“Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart”

I feel compelled to tell you the story of a very special woman.  She was the Founder of the Religious Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.  She is a saint and she lived a long time ago.  She was born in 1796 in France actually on the island of Noirmoutier, off the west coast of France.  She died on April 24, 1868.  She was baptised Rose Virginie Pelletier.  Over the years, I have come to know about her, her early life as a child and youth and she has become an interesting friend in her absence.  Sometimes it seems that she is still actively engaged with all of her friends in this broad network of Good Shepherd people that she founded.  She has become a certain special friend such that I often refer to her as ‘Rosie’.

So what was so unique about her that I would spend time to pen some thoughts about her?  Well, she grew up in a time of great upheaval.  Her Father was a doctor and her mother was a woman of great charity.  Together they served people during the French Revolution, a time of extreme violence, religious persecution and incredible social change.  While exiled to the island of Noirmoutier, they gave birth to Rosie.  As a young girl she was filled with adventure and ran free on the island.  She witnessed the routine trips of slave ships passing her homeland and was left with strong feelings about slavery that stayed with her until her death.  She was somewhat precocious as a young girl.  She had natural leadership qualities but did not attend school until she was 13.

At 14, her mother sent her to a friend who ran a school in Tours.  She wanted Rosie to learn how to be a young lady with more controlled and appropriate behaviour.  Rose experienced this separation from her mom in a very negative way.  Much like our children in care, she thought she did something wrong that caused her mom not to want her.  She experienced significant separation trauma.  While in this school, she was treated very harshly.  Even the priests there were very negative with her and she became very depressed and unhappy. Intergenerational trauma was no stranger to this young woman.  At age 10 her father had died suddenly.  She lost two siblings due to health issues.  While away at school, her mother died and she was not told about this until after the funeral.  Couldn’t even say good bye.

She had one teacher a younger teacher who saw so much positive in Rosie.  She truly believed in Rosie and Rosie experienced this significant relationship is a powerful way.  Largely due to the closeness that was developed, Rosie began to see herself in more positive ways and was able to tap into her natural resilience to find hope, new directions and a desire to help others.  She would remain sensitive to how to best serve young people by remembering how she had been treated.

She knew if she wanted to do something significant in her time, aside from just being the wife of some man, she would become a nun.  So she found the order of nuns,  Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, who worked with young women who were from the streets.  These young girls were seen by society as dirty (because of their sexual exploitation) and low life due their lack of education and need to do anything to survive.  These girls and this work attracted Rosie in a very strong way. Her compassion was deeply stirred and she felt drawn to work in this mission.  Met with resistance everywhere, Rosie stayed the course and entered this order of the Refuge.  Within a few short years she was appointed superior of a local community (at an unusually young age) and was then sent to open a new refuge in Angers, France (The House of Good Shepherd).  It was here that she was moved to begin a new congregation that would be international and be free to serve the unmet needs of young women everywhere without local interference from the hierarchy of the local Church.  It was in this process that she began her timeless teachings of looking after young people and where she demonstrated a wisdom of the ages about what happens to the young when they experience trauma and how best to engage them to help the healing/learning process.

A trauma specialist once said, “Mary Euphrasia knew Neuro-Science long before science discovered it.”  Her timeless teachings have not only inspired the good care of young women over the years but remain as practical best practices that can give added value to youth care everywhere.  Her deep faith in her God and her deep faith in others are hallmarks of the gift and legacy of her work.  She founded 110 new missions in a short 33 years as Leader of this new congregation.  Remember this was in a time where there was no expedited mail, no phones, no email, etc.

Rosie shared numerous sentiments with her young sisters as part of their formation.  She remained humble and engaging but never forgot her own developmental years.  She was inspired to make those years for young women distinct: filled with respect, compassion and growth.  She shared once that “No matter what the color of their tears, they are always very bitter.  So above all else, always lift them up in their own eyes!”

She knew instinctively that helping young people to come to know their god would only come on the heels of having been  treated with deep love and care as human beings.  She knew it was more important to feed and clothe them properly and to plan their social time carefully so that they would feel good about themselves….so good!  Then, and only then, would their sense of being the child of their Creator be deeply experienced.

