News from Visitation Province (Canada)
On Tuesday May 5th, Sr. Mary Edna Levangie celebrated her 101st birthday in fine style with music, dance and song. Happy Birthday Sr. Mary Edna!
Arlene Rutledge, coordinator, CND Health Care Centre
National Nursing Week May 11-17
The theme of Nurses’ Week this year is Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health. Nurses’ Day is Tuesday, May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of the Nursing profession. Wherever we are, we have all received the professional care of a nurse at some time in our lives. At this time in our history, many of us are being cared for in our health care centres and being kept safe by the compassionate care of wonderful women and men who have dedicated their lives to helping others who are ill, or need some health assistance. To all of you dedicated nurses we send out a special thank you for all that you do for us all the time, but especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. You are truly “nursing the world to health,” at the risk of your own lives in the process. May God bless you with strength and courage as the world navigates the course of this terrible virus.
Eleanor Monahan, CND
We are sad that the Annual Gathering of Associates in the West had to be cancelled. The Associates have been meeting for many years. They first started to meet at Silver Star outside of Vernon. Then there were the many years at Naramata. When Naramata Center closed, we moved to Cache Creek and finally last year, we had our first gathering at Seaton House of Prayer. We are hopeful we can gather next May.
Dolores MacGillivary & Teresa McKerral
Associate co-coordinators West/North
The Cranbrook Associates are planning a fall retreat with the theme of “Compassion.” Our facilitator will be Sr. Maggie Beaudette, a Sister of St. Joseph. She has been trained by Joyce Rupp in giving this retreat so mark your calendar for that event the 1st weekend in October. – Teresa McKerral, coordinator West/North
LIVING AS A BLUE COMMUNITY – JPIC Core Committee
Building on last week's invitation to a focus on gratitude, our action this week is to consider the positive side of our current situation. British newspaper, The Independent, had the following headline recently: "Britons enjoying cleaner air, better food and stronger social bonds . . . say they don’t want to return to ‘normal: Poll suggests only nine per cent of public want full return to pre-lockdown life.”
What are the positive changes you are appreciating during this time?
Activity for this week: Share with as many people as you can what you are observing. For example, I have been telling people that I am happy to see a return to smaller classroom sizes and more local food sourcing coming about because of the COVID situation.
Laudato Si’
This month marks the 5th anniversary of the Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis “Laudato Si’ on Care for our Common Home”. On May 24th at noon local time all are invited to pray in union with others around the globe. During this moment of crisis, our faith guides us. Throughout the week of 16 to 24 May, Catholics everywhere will unite in solidarity to reflect on and build a better future.
At noon local time on 24 May, the last day in Laudato Si’ Week, we unite in prayer to lift up the gift of our faith to the world. Together, we’ll create a worldwide wave of prayer, as people in each time zone around the globe pray together. Imagine the power of a unified prayer for a more just and sustainable world.
Register for Laudato Si' Week and receive a link to the prayer card we’ll use on 24 May.
https://laudatosiweek.org/prayer
Eleanor Monahan, CND from Sisters of Providence JPIC