaiz reflects on generations of faith in his family. As I leave the Thanksgiving holiday celebrations with family and friends, I carry cherished feelings of gratitude, faith, hope, and love into the spirit and season of Advent. We…
Read MoreDay 4: Embrace
Editor’s Note: On this fourth day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Anna Fluharty reflects on what it means to embrace Advent as a DC Service Corps volunteer serving at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School. To embrace is to hold someone close or to conceive and radically support a motion. There’s a difference…
Read MoreDay 3: Blessed
Editor’s Note: On this third day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Sr. Meg Earsley FSPA, who recently completed her formation with FMS and will be serving with the Tertiary Sisters of Saint Francis in Bolivia, shares a reflection on her experience of “blessed leavings” as she said goodbye to the Casa community. Oh, only…
Read MoreDay 2: Meeting
Editor’s Note: On this second day of our Advent blog series “Hidden Joys,” Associate Director Meghan Meros shares how a reunion with a long-distance friend in Scotland inspired new reflections about Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting in the Visitation. Through the drizzle of a wet night in Glasgow, Scotland, a familiar face emerged from a hotel…
Read MoreDay 1: Hidden Joys
Editor’s Note: We invite you to join the FMS family as we journey toward Christmas with a new Advent blog series, “Hidden Joys.” In this first post of the series, DC Service Corps volunteer Emily Putzke reflects on the hidden joys of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, along with the hidden joys of being in the…
Read MoreWalking Forward in Accompaniment
Editor’s Note: As Anna Metzger concludes her two years in Bolivia, she reflects on how God has worked through her time as an FMS missioner. The past two years with FMS have brought their own ups and downs, twists and turns. For years, I dreamed of doing international mission and living in Latin America. When…
Read MoreA Life of Permanent Transition: Finding My Home in Intentional Community
Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Julia Pinto discusses her upcoming transition from the Casa community and how a feeling of belonging makes a place a home. “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” Hebrews 13:14 I am not experiencing homelessness, as so many of…
Read MoreStop and Be
Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Nora McMahon reflects on lessons gleaned from stopping and being with nature. There’s a banana tree in the garden of the Center where I live in Bolivia and, besides pictures, I’ve never had a chance to observe a banana tree before. In the land of eternal spring, the actual season…
Read MoreMy Cloister
Editor’s Note: Sr. Meg Earsley, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and Overseas Missioner in formation, reflects on what it means to see the world as her cloister. “…with a gesture, [the brothers] showed [Lady Poverty] the extent of the horizon and said to her: ‘Lady, this is our cloister.’” (Boff, Francis of Assisi, Page 90)…
Read More1,891 Miles
Editor’s Note: Lay Missioner Joleen Johnson shares the insights she gained by traveling 1,891 miles across the country with her grandpa. I recently had the privilege of driving 1,891 miles across the country with my 85 year old grandpa. Upon arriving at our destination, I had the unique opportunity to observe the daily operations of an…
Read MoreWhen Death Comes
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps volunteer Tori Wangler shares an original poem that she wrote in honor of Día de los Muertos. When death comes like an old friend, open your door with gratitude. Do not be afraid of her darkness and her mysterious ways. Just step aside and whisper a blessing. …
Read MoreIntroducing Grace Kueber: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: The DC Service Corps class of 2021-2022 introduces themselves through personal reflection on what matters to them. Grace Kueber serves as a Protection Counselor at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Today, she reflects on the importance of authenticity. I used to forget to not put myself in a box. At what…
Read MoreIntroducing Joanie McMahon: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: The DC Service Corps class of 2021-2022 introduces themselves through personal reflection on what matters to them. FMS’ Programs Associate, Joanie McMahon, shares what matters to her through a video blog.