Rosie was keen about putting hopes and aspirations into action.  She was less concerned about what people said and more observant about what they did.  This spirit and attitude has been sustained in the Good Shepherd network for 180 years.  She knew that the proof in the pudding was in the experience of the young people themselves.  If their experience of self was not positive, then we will have missed the boat.  She would say,  “It is not enough for you to say you love them, they must know that they are loved.”

She was always deeply grateful for the blessings in her life.  These came from people like Ms de Lignac at her school who was the one key adult who believed in her unconditionally.  She found lessons in the painful observations of the slave ships near her childhood island.  She expanded her vision through the painful criticism and obstruction of the local bishop of Angers…she found a way around obstructions.  She found great pleasure in watching her young sisters grow and embrace a more keen way of looking after young girls.  She always taught how sustaining a spirit of gratitude was central to learning how to keep unity and to forgive others and oneself. It kept the mind and spirit in a positive mode.   A spirit of gratitude and unity would help cause great things to happen.  She knew deeply that gratitude was more than an expression of ‘Thank you’.  It was a deeply felt spirit that shaped our mind’s eye about others and the world around us…it was a more spiritual sentiment.  For that reason she would say:

“Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart!”

What the Heart Values is what Matters Most

I am not one to venture into politics in this blog.  However, the political events occurring in these times have been food for much thought over the past year or so.  So without getting political about Canadian or U.S. governing, I’d like to share some of my own meanderings that have been spawned during these interesting times.

When I consider political representatives, it behooves me to look for Leadership that touches the heart of the people.  Naively, perhaps, I believe that good people have a way of leading us with positive stripes that will help us uncover the right choices for decision-making.  So I always remind myself of checking my critical and negative thinking and warning myself to “be careful what you wish for”.

Letting myself engage in negative, judgmental ideas is destructive to others as well as me.  Exercising my right to ‘free speech’ is not, in and of itself, a justification for this.  Don’t we try, as parents, to teach our children that when you have a certain right there is a relative measure of responsibility that flows from that right? 

Perhaps some of the most crucial questions to ask ourselves include what it is that our heart most values in this life.  Has my system of values and beliefs developed such that I most value the diversity of our nation and community?  Do I value the dignity of EACH person?  Do I desire harmony and peace among people?  Do I want to be embraced by my community as one who truly belongs?  Or has my life experience been such that my system of values and beliefs desires exclusivity, a winner takes all attitude, fear of those different from me, and/or severe punishment for those to step on my/our communal toes?  It seems to me that the only way to answer these (and other) questions is not through debate and argument, but rather, through honest and open self-examination.

Our society has become very ‘secular and pluralistic’.  We express that there is not room for religion (Church vs State) to drive our social decisions because of the diversity of our religious beliefs and tenants.  Fact is, our value system is shaped by our hearts desires which have been shaped by our religious traditions.  OH MY GOD< what a vicious circle!  And yet, we allow ourselves to spew rhetoric both publicly and privately about retribution of all kinds against others who ‘step out of line’.  Yes we allow ourselves to say we are ‘true believers’ and still embrace capital punishment, we still push aside and blame victims of violence (refugees, women in domestic violence, children in mass murders) in order to express our inalienable right to say what we want whenever we want.  We feel we have the right to make life good for me.  We do not share the same passion about our responsibility to make life good for others.

So when I hear someone else who spews populist, angry opinions about others (even if it happens to well up a feeling of resonance for this sentiment), what do I do with those opinions?  Sometimes I jump on the bandwagon and then fall off flat on my face….because, that negative opinion did not resonate deeply enough.  Instead I try to think behind those motley, antagonistic views and ask myself what it is that I truly desire and believe.  None of us is perfect…There is a degree of discrimination, xenophobia, racism and sexism in all of us.  It is what we do with this and how we manage our place on the social continuum that truly makes us whole.

