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SFP VOICES SEPTEMBER 2009
Vol. V, No. 7 © |
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“A Little of That Human Touch:”
Acts of Justice and Hope in the Community of Life
“I believe that generating hope and compassion means to be able to believe in what is good in human beings.”
“What kind of bird are you, if you cannot fly?” chirped the sparrow. “What kind of bird are you if you cannot swim?” answered the duck (S. Prokofief, Peter and the Wolf ).
It seems like human beings can do almost anything.They can swim and walk, hate and love, build, but also know how to destroy others or to self-destruct. We are a “strange” species on this planet. Throughout millennia we have been able to experiment, perfect and realize many ideas and theories: tolerance, welcoming, dialogue, education in the arts and sciences, knowledge of good and evil. We learned how to deal with enemies, fight against and annihilate them. We have written books on how to become wealthy and use power and written about how to live without power.
Some believe that humanity is moved more by selfishness than by selfless ideals that respect Life. Only a few rules prevent us from killing one another as we continuously fight against one another and everything. There are many ethical systems, philosophies, and religions who talk abundantly about such topics.
Lately I have read several articles, which emphasize how we are genetically predestined to goodness. Some argue that generosity and selflessness are innate feelings in the human race (see Professor U. Veronesi, Corriere della sera). Prof. Veronesi talks about neurological discoveries that would prove how some selfless behaviors are based on the neurobiological structure of our minds. It was discovered that in the brain there are what scientists call “mirror neurons,” which are involved in every aspect of our social behavior. This is our capacity to be in relationships with others, and to be able to “cry with those who cry and laugh with those who laugh.” |
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Our General Chapter also called all of us to “generate compassion and hope in the Community of life.” What if we really had the capacity to be compassionate and merciful (as St. Francis would say), precisely because we are human beings, belonging to the human species? One can already picture what objections could be made to this point: look at how much we hurt each other, and how many millions of poor or impoverished people die each day of thirst and deprivation. See how many children or innocent people suffer terribly because of other human beings. I do not have many answers to these objections, but only some hope.
I believe that generating hope and compassion means to be able to believe in what is good in human beings:
• We can experience compassion by living on the side of the poor, with the poor.
• We can generate compassion by listening to the sufferings and desperation of an immigrant person;
• We can generate compassion by welcoming someone who asks to be fed;
• We can generate compassion by assisting someone who is sick;
• We can generate compassion by giving back the dignity of a human being and of an abused woman.
Who knows how many other ways each one of us can come up with to generate compassion?
“I ain't lookin' for praise or pity, sings Bruce Springsteen, I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch, I just want someone to talk to, and a little of that Human Touch, just a little of that Human Touch.”
I think this is a good definition of compassion, human touch, which helps us as we promote and live out acts of justice and hope in the Community of life.
Sister Anna Ingoglia, SFP
Congregational Councilor
“If there is one life that needs to 'breathe' Hope, it is a Franciscan life..."
Sr. Tina Ventimiglia, sfp
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I work at “The Shell” and feel like I serve the poor at a time of hopelessness. Their situations are increasingly problematic, often without a solution in sight. Yet even at our shelter for women who are victims of trafficking in Pistoia, I feel that our Chapter Direction challenges me to seek concrete answers. What Hope am I called to generate in the women with whom I share my daily life?
It is certainly a hope that they “break” from many dreams of their young hearts that have been shattered by those who led them to Italy on a journey to a new type of slavery.
When they left their native countries, many of these young women had experienced more than poverty. They experienced corruption and lack of recognition of their dignity as human beings and women. So they dared hope in a life of wealth and good paying jobs. They hoped they could help their families and return to their home countries showing that they succeeded.
Not only can I not support these hopes, but I am challenged to help them move beyond them. Serving those around me is never a ‘done deal’: the presuppositions need to be strengthened so that these crimes may not happen again among human beings.
It is said that whoever uses their authority without compassion generates oppression. In light of this a “Christian project” in the world is compassion. To have empathy toward other people’s suffering and to identify with their pain will stretch the horizon of our actions and deepen the roots of our responsibility.
As I share the burden of each woman, I stretch myself to take another step, possibly together with them: to arrive at reflecting on one’s own history, to grow in awareness that the pain in one person’s life can bring about fruits for other women. Through a strenuous journey we recognize that we have something to say, and that these words can be heard by those who are in power.
In April we received a visit from Sr. Mary Jo Toll, a Notre Dame Sister who shares community with Sr. Bernadette Sullivan in New York. She gathers women’s voices from many countries, emphasizing what points need to be mentioned so that each one may express her needs, suggestions, anxieties, struggles. Sr. Mary Jo works to take these voices to the powerful who gather at the UN, where she is an NGO representative on the status of women.
| “What hope am I called to generate in the women with whom I share my daily life?" |
Another difficult day ends. In my conversation with R., I saw her sad eyes as a sign of what she is carrying within: pain, disappointment, lack of trust. She does not speak Italian and my English struggles to overcome the language barrier and facilitates our dialogue. We talk for a long time: on her face, after a long day, there is a smile! Can this be a sign of Hope?
For me this is a confirmation that we cannot “generate” without experiencing suffering, but also that there is a Saint who made of Hope his spiritual nourishment, and it is St. Francis. Therefore, if there is one life that needs to “breathe” Hope, it is a Franciscan life.
[Images of some photos have been altered to protect privacy.]
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Conversion in Ministry: It is the Poor Who Change Us
“Where there is no hope, there will be no change!”
Sister Maria Goretti Pereira, SFP
When I arrived in Pires do Rio in 2005, I gradually became acquainted with the local community and wanted to perceive their needs before beginning ministry there. I met with Ms. Luiza, Coordinator of the Association for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (APAI). This is the not-for-profit organization responsible for the functioning of this SFP-sponsored institution. I offered to teach painting on cloth, an art which I had already quite successfully done in Goiânia. I started teaching religious formation to the same teenage group and participated in the health ministry of the local parish by visiting the sick at the Regional Hospital and at their homes.
I was also invited by Brother Wanderley Carvalho, OFM and approved by Sister Maria Helena to assist in the spiritual formation of the Secular Franciscan Order. I prepare two annual retreats for their members. This is very gratifying and helps me deepen my knowledge of Franciscan Spirituality as we try to integrate ourselves with other communities to grow together in our common goals.
I am also involved in a Diocesan youth project, which gives us much hope! It is the SAV Group (Vocational and Group Activities Service) headquartered in Ipameri, and is led by a team of six religious including myself. We work with groups of young people from the schools on the outskirts of town. The going can seem a bit slow at times, but we do good work in reaching out to young people who are bombarded by many temptations of the post-modern world.
At the Diocesan level I serve as treasurer on the coordinating team of the sub-regional Conference of the Religious of Brazil. At the end of August we had the Ipameri Diocese Vocational Encounter. Who knows, maybe some vocations to the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor may come from this? After all, where there is no hope, there will be no change!
Blessed Frances Schervier was a true missionary hero who spread solidarity, love and sharing with the poor and everyone else who sought her help.
As Franciscan Sisters of the Poor we feel there is a need to do something more to fulfill the calling of our charism for the poor. Our Chapter theme of “generating compassion and hope in the community of life” emphasizes our objectives of uniting our forces to sow in the harvest of the Lord his word of life.
 Sr. Maria Goretti’s ministry bears fruit |
Blessed Frances Schervier was a true missionary hero who spread solidarity, love and sharing with the poor and everyone else who sought her help. In thinking about ministry, I realize that we first need to convert ourselves before we can convert others to the Kingdom. Our faith states that “Jesus Christ is the human face of God and the divine face of man” (John Paul II – Ecclesia in America, 67). For that reason “‘the preferential option for the poor” is implicit in the Christological faith in the God who became poor for us in order to enrich us with His poverty (cf. 2 Cor. 8-9). (Benedict XVI – Opening Address for the Aparecida Conference, 3).
Thank you for this opportunity to share my experiences, which I seek to accomplish with great love.
“I have been blessed by working with the poor. I find it rewarding and joyous to be among these very special people.”
Sister Grace Miriam Pleiman, SFP
 Sr. Grace Miriam holds a resident’s new born, who lives at Grace Place. |
Although Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” that does not mean we ought not do all we can to alleviate their plight. I distinctly remember many discussions at the US Area Assemblies when we committed ourselves once again to helping the poor, always defining poverty as pertaining more to material needs only. However, I personally have always chosen to work with the materially poor.
The Poor are Dear to the Heart of Jesus and to us as Franciscans
Fortunately, neither Christians nor Franciscans are alone in their concern. One of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals is to eliminate poverty by the year 2015. Moreover, in 2008, the United Nation’s Development Program Report also expanded poverty beyond the material: “While economic growth is essential to lifting people out of poverty, this alone is not enough…lack of access to essential resources goes beyond financial hardship to affect people’s health, education, security and opportunities for political participation.”
In the United States, the poverty threshold is determined by taking the cost of a minimally adequate diet for families of different sizes and multiplying that cost by three to allow for other expenses. Currently, the poverty level for a family of two is $14,570; for a family of four it is $22,050. In Africa and other third world countries, the numbers are far lower. The people who are in these unfortunate situations are dear to the heart of Jesus – and to us as Franciscans.
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My Journey
My own ministry to the poor began in New York. For 34 years I served in clinics and social service agencies to aid the homeless and alleviate homelessness. The estimated number of men, women and children living on the streets was a shocking one hundred thousand (100,000). There was a great lack of programs available for men so I decided to design a transitional residence for homeless men in recovery from drugs and alcohol. It operated for ten years in Brooklyn, New York. This Home gave the men an extended opportunity to stabilize their lives in a safe environment without substance abuse.
In 2007 I moved to Cincinnati and began caring for homeless women with children in a Catholic Worker Movement hospitality house. Currently I also serve at Our Lady of the Woods in the White Oak section of Cincinnati, which was founded by Sr. Antonita Mettert as a residence for low-income elderly. This unique facility accommodates twenty residents. Each has his/her own room and shares large common bathrooms. As a psychiatric nurse, I conduct exercise and social skills groups, teach about health and give individual counseling to those in need. Finally I see to it that transportation is provided so that people can reach their physicians. In 2008 the U.S. Area voted to sponsor this ministry.
The Gospel assures us: “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” I have been blessed by working with the poor. I find it rewarding and joyous to be among these very special people. This topic is extensive and needs to be our on-going concern if we are to continue healing the wounds of Christ!
Copyright 2009 Franciscan Sisters of the Poor