Service at Caridad de Corazon

          A week at the border: It may sound dramatic, and it truly must be for those traveling north away from violence and poverty. But for this nun from Kentucky, it has mostly been a week of providing shelter on a daily basis for 3 to 30 people, that is, a week of cooking dinner and breakfast, washing dishes, washing bed clothes, making beds, cleaning and trying to be friendly in halting Spanish. That’s what it seems like on the surface.

          But Caridad de Corazon (Charity of the Heart) is so much more. Sister Ursula Herrera, O.S.B. has been here at Eagle Pass, Texas for about 20 years, first initiating a clinic for the under served people here and more recently being the primary source for services that provide whatever is needed by the individuals who come here, from shoe strings to money for attorneys.  

Sr. Ursula and Sr. Luz

          I understand that Eagle Pass is now one of only a few points where Border Patrol officers are processing asylum applicants. All of our guests have come to us after passing through ICE registration. Most of our guests have young children, a few have infants. One of our guests was pregnant when she arrived, gave birth 2 months ago and returned here to live Caridad de Corazon until yesterday when she was able to straighten out her paperwork and get on her way again. Another family is trying to work out a difficult issue with the father of the 2 children incarcerated and in danger of deportation home to a situation which will certainly mean death.  The mother has no papers to permit her to work to support her family. Sr. Ursula is helping them sort this all out.

Srs. Ursula and Teresa Ann Wolf

           When Sr. Ursula is not performing heroic feats of social work here in the U.S. she is delivering donations to agencies in Piedras Negras, just across the border and I have been blessed to accompany her. Here are photos of Sr. Ursula and Sr. Luz, Mexican Community of the Sorrowful Mother, at the girls’ orphanage, Casa Hogar de Nazaret (left) and of Srs. Ursula and Teresa Ann Wolf, O.S.B (right) . a volunteer from Watertown S.D. at the Soup Kitchen hosted by the Jewish community which feeds children after school because there is no lunch provided there. We were delivering donated supplies including school uniforms to both locations.
          For me, it is beautiful to experience the cooperation and compassion of the various religious and civic groups in responding to the humanitarian crisis that is here. God is surely here.
                    Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB

Summer of Service

       I am excited about our upcoming Summer of Service! This opportunity is being offered by St. Walburg Monastery and by Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana.

        During May 28 to July 23, 2017, single women, ages 19 to 35 are being invited to experience service works in a Monastery setting.  They will stay at Beech Grove, Indiana for four weeks and serve the needs of people in that area.  Then they will come to Covington, Kentucky and serve the needs of people in our area.

       During these 8 weeks, the women will experience service to the poor and homeless, service to the elderly, and service to the earth, etc.  They will share in the Benedictine values of prayer, hospitality, stewardship, community and ministry.  They will join the sisters in prayer, community living and reaching out to others. They will have time for personal and community prayer and also retreat time.

      If you want to join us in this unique experience, please contact Sr. Julie Sewell, O.S.B. at Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Indiana at 317-787-3287, ext. 3032  or Sr. Cathy Bauer, O.S.B. at St. Walburg Monastery in Kentucky at 859-331-6324.

       Please help us spread the word to any young women interested in a summer service project.

       I am reminded of a paradox that always happens when we reach out to others in service because it is always blessed by God.  It is that in giving of ourselves, we also receive more than we can imagine.  Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB

Where are the women who want to seek God in prayer, community and service??

     I’ve just spent parts of the past two days with over fifty leaders of women’s religious institutes from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. In our discussions it was clear that we believe in the choice we each made years ago to join a religious community—in my case, the Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery. We are faithful to our baptismal call, to the Gospel, our rule, charism, constitutions and perpetual profession. We are formed in the tradition of complete self-donation. We believe the Church needs and desires such commitment. 

     We know our median ages and our dwindling numbers. As individuals we will die one day. Our communities may die too, but we don’t believe that has to happen. We wonder, “Are there women who aspire to give totally of themselves to seek for God in prayer, community and service to others? If there are, tell them about us. If not, why not? We and the Church want to know.

      Sr. Mary Catherine Wenstrup, OSB