Of all the tenants held among world religions, the one we truly hold in common is the Golden rule:

                Love your neighbour as yourself.   Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

If there was ever a time to bring the religions of the world together to come to an understanding of all that we really hold in common, instead of where we differ, it is now.  If there was ever a time when our fundamental belief in the Golden Rule is to be challenged and nurtured and grown, it is NOW!

Resist, my friends, from entering the fires of discord.  Resist the judgmental spit of angry, bitter persons who would rather destroy others and divide people than truly lead.  Let’s all ask ourselves what it is that is really held in our hearts, what it is that we truly value about life and the future of our world.  Otherwise, the warning I must give myself might apply to all of us.  “Be careful what you wish for”.

A faith-filled white man grew up and lived in the deep south.  He became a close friend of the great Thomas Merton.  His faith beliefs drew him to ask the question what would it feel like to be a black person, living in the south during his time (1950’s).  John Howard Griffin had his skin pigmented and he walked the south as a black man.  He then documented his journey in his book,  “Black Like Me”.  This journal brought a young, teenage jock to tears of profound compassion.  Unwittingly, I had the chance to meet him personally 8 years later.  During the wonderful times we were able to share he made a statement at one of our events.  He said:

“All that is necessary for the triumph over evil is that good men and women, living in the Beloved with integrity, do good over and over, again and again, together.”

Did You Get The Call!

This week I received an invitation from the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to participate in an international committee on community life.  The Sisters have made it a priority to explore how they might renew their way of living community that will be a deeper expression of their life giving mission and consistent with the nature of the covenant relationship between God and all of creation…his people.  This is a humbling proposition to consider.   They said that they want the work of this committee to be a reflection of St. John’s Gospel Chapter 13.  So in my consideration of this invitation I went to the Gospels and  found the story of the Last Supper where Jesus is said to have washed the feet of his disciples.  That was not what I was expecting!  I kinda thought the reading might be about a prayerful relationship with God or something about being faithful to the Word of God.  But instead the reading showed how Jesus, the Master, became the servant to his disciples by washing their feet, how he exhorted them to be a servant to others and to love one another in a manner that emulated his love for them,  He said,  “you must love one another as I have loved you.”    All of this was in the metaphorical context of, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

There is a lot to reflect on here, but my immediate thoughts turned to a song recently written by a cherished friend who is no longer with us except through his memory and music.  Bob Carty wrote the following lyrics “You Washed Our Feet” on his Desert Eyes album.  Making this old story alive in today’s world is about the challenge which the sisters are embracing with great courage.  Now I am excited about being a part of this journey.  I will share these lyrics so that perhaps we might reflect on them together and prepare to look at community life in new ways:

YOU WASHED OUR FEET

It was a table long ago. 
You got up, put down your robe
A towel on your waist you tied, 
a water basin at your side
You knelt to those who follow you, 
Took off their dusty shoes
You touched our skin, our sin. 
You washed our feet.

You clean the flesh I cannot feel. 
You tend the wounds that never heal
You push my chair when legs can’t walk. 
You are my voice when I can’t talk.

You carried me down flights of stairs, 
when all the world was in despair
When buildings crumbled at our feet, 
and dust and rubble in the street.
You washed our feet

If I have washed you, so you, the other
If I have knelt before you, so you, one another

You stand alone at the barricade, 
in lingering tear gas and pepper spray
You offer roses to police. 
The crowd cries war, you whisper peace
You washed our feet

You spoke the truth in Salvador.
You spoke of God to the dogs of war
You looked into their lying eyes. 
You lift the host before you die
You washed our feet

Bob so beautifully pictured love of neighbour in service to vulnerable persons, the tragedy of 911, the civil unrest in many cities and the struggle for Justice for the poor of El Salvador by Oscar Romero. Is this how we might wash one another’s feet, how we really kneel before them?   Perhaps this is the heart’s desire of our courageous sisters around the world working in many countries where social unrest, religious persecution, extreme poverty and neglect and the denial of the rights of women and children is rampant.  How do we all unite as one people of Faith to bring the servant message of our Creator to one another everyday of our lives.  Is this the basis of our call?

What does this say to you?  What new eyes do we need to put on to see one another through a different, life-giving lens?   In what way is the essential spirit of community expressed where you work?  Is your team a microcosm of community?  Are your clients the people whose feet you wash?  Are we meant to model love for others through relationships founded on real compassion and dignity?  How can we nurture this call in one another in our daily lives both at work and home?

Cell Phone Blues

This was an ordinary Winter day.  Massive snow squalls and wind causing white outs that made driving a great risk. I had not checked the latest weather thinking that the snow storms predicted had passed us by.   I had appointments in the city so decided I would drive down to make it to these.  MISTAKE!   Half way down the white outs became so brutal,  I decided that I had better head back to the farm to play it safe.  I stopped and went to call, canceling my appointments.  Voila!  I forgot the cell at the farm!

Found my way to the nearest wi-fi place to send a message.  Done, but my Outlook wouldn’t send the email.  So then I searched for a pay phone….ever try to find one these days?  Finally, success and I called to leave a message.  It wasn’t received in a timely way and so I inconvenienced a couple of fine people with whom I was supposed to meet.  Fought my way back to the farm thinking that the messages were sent and I arrived safely (Thank the Lord) only to find out that the messages were not received.  YIKES! 

Oh boy, did I ever feel naked and vulnerable without my cell.  What if I went into a ditch?  They would have to dig out my frozen body next Spring and then I would not be able to apologize.  I was not prepared for the worst even in terms of warmest clothing, etc.  What a brain cramp!

This all made me stop and reflect on the good ol’ days.  You know no cells, no email and plenty of pay phones that cost only a dime.  Made me think of what we would have done then.  Well for starters we would have more vigilant of the weather, more predictive of what lay ahead and made the land line phone call to give some advance warning.  If push came to shove, we might have used smoke signals or the pony express to get the message through!  Point is, we would have taken more personal responsibility for our own safety and the convenience of others.  I did neither so I owe apologies to both colleagues and myself.

Lesson learned? 

This makes me think back to the founder of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.  She had no phones, email or anything other than ordinary letter writing.  In her life time (from 1835 until 1868) she established and maintained contact with 110 new missions around the world and stayed connected with each through faithful letter writing.  What a marvel of ancient technology!  This all has caused me to start to challenge myself  to a more faithful, relaxed and, yet, consistent manner of being in this modern, highly rushed society in which we live.  Less anxiety and more thoughtfulness might be the most revolutionary prescription we could issue ourselves in order to stay centred and healthy.  Think I will give it a valiant effort. 

But first, I need to go charge my cell phone, in case I miss an important message!

The Language of Love

‘ZEAL is Love in Action”…St. Mary Euphrasia

The Language of Love

I was born into an Italian, Catholic Family.  I was baptized and taught to believe in all of the teachings held in the Scripture and the teachings of my Church.  This experience, among so many others, shaped who I am and my system of values and beliefs.  I am who I am.  ‘Nuff said!

In this time in our history I grow increasingly concerned with the polarization of religious beliefs that express themselves with ruthless and reckless abandon.  First off is the frightening labeling of different religious beliefs, especially Islam as a threat to the world.  The evil distortion of a beautiful religious belief system by the few fundamentalists creates distance and bigotry where none should exist.  There is nothing new under the sun as history has shown that zealous forcing of one’s religious tradition over another has been the cause of multiple atrocities against the fellow children of creation.

No, this is not a dissertation on the political, social elements of terrorism and its awful results.  I want to talk about our everyday language with one another.  In all the circles in which I walk, I hear more and more folks espousing their religious connections with language that for me is ‘over the top’.  “Amen bother, my saviour is the Lord Jesus.”  “Jehovah is the only name God should be called-the bible proves it”.  “I am unconditionally Pro-Life, Capital Punishment is different.”  “I know how much pain you have suffered, just put that pain in the hands of God”.  Some even correct others small off-color words as against their religious beliefs.   It seems we (some) cannot reflect on our spirituality unless we are telling others about our belief in God, Jesus, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, etc. etc.   Blah, Blah, Blah!

In our daily encounters with one another what is it that matters most?  In our gathering in groups of all sorts, what is our fundamental purpose?  In our sharing of intimate information about our lives, what do we truly share?  I believe we share that which is held in our hearts.  In all of this we simply walk the journey of life together.  We learn from one another and we inspire hope and goodness in one another.  Why?  BECAUSE we believe.  We believe that this walk is a demonstration of trust, respect, compassion and care.  We believe that our responsibility to our neighbor is what we are called to assume.  We believe that all persons are a part of creation and that every person is a part of the Devine love that sparked this creation.  So why do we need to remind one another of our religious beliefs?

The language of (God’s) love is found in action not words.  The language of love is found in relationships that are healthy, empowering, inclusive, accepting and respectful.  The language of love is about belonging one to another.

Some say, “Jesus is my Lord and Saviour”              I say,      ‘SHOW ME’

Some say, “Without God, I can do nothing”            I say,      ‘SHOW ME’

Some say, “God loves you and forgives you”          I say       ‘SHOW ME’

Some say, “If you do not tell the world about

Jesus, using His name, you will deny him.”            He says,  ‘SHOW ME’

When I encounter a person whose need to tell me about their religious belief causes them to use so much of this language, I feel distanced from them.  I feel they think they are superior to me.  I feel they think that I am less of a person because I do not speak their language.  I actually lose out on the opportunity to learn from others who make me feel down a few steps on the ladder of faith.  Do we ever think about how our language, our choice of words, can impact on others?  Have we ever thought about how our language can be the difference between belonging and alienation?

Everybody has their story….Parts of that story are often filled with various degrees of sorrow and pain.  But it is our story.  We all want to do good for others. We all want to see the world change.  Then we realize that the greatest challenge for each of us is found not in how much we are able to remake this world but in how able we are to remake ourselves.  The language of love is spoken softly with loud action.  It is demonstrated in how we look others in the eye.  We SHOW others through our personal presentation that screams respect, compassion and inclusivity.  Every day, I need to stop, look myself in the mirror and say….SHOW ME!

Over the centuries people have sited the scripture passages of the Life experience of Jesus.  He spoke often about integrity and exhorted his followers to practice mercy discreetly and without fanfare.  Only then will we be able to remove the log from our own eye and see the splinter in the eye of our neighbor.  He referred to these persons of fanfare and self-righteousness as ‘hypocrites’.  How often can we truthfully say that we are like those ‘hypocrites’ and look to see if something we say or do will lift us up in the eyes of others as if we are more righteous or saintly than the next guy.  This off putting behaviour can be found everywhere except in those who simply practice the language of love…just do it, just show it, just be the change we wish to see in the world without drawing attention to ourselves or our image of righteousness and superiority.  Yes, we all have a story and do not need reminders from others of how “God will see you thru this”; what we each need is the compassionate hand and heart that knows that a truly human touch is the surest symbol of the Devine Love in the world.

In organizations that are labelled ‘faith-based’, what is that element that makes them distinct?  That element is not so much in the holy words or values they put on plaques but in the value driven behaviour and governance of their organization…just doing it is what makes them distinct. This distinctiveness will be demonstrated when their clients report how they experienced respect, acceptance, compassion  and when they express a sense of belonging;  then they will know they are truly faith based without ever having to tell anyone about it.

Reflection:

• ·         Remember a time when you met or knew someone who epitomized being a person of belief even though they said little about their religious beliefs unless asked.  What made that person so remarkable?  What did you admire most in her/him?
• ·         If I am a believer, how can I best show Devine Love (no matter how I name that) in the way I present myself with others, especially those I serve and those with whom I relate daily?  Can I just be compassion?   What might that look like?
• ·         Have I worked to sensitize myself about the feelings of others I meet?  Do I know when they might be estranged from religion or Church?  Do I invite discussion that reflects the sharing of our cherished values in order to come to know that person better?   Can I adjust my tendency to share my religious beliefs in favour of showing my ‘call to compassion’ in action?

Unintended Consequences

We hear it every day, “I didn’t mean it!”  I did not intend to hurt someone.”  REALLY?  One of the assumptions that goes hand-in-hand with this is that if I never intended to do something, I should be absolved if the outcome is not what was intended.  One could write a book of examples where this reality is expressed in stories about human relationships.  Applicable to any relationship, we might want to consider where this applies within some of our most critical social issues of the day.

Recently, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission completed its work and we heard thousands of stories of well-intentioned care-givers who perpetrated some horrific actions in attempting to wipe out the aboriginal culture, language and heritage.  Added to this exercise of power over people, the unintended results of abuse added significant trauma to the life experience of children and their children today.  As civil servants and Christian community servers we would never consciously want to destroy a person and yet this is exactly what occurred.  The Impact of those actions is inter-generational.

So many times I can recall in my own life making “funny” comments about someone’s race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.  I was never a person who would knowingly hurt another human person.  And yet, my ‘funny’ comments were heard and received and felt by others around me.  What was the impact?  Some maybe laughed nervously, some were embarrassed for me, some were even angry with me because (I didn’t know they were gay?) they felt pushed further back into isolation from the world.  I never intended to hurt them….I would NEVER!!!  But I did!

Today we are hearing more and more about the progress we have made in our society in insuring the civil rights of all persons.  And, indeed, we have.  I want to suggest that the arena where we have made the least progress in this regard is within our own hearts.  Our heads have come to know and accept the appropriate parameters for relationships among ourselves in our world; our hearts have just not caught up.  Why else would there be such continued experience of racism in our North American world?  We see people and form opinions about them.  Those external opinions form judgments and we react accordingly.  It may be fear of the unknown; it may be influenced by values and beliefs we were taught as children.  We know intuitively that what is different will take us out of our comfort zone more often than not.

I remember the words of the song from the seventies that went, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me…”   Gradually we veered away from that notion giving way to working on systemic peace.  We needed to change systems to make peace, to free the oppressed and uplift the poor.  Today, we still believe this systemic perspective and rightly so.  Systemic racism and prejudice is a significant concern.  But have we thrown out the baby with the bathwater?  Can we simply change the rules of engagement, the laws, the policies and the parameters in such matters and still be able to humanly relate to one another in an open, compassionate, give and receive manner without first changing our own hearts?  The answer, my friend, is still blowing in the wind!

My old friend, Bob Carty, wrote a song called Desert Eyes.  It tells a story of when city folks went to the desert for a ‘different retreat’ they were confronted with the parched, arid, stark reality of the desert and they became depressed and desolate about what they saw. After a few days and with the help of their guide, they found their desert eyes to see the true life that lives in the desert- the licken, flowers, seeds and animals, etc. With desert eyes they could discover the real beauty, life and wisdom held within the sand and pebbles.  They discovered that with different eyes they also saw that they could be the water of life in that different reality.  As so, too, we can be mindful of our own need to form desert eyes in relation to others who may seem so different and removed from our own comfort zone.  Once we nurture that vision within our own eyes and hearts, we too can be the water of life to our relationships and will embrace change with a new and different vision of what the future might be.

Mary Euphrasia, who founded the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, once taught her young sisters about their work with such marginalized young women.  She said,  “It is not enough that you love them (intent), they must know they are loved (impact).  I guess in her own way she knew about the importance of mindful awareness of what we say and do with one another.  She knew that what you do is far more important than what you say.

I never intended to ramble on like this, but I hope that the impact is noteworthy.

Truth & Reconciliation Commission...a time for Healing Change

We are Good Shepherd People.  We provide services for women and children who are truly marginalized in our world through significant trauma, child welfare involvement, youth pregnancy, poverty and mental health issues including addictions of all sorts.  We work from a Good Shepherd service philosophy founded on the individual dignity of each person and with a degree of respect and compassion that demands we embody the values we declare.  Our service providers are dedicated and hard-working; they desire nothing less than the best outcomes for those they serve….”It is not enough to say we love them, THEY must know they are loved”.

