. SISTER JOAN PHYLLIS DYREKS Feb 23, 1938 -- July 16, 2023 . “What you hold, may you always hold. What you do, may you always do and never abandon.” — Letter of St. Clare to Agnes of Prague, 1237 This letter could easily have been written to our Sister Joan Phyllis...
SISTER ELAINE URBANEK September 1, 1923 – December 27, 2022 “It should be obvious that they are joyful, good-humored and happy in the Lord.” Third Order Regular Rule V,20 Indeed, Sister Elaine was joyful and happy in the Lord. Even as her slight body waited upon the...
Regifting gets a bad “wrap”—sorry for the terrible pun! During this season when we spend a lot of time and energy thinking about, shopping for, and purchasing presents, I think this practice deserves to be reconsidered. Sure, regifting can be a cheap and relatively...
LCWR Grieves the Shooting in Colorado Springs Mon, 2022-11-21 16:49 by asanders of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious www.lcwr.org We, the members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, are committed to work toward a world where reverence for all...
SISTER ROSE MARIE PRZYBYLOWICZ, OSF October 6, 1939 -- September 9, 2022 A dear friend whom Sister Rose Marie accompanied through death often prayed “God, when you are ready call me; when you call me, let me be ready.” This prayer became her prayer the last two weeks...
Click to download: Laudato Si' Action Platform Guide to Community Engagement & Participatory Action
Click to download: Laudato Si' Action Platform Resource Guide for Ecological Spirituality
Our Leadership Team of Sisters Renita Brummer, Rosalie Wisniewski, and Ellen Horn took part in the annual conference of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious held August 9-12, 2022. The theme of the event, which Sister Renita described as an "incredible...
Click to download: Laudato Si’ Action Platform Goal Resource Guide for Ecological Education
SISTER CAROLYN MRUZ August 15, 1930 – July 18, 2022 The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given for the common good. — I Cor 12:7 Our dear Sister Carolyn Mruz, who made her journey home on July 18, 2022, was filled with the zeal of the Lord. She was a spirited woman...
SISTER ANGELITA LAWS, OSF September 9, 1941 – July 1, 2022 “Let them be concerned to serve, love, adore and honor God, as best they can, with a single heart and a pure mind.” -- Third Order Rule 7 Sister Angelita Laws, as best she could, embodied these words of our...
Click to download: Laudato Si’ Action Platform Goal Resource Guide for Ecological Economics
Click to download: Laudato Si' Action Platform Goal Resource Guide for Response to the Cry of the Poor
Click to download: Laudato Si' Action Platform Goal Resource Guide for Response to the Cry of the Earth
Here in southwest Wisconsin, spring has finally arrived. It took a while to get out into the garden due to rain falling every other day or so for weeks, but we were finally blessed with a dry stretch that made it possible to prepare the soil. As soon as I could, I...
Violence and White Supremacy Cannot Stand Wed, 2022-05-18 07:49 by asanders Our hearts are breaking as we once again come face to face with the racial hatred and gun violence that infect our land. The members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious extend...
The Ignatian Volunteer Corps is a lay organization formed in the context of Jesuit spirituality to give retired and semi-retired adults the opportunity to provide direct service. Individuals are matched with partner agencies in need of their specific experience or...
What does the word “tenderness” bring to mind? Is it a young mother gently brushing the hair aside from her sleeping infant’s forehead? The nurse speaking words of reassurance to a scared patient? The gray-haired man spoon-feeding his wife who no longer remembers his...
When we love someone and want to grow closer to them, we try to get to know them better. We wonder about their lives. We observe how they speak; how they act and react. We ask about their families, their occupations. We consider their thoughts, feelings, preferences,...
In 2015 Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. The encyclical called for a common plan throughout the world to effect systemic change. That plan is the Laudato Si’ Action Platform calling seven sectors of society, such as...
On October 27, 2021, Sister Gale Bednarek, our resident Scripture scholar, left us for the fullness of God’s light and love. Sister Gale was baptized Lucille Michaeline, the name given by her parents Victoria and Lucian Bednarek, at St. Joseph's Church in Chicago...
God is always with us. When the troubles of this world seem so very heavy, I, like many, look to God’s Creation for assurance, to find refuge and to seek balance. “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” -- Psalm 19 How...
Our dear Sister Victoria took flight and went home to the Lord on Sunday, July 4, 2021. She had waited a long time for this homecoming often asking what was taking the Lord so long. Then in a flash of light on Independence Day, she was set free. Sister Victoria, born...
Have you ever thought about the word “yield?” If you’re a farmer or you watch the stock market, you’re certainly familiar with the concept of yield as in to produce, or “to give in return for labor or as profit” (see https://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/yield.html)....
Today, July 1, 2021, the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help discerned and elected (left to right) Sister Renita Brummer, Sister Rosalie Wisniewski and Sister Ellen Horn as their Congregational Leadership Team. These Sisters will lead the members in...
“You shall know them by their fruits. Every good tree brings forth good fruit.” MT 7:16a & 17a Until a few short years ago, I had never heard the names Solana, Ernestine and Hilaria. The foundresses courageously followed God’s call to form the Franciscan Sisters...
SISTER CHARLOTTE STRUCKHOFF, OSF, 1939-2021 Sing to the Lord a New Song! Our dear Sister (Joan) Charlotte Struckhoff left this world peacefully on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. She was born July 23, 1939 to Bede and Agnes Struckhoff in the beautiful rolling hills of...
God’s universe is not structured the way we often think it is or how we think it should be. Why all this pain and suffering? But thank God that creation follows God’s pattern and plan and not ours! Like the women in chapter 16 of Mark’s Gospel, our intentions are...
One of the traditions of the Catholic faith that I treasure most is the observance of the Lent. Discipline is not a very popular concept these days, but I think our forebears in the faith, including Clare and Francis, the Desert Mothers and Fathers and many saints,...
January 20, 2021 WASHINGTON D.C. – Franciscan Action Network congratulates President Biden and Vice President Harris on assuming office. With the administration, we pledge to work for national unity and to promote equity and solidarity among our nation’s citizens. We...