Read MoreThe In-Between
Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Domonique Thompson reflects on learning to embrace a season of waiting before going overseas. Lately, I’ve felt like I’ve been caught in this in-between place as I transition out of DC Service Corps (DCSC) and into becoming an Oversees Lay Missioner. And honestly, it has been difficult. As a DCSC…
Read MoreIntroducing Mari Snyder: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner in formation, Mari Snyder, reflects on what matters most to her. What matters to me … is that I have a meaningful life purpose. According to the “Book of Twain,” the two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you discover why. While I’ve long…
Read MoreIntroducing Christopher Zaragoza: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: The DC Service Corps class of 2021-2022 introduces themselves through personal reflection on what matters to them. Chris Zaragoza serves at the Father McKenna Center as a Case Manager Assistant. Today, he reflects on the importance of faith, family, and social justice. This year of volunteer work and community life with the Franciscan…
Read MoreIntroducing Estephanie Alvarez: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: Estephanie Alvarez is a high school student who works in the FMS office once a week as part of Don Bosco Cristo Rey’s Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP). Today she reflects on the importance of loving yourself and others. One of the most important things that matters to me is how much I…
Read MoreBlanca
Editor’s Note: Rhonda Eckerman, a Lay Missioner serving on the US-Mexico Border, reflects on her time helping at Casa De La Esperanza and overcoming the language “barrier” with her new friend, Blanca. One Saturday, my fellow Franciscan, Brother David, and I went to Sasabe, Mexico approximately 3 ½ hours by car from my home. Sasabe…
Read MoreIntroducing Victoria Wangler: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: The DC Service Corps class of 2021-2022 introduces themselves through personal reflection on what matters to them. FMS’ Development Associate, Victoria Wangler, shares the moments and experiences that matter to her through an original poem. The softness of a sunrise cresting my childhood window. Blushing pinks and purples …
Read MoreIntroducing Victor Artaiz: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: Overseas lay missioner in formation, Victor Artaiz, reflects on how God tugged on his heart and led him to formation with FMS. God has always tugged on my sleeve and at my heart, especially during those times when I was only focused on myself! Here in the Brookland neighborhood of DC, I am…
Read MoreContent at Home
Editor’s Note: Anna Metzger, a Lay Missioner in Bolivia, reflects on the contentment she has experienced through living a life of simplicity and solidarity in Cochabamba. Simplicity is a core belief with FMS, often coming up in conversation between the FMS community and appearing frequently in blogs. Throughout the past two years, I have leaned…
Read MoreIntroducing Sister Meg Earsley: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: Sr. Meg Earsley, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and Overseas Missioner in formation, reflects on the interconnectedness, beauty, and diversity of God’s creation in relation to her calling as a sister. For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt passionate about inclusion. Perhaps it was connected to the loneliness I experienced…
Read MoreIntroducing Lauren Barry: What Matters to Me
Editors Note: The DC Service Corps class of 2021-2022 introduces themselves through personal reflection on what matters to them. Lauren Barry, who serves at the Father McKenna Center, discusses how love enriches her life. Love matters to me because it fills and enriches my life. Love strengthens my relationships, whether it be with myself, my…
Read MoreFrom A to B: The Humble Invitation to Encounter God and Others
Editor’s Note: Overseas lay missioner in formation, Julia Pinto, reflects on God’s invitation to encounter Him and the people around her. For most of my life, I have identified myself as a doer. Having been raised by parents who primarily show love through acts of service, I often find myself thinking of what needs to…
Read MoreIntroducing Emily Putzke: What Matters to Me
Editor’s Note: The DC Service Corps class of 2021-2022 introduces themselves through personal reflection on what matters to them. FMS’ Communications Associate, Emily Putzke, discusses the importance of stories in her life. Some of my earliest memories revolve around stories: my mom reading picture books aloud to me (chosen from the many gloriously overstuffed bookshelves…
Read MoreThe Kitchen: A Sacred Space
Editor’s Note: Lay Missioner in Bolivia Anna Metzger reveals the tenderness that lies within the seemingly common kitchen. She shares different stories of how this space has become sacred to her through meaningful connections. Before my time with FMS, I worked for another mission organization called YouthWorks. During my summers with YouthWorks, I spent many…
Read MoreEnding My Year of Service in DC
Editor’s note: DCSC volunteer Emily Dold shares a thoughtful video compilation made throughout her year of service with DC Service Corps. She shows moments all reflective of intentional community, what service looks like, as well as the joy that has come from this year alone.
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