Sisters of the Holy Cross
General Chapter 2025
A HOPE That never disapppoints even in our incompletness
PRAYER FOR THE CHAPTER – 2025
LISTENING WITH THE EARS OF OUR HEARTS
We remember God’s presence within us, among us and around us as we pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit over our General Chapter, 2025.
A moment of silence:
Come, Holy Spirit prepare our hearts and minds as we journey towards our
General Chapter that we will intentionally:
Listen with a synodal ear - speak your wisdom.- hear the heartbeat of the Divine - respond with selflessness - extend your love - serve you generously - respect our common journey - as disciples of hope – a hope for the world that will never disappoint. AMEN
'Dignified working conditions for all' in the prayer intentions of the last three Popes
In his annual publication of prayer intentions for 2025, Pope Francis had invited the faithful to pray during the month of May “For working conditions.” However, due to his passing, the format for the Pope Video accompanying this prayer intention has changed to now offer reflections from the late Popes Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Watch the video above!
“Let us journey together in hope”:
Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2025
Sisters and brothers, thanks to God’s love in Jesus Christ, we are sustained in the hope that does not disappoint (cf.Rom5:5). Hope is the “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul”.[8]It moves the Church to pray for “everyone to be saved” (1 Tim2:4) and to look forward to her being united with Christ, her bridegroom, in the glory of heaven. This was the prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila: “Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one” (The Exclamations of the Soul to God, 15:3).[9]
May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, intercede for us and accompany us on our Lenten journey.
We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.
The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope.
Read full letter ...
180th Anniversary of the Beginning of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross
“I entreated and the spirit of Wisdom
came to me…
Her radiance never sleeps”
(cfr Sap 7:7-11) -
Read full letter...
THE INNER LIFE OF MOTHER BERNARDA...
Consecrated people on the journey
to jubilee of Hope
Care and the custody of Creation
An invitation to all ... to respond to the cry of the poor by defending life in all its forms, taking care of the CREATION. Read more...
HOLY CROSS JUNIOR SISTERS THROUGHOUT THE FOUR CONTINENTS SHARE WHAT IT MEANS FOR THEM AS YOUNG RELIGIOUS WOMEN LIVING COMMUNTIY LIFE TODAY
Through our online workshops with our Junior Sisters during 2023 we had several inputs given by Sr Tosca Ferrante, Dr. Jessie Rogers and Sr Glenda Valesca. These inputs focused on Community Life steeped in the Gospel, a call to live fidelity and faithfulness and caring for our relationships – a real journey towards authenticity.
As part of the Junior Sisters ongoing formation and remaining with the material given, we asked them to share with us what does it mean for them to live a life of fidelity in community today?
During the forthcoming months of 2024 we will post their reflections on our webpage:
For June we can click on the link below to read what the Junior Sisters from the German Province shared.
Loyalty in everyday life: small and large moments of devotion...
Transformation is ultimately a divine mystery…
In the Book of Revelation 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” These same words were reiterated by Pope Francis who shared from his reflections on the Covid 19 pandemic that the pandemic itself was “a propitious time to find the courage for a new imagination of the possible, with the realism that only the Gospel can offer us."
Our General Chapter Message, 2019 invited us also to engage in a new imagination of the possible and as we read and reflect on the stories and experiences of each province, we get an insight into what this has meant.
Pope: Education is an act of hope for a better society
In a message addressed to participants in a conference in Madrid on the Church’s commitment in education in Spain, Pope Francis highlights the importance for Catholic institutions to ensure that education is accessible to all. By Lisa Zengarini
Everyone has the right to education
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-education-is-an-act-of-hope-for-a-better-society.html
In his message Pope Francis welcomed the initiative, and highlighted the importance for Catholic institutions to ensure that education is accessible to all: “Everyone has the right to education, no one should be excluded, “ he said.
2024 - Year of Prayer
After the year devoted to reflecting on the documents and studying the fruits of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis has proposed that 2024 should be marked as a year dedicated to prayer. In preparation for the Jubilee, dioceses are invited to promote initiatives to remind people of the centrality of both individual prayer and community prayer. One idea might be for “pilgrimages of prayer” to be organised at a diocesan level – these would be effectively courses or ‘schools of prayer’ with monthly or weekly meetings, presided over by the local bishops, but open to the entire People of God. In addition, to help mark this year more fruitfully, the Dicastery for Evangelisation will publish a series of “Prayer Notebooks”, with material taken from the many forms of prayer to be found in the rich Catholic tradition.
