Prayers and Reflection
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Prayers and Reflection  The purpose of the Notre Dame Memorial and Prayer Associations is to provide an opportunity for you to honor, in a significant way, a loved one who has died, a friend on a happy occasion, or someone in need of special prayers. You can honor the memory of your family member or friend through the ongoing prayers and works of the Notre Dame Sisters. In turn, your gift allows you and them to share in the work and ministry of the Notre Dame Sisters.To honor someone, send a contribution to the Notre Dame Sisters and include on the return envelope the occasion you are remembering. A special card will be sent to the person or family you have enrolled in the Association. The card assures them that they will be remembered in the prayers and works of the Notre Dame Sisters. You will receive an acknowledgment of your donation and notification that an Association card has been mailed.
Another option if you wish, at the time of death of your relative, you may list the Notre Dame Sisters as a recipient of memorials. The Sisters are incredibly grateful for memorial gifts received.
by Sr Elaine Herold ND As I read this Sunday readings, I realized again how timely the word of God is. "Peter was astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles." Imagine that!! Even "those people" received the Holy Spirit! Monica Helwig, a noted Theologian, reflects on these readings: "Because of the distance in time and culture, we do not easily realize the magnitude of the obstacles that were overcome in Peter's baptizing of the family of the centurion, Cornelius. But we must believe that they were at least as great as the barriers erected by racism in our own society, and anyone who has tried to break them down knows how obstinate (inflexible, and headstrong) these latter are. We must know too, how difficult it is to accept literally in our own times Peter's discovery that "God has no favorites." "..... We consider ourselves privileged and believe our economic and professional success gives us moral and spiritual worth that sets us apart from the faceless and unsuccessful – the welfare families, the unemployed, the homeless, the "skid row" people, etc." The barriers we establish are our own sinful making. God hears the cry of the poor, the oppressed and excluded. God has no favorites. At this time in Church history – I feel targeted as one of "those people", a woman in the Church wanting to do God's work of service. Like the Gentiles of Peter's day, could it be that the women of the Church have also received the Holy Spirit? The message of hope coming through these scriptures is that through his death and resurrection Jesus brought about a whole new creation with new possibilities. The risen Christ is our empowerment. More than ever I know the importance of living with confidence that the love of God empowers us. Through Jesus' death and resurrection Jesus brought about a whole new creation with new possibilities. Life in our institutions will never be the same if we love as Jesus told us to love. The love of God is what empowers us. |
