Pathways: Winter 2003
Good night, Jesus
Good night, Mary. I love you.
by S. Jeannie Masterson
My youngest sister was born when I was 15. As she grew into
toddler stage, I delighted in caring for her and playing
with her. My "mommy instinct" was strong! However,
it was in overhearing our Mom teaching her her bedtime prayers
that I became aware of how our parents had made Jesus a natural
part of our lives. After the usual series of "God blesses",
Mom taught my sister to say very directly, "Good night,
Jesus. Good night, Mary. I love you."
I don't remember learning to pray, but I know that conversational
prayer (talking everyday topics over in my heart with God)
has always been the simplest way for
me to sort out things. Saying "thanks, God!" when something goes well,
asking for guidance when I wasn't sure what to say to another person, and looking
back over a day for its blessings and its learnings has been as natural as breathing.
I didn't realize that everybody didn't have this kind of friendship with God!
I apparently "caught" it from my parents at so young an age that
it was only when hearing Mom with my sister that I even began to become conscious
of that prayer style as part of my being.
Being an active member of a church community has been part of my entire life.
In the middle of my first grade, we moved from the city to Clermont County, which
was still rural at that time, and this is where we met the Sisters of St. Joseph
for the first time. I was too young to realize that Mom had only been a Catholic
for a year at that point. Dad, outgoing and gregarious, had grown up in a totally
Catholic town in Iowa and was always volunteering for something at church. At
some point in time, he probably chaired every committee, including festivals.
He used his professional expertise in heating and air conditioning to make the
parish buildings efficiently comfortable. He even played Santa for the school
kids one year! My shy mother made her mark in a much quieter way by helping in
the school cafeteria, being part of the Rosary Altar Society and PTA, passing
our outgrown clothes to other families in the parish, telling me matter-of-factly
that I would baby-sit for free when the mother of one of my client families was
hospitalized and then died. Accompanying them- when it was appropriate-and witnessing
their commitment was a strong factor in developing my identity as a person connected
to others.
When I was in 7th grade our rural parish got its own convent. Instead of commuting
every day our Sisters would live next door to the church. There was great excitement
and when the simple convent was ready, the parish was invited to tour the building.
One of the Sisters showed our family around. Pausing at the doorway to one
of the tiny bedrooms, she said, "This will be your room one day, Jeannie." I
laughingly said, "Never!" But God works in strange ways, and in 8th
grade, we were shown the CSJ vocation film "Joy in God's Service" (which
today strikes me as so sappy that I laugh when I see it). I cried and cried,
and came out saying, "That's what I want to do with my life".
And so that's what I've done for many years, serving as teacher, assistant principal,
associate archdiocesan vocation director, Congregation leadership, and founding
director of a health care agency for the working uninsured. For the past four
years I've been Pastoral Associate for Adult Faith Formation at St. Anthony parish,
located in one of the oldest of Cincinnati's neighborhoods.
As director of Adult Faith Formation I could be involved in any aspect of parish
life, except children's religious education and youth ministry. Our diverse membership,
570 families drawn from 55 zip codes, invites me into privileged places as they
share their lives with me. Spiritual growth and struggles are occasioned by every
aspect of life, from the death of a child or a spouse, to the loss of a job,
to an unexpected transfer to another city, to a marriage that isn't meeting expectations,
to the latest missive from the Vatican on homosexuality, to the uncovering of
memories of abuse.
I find people so desirous of being disciples, so sincere in their yearning to
follow Jesus, that they want to face these situations with courage and integrity.
I listen as they unravel the threads of their life situations, reflect back to
them what I hear beneath the words, and often send them away comforted by their
own wisdom.
Such listening gives me cues about what aspects of our faith are appropriate
topics for my shared reflections on the Word and for speakers invited to the
parish. In addition to the natural topics of liturgy, sacraments, prayer and
basic Catholic beliefs, recent church and world events have led us to topics
of Catholic social teaching and war, Spirituality and Sexuality, and the shadow
side of church/individuals.
Listening is also the catalyst for the quarterly parish newsletter, which I plan
and edit. The newsletters are 90 percent reflection by parishioners and 10 percent
news. Choosing a theme and matching parishioners we believe have some experience
or insight on it offers the parish expressions of faith that would not arise
in general conversation.
Supporting and nurturing small Christian communities is another of my privileges.
We finished RENEW 2000 a year ago, and 7 groups continue to meet to share faith.
The entire parish is blessed by this effort to recognize God's presence and the
continued unfolding of the Scriptures in our everyday lives.
Working with other neighborhood churches of multiple denominations, we have paid
attention to world issues. A speaker who was a child slave in Haiti and a speaker
whose strength is in connecting current events with Old Testament stories are
forerunners for the presence of Journey of Hope, a group composed of murder victims'
family members who are opposed to the death penalty. In such events we celebrate
our common faith in the God who loves us all.
One unique gift of our parish is the participation of many adoptive and foster
families. Our awareness of the unity of God's family is kept before us very literally
by the faces of Chinese, Romanian, Bulgarian, Korean, and Guatemalan children
blended in with the integrated African American and Caucasian faces of the neighborhood.
Preparing liturgies that reflect our oneness is both exciting and challenging
and causes me to continually reflect on my assumptions, my hidden prejudices,
and my tendency to cling to the familiar.
In the setting of St. Anthony parish I continue my conversations with Jesus as
I question and thank and ache and ponder the meaning of each day's events. What
a joy to have the opportunity to invite others to do the same!
Be my eyes and see the world as I do.
Look with eyes that are kind and just and forgiving.
My people are searching for Me,
Please, find them and see them with My eyes.
Be My hands and bring the world My healing.
Reach with hands that hold and touch and comfort.
My people are crying for Me,
Embrace them and touch them with My hands.
Be My heart and love the world with My heart.
Give My heart to the broken and the lonely.
My people are longing for Me,
Receive them and love them with My heart.
by Kathy Sherman, CSJ
from the album Nothing Without Love