From December 28 to January 1, Sisters from the CSJ Federation Vocation Animation team and Sisters from the Palmerston Boulevard Novitiate community attended the Catholic Christian Outreach [CCO] “Rise Up” Conference.
The theme, “Anchored,” based on Hebrews 6:19, was particularly relevant to the setting on Toronto’s waterfront. The objective of the organization is to identify and nurture “Missionary Disciples” who will seek a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus and lead others to share in that experience. The young missionaries work on university campuses, in parishes, or in foreign missions. The conference included Praise, Liturgies and Worship Services, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, opportunities for the reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation, and a commissioning service.
The group, some 1300 strong, went to St Michael’s Cathedral, where Cardinal Collins celebrated the anticipated Mass for New Year’s Day. Cardinal Collins based his homily on the hymn “O God Beyond All Praising” by Michael Perry (CBW III #561), the last verse being:
To marvel at your beauty: And glory in your ways,
And make a joyful duty; Our sacrifice of praise.
In his homily Cardinal Collins emphasized our blessings without number and mercies without end as reasons for gratitude and our need to recognize that our journey with Christ is a marathon not a sprint.
Keynote speakers referred to the fact that our growth in intimacy with Christ operates in a kind of cycle of going forth and being enriched by our service which in turn increases our knowledge and love of Christ and our ability to become more effective missionary disciples.
Our federation sponsored a table attended by Sisters ready to answer questions about vocations, our history, and charism. Pictures of Sisters from the congregations in the federation appeared in the display at our table, and a transparent box of our modern maxims colourfully illustrated provided an opportunity for the curious to see what relevance Father Medaille’s wisdom sayings might have in their lives.
Many young women - and men too - spoke to us, and attended workshops on prayer and discernment; they joined us in a session initiated by the newer members of various religious communities across the country, a session called “Heavenly Hosts,” to play a card game or work on a puzzle while the young participants continued to ask about our lives and just see us having fun together. One of the positive effects of such a gathering is that it enables participants to see that there are other people around who want to place Christ first in their life. While society in general does not support moral values as it did when we were younger, there are still young people willing to spend their energy in building a society “brick by brick” where Christian values may flourish. They heard that, as Pope St. John Paul II had said in his 2002 visit to World Youth Day in Toronto, “a new generation is being born who will renovate our society.” These young people were identified as the new generation and strongly encouraged to take up the challenge.
Angèle Regnier (one of the co-founders of CCO) on New Year’s Eve called their attention to the fact that the New Year begins 2020. We talk about having “2020 vision” and we mean by that having clear and distinct vision. We were encouraged to pray for the clear vision to focus in 2020 on what we desire for our world and to take steps, however small, towards realizing that vision of what our society could be.
Text: Mechtilde O’Mara CSJ on behalf of the Federation Vocation Animation Committee
Photo credits: Members of the Federation Vocation Animation Committee