I haven’t blogged in some time.  Too many balls in the air not the least of all are some of the most significant issues of our times that send me reeling with the disconnect between what we say we believe and what we must be in the face of evil, human weakness and the pain and suffering experienced  by people in this wonderful world of ‘opportunity’.  

One of those disconnects for me is the process ongoing related to our Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.  The destructive, evil, traumatizing legacy of Residential Schools and the basis of racism that spawned such experiences is a national embarrassment to all good citizens of this country.  If we are not embarrassed, we either are ill informed, unaware or don’t care.  And if we don’t care we are subject to the same indictment of our American neighbours’ treatment of the African American population and that sorry racist history.

I worry that the findings and the outcomes from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will find their way on to the same dusty shelves of legislators as have so many of Canada’s other inquiries.  I worry that like so many of the UN charters of rights (children, women, indigenous peoples) this will find Canada as a signatory country that never integrates these charters into law or policy.  Just superficial photo-opps!

I want to muse somewhat about what this might mean to us, if anything.  As care givers, our founding story is rooted in the history of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.  While they are truly a traditional congregation of Catholic Religious nuns who exist in 73 countries around the world, they have been an inspiration of what it means to work for others to alleviate pain and sufferings at all levels of life.  They have been remarkably open about sharing their mission and their work with many people of different religious traditions and cultures.  They have placed themselves at times in harm’s way for the sake of rescuing a life of a child, young mother or any other person.  They have stood as advocates against unjust systems and practices to try their best to make a difference to this wounded world.  Even now as they are in some decline in membership, they dare to allow themselves to be ‘energized by their Spirit and risk together for mission’.  Their International General Chapter is going on right now and they courageously look to the future directions of their formidable group of Sisters and Mission Partners.

The voices and stories of many thousands of Aboriginal persons are being heard telling their truth of horror through the residential schools system.  We see every day how the children of those victims are impacted by that history.  We have parents and grandparents come to some of our programs and seeing the traditional symbols of our own history, they begin to react with fear that maybe we might be just like those other places.  And yet in their time of great need they honour us by entrusting the care of their children into our hands….what a privilege and exceptional mandate we share!  We are learning more about the inheritance of trauma through multi-generations and how the complexity of trauma will need as much fidelity of support and care and take many generations to heal….but we must start NOW!

But how and what do we do with this experience?   What are we called to in walking this journey with even one aboriginal person who comes to our attention?  Each of us will encounter another person whose tradition comes out of the aboriginal history.  Will we simply be people of sympathy or will our commitment to service draw us to doing what we can to help remediate some of the causal factors that have brought them to this place in time?  Are we called in this time in our Canadian history to risk for mission by dreaming and envisioning how we might become more engaged in this story and work differently to help reconciliation become a reality in the lives of the aboriginal persons we meet?  Whether it is within small groups, a service system or with one single person WE must change.

We share a small but rich network of colleagues and friends whose work has been inspired by Good Shepherd.  We each have different mandates and service needs and our individual agencies have their own specific challenges.  But we have agreed to remain connected and supportive of one another.  One agency within our group is located in Manitoba and over 80% of the children and families served are aboriginal.  What can we do to be supportive to them in this challenging work and inspire in them and within ourselves to dream about the possibilities of being instruments of reconciliation in the work?

I have a dream!  I want to explore where there are individuals and or groups who are directly offering real supports for reconciliation and healing within the aboriginal communities.  Where are the advocates who work toward substantive change in policy and the practice of law and who want reconciliation to be truly something far deeper than simply making financial awards of compensation for past harm…While that helps…it does not heal.  I am looking for healers who will be willing to share with us how they help heal themselves and others in the aboriginal community.  I want to hear from them if we, healers in Good Shepherd, might be worthy to walk with them in providing new and more effective ways of being a healing presence in the community.  Are there any dedicated Centres of Reconciliation for our Aboriginal communities?  If not, why?  Will initiatives like those centres of reconciliation offer potential for sharing a real healing journey with wounded and traumatized aboriginal people?

Where do I start?  How might I get the important information?  Anyone interested in exploring opportunities with me?   Email me @   bob.interbartolo@gmail.com