"PRAYER REFLECTIONS"
- Prayer today: a challenge to overcome preface: Pope Francis by Angelo Comastri
- Praying with the Psalms : Gianfranco Ravasi
- The prayer of Jesus : Juan Lope Vergara
- Praying with Saints and Sinners : Paul Brendan Murray
- Parables on prayer : Antonio Pitta
- The church in prayer : a monk
- The prayer of Mary and the Saints : Catherine Aubi
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom. May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen
Season of Creation... Let Justice and Peace flow
“A mighty river” is the symbol chosen to go with this theme, representing biodiversity at risk. The urgency grows and we must make visible peace with Earth and on Earth, at the same time that justice calls us to repentance and a change of attitude and actions. When we join the river of justice and peace together with others, it creates hope instead of despair.
We are invited to join the river of justice and peace on behalf of all creation and to converge our individual identities, of name, family or faith community, in this greater movement for justice, just like tributaries come together to form a mighty river.
A Pastoral Reflection
- ...that aims to promote a common reflection on Christians’ engagement with social media, which has become ever more a part of peoples’ lives.
- Inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan, the document aims to initiate a common reflection to foster a culture of being “loving neighbors” also in the digital sphere.
- In the social media context, where individuals are often both consumers and commodities, this Pastoral Reflection searches for a faith-filled response.
- This response begins with being discerning regarding the stimuli we receive and being intentional listeners.
- Attentiveness, together with a sense of belonging, reciprocity, and solidarity are the pillars for building a sense of community that should ultimately strengthen local communities, capable of becoming drivers of change.
- Becoming “weavers of communion” through the creativity of love, we can envision new models built on trust, transparency and inclusion, learning to be present in God’s style and bearing the mark of witness.
“The Earth is what we all have in common.” W Berry
As Sisters of the Holy Cross, we commit ourselves to being co-creators that embrace God’s creation, and in solidarity we take measures to live sustainably, to promote justice, mercy and equality (Chapter Message 2019).
As we strive to work together to make a difference, we unite ourselves in solidarity with religious women and men globally to ‘Sowing Hope for the Planet’ UISG Campaign.
Follow link : https://www.sowinghopefortheplanet.org/
Mother Bernarda Heimgartner
"Expect much, yes, all from God"
We invite you to join us as we begin our nine-day novena prayer journey with Mother Bernarda Heimgartner, as we anticipate her 200th year of birth. We pray for the world, we pray for all those who have asked for our prayers and we pray for our own personal intentions.
Mother Bernarda intercede for us... Amen
To access the novena prayer in several languages click here...
What is the Creation Care Prayer Network?
The Creation Care Prayer Network is a network of communities committed to the healing of our common home. The network is connected through prayer and Eucharistic adoration and warmly welcomes religious and lay contemplative communities.
Time to act...
you are invited to join the care of the creation prayer network by registering on the link...https://laudatosipray.org/
"With a Contemplative Spirit :
Create - Liberate - Transform"
The tree symbolizes life in the different seasons which receives energy and nourishment through its deep roots immerged in the flowing water. Ezekiel 47:12.
Flowing water symbolises the presence of the Holy Spirit which is the lasting gift we all received at Baptism. Through this grace we receive a hope that never disappoints. Romans 5:5
A hope that never disappoints because Christ is our Hope, 1 Tim.1:1 and through the Word of God we are inspired to continue to be His Disciples in our world today.
As women Disciples following the Risen Christ, we together bring hope to humanity and to all creation with our unity in diversity.
The Church of God is convoked in Synod.
With this convocation, Pope Francis invites the whole Church to question itself on synodality: a decisive theme for the life and mission of the Church. This site will accompany the two-year journey (2021-2023) of reflection and sharing of the whole Church.
https://www.synod.va/en.html...
"By walking together, and together reflecting on the journey made, the Church will be able to learn from what it will experience which processes can help it to live communion, to achieve participation, to open itself to mission."
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom. May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen