This week we celebrate, along with the Ursulines, Sr Maureen’s Golden Jubilee; fifty years of living a professed religious life – a truly worthy thing to celebrate! A Religious Life is one that requires a public commitment to Jesus Christ, as well as a complete offering of self to Him in the service of His people. The Ursulines strive to share in all things together. This shared life is built on, and strengthened by, the vows they take at their solemn profession.
- In Poverty they share their worldly goods;
- in Chastity they share affection, friendship and mutual support;
- in Obedience they work together bringing Christ to the world.
Through community life the sisters share a sense of belonging and the work they undertake is strengthened as they stand together in a spirit of service.
The core of the religious life is prayer, public and private, and from this life of prayer springs the strength that enables them to make their communities places of hospitality, where friends and family feel at home, and where people who drop in feel at ease.
All this we see and know from our Ursulines; we give thanks to God for their presence among us. We rejoice with the sisters and Sr Maureen herself, and give thanks to God for her fifty years of religious life; years which have brought many blessings on her, her community and the numerous people whose lives she has touched, and has yet to touch.
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| Sr Maureen, Sr Jane and Sr Zela: Ursuline Sisters |
Celebration Mass at St Thomas More's Saturday 27th April, at 10.30. Shared lunch to follow, everyone welcome.
Jesus invited us all to 'come and see'
From the beginning of His public life, Jesus invited all people to ‘come and see’ and so join Him in witnessing and preaching the Good News of healing and forgiveness. Through the sacrament of baptism, this call has continued throughout the ages and is still being answered today. The New Testament also shows us how some people responded to Jesus' call by coming together for prayer and service as the focus of their lives. Several scriptural passages offer us fine examples of people called to a deeper relationship with God and to follow in the footsteps of Christ.
As the centuries passed, certain ways of life emerged from the experiences of men and women who lived in communities which emphasised the values of devoted prayer, loving service, and simple living. Today, religious men and women continue to commit themselves to these same values, making community living central to their life of consecration as religious priests, brothers and sisters. We are blessed to have two such communities of religious sisters in Lancaster: the Sisters of Nazareth (Nazareth House) and our own Ursuline sisters.