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Being an Associate of Sisters of St Joseph helps me find the sacred in the ordinary as I weave the web that is my life. I belong to the Bread and Roses group in Simcoe for the past twelve years. I was invited to join the group when it began at a time in my life, when I found myself needing more than my surroundings had to offer. I live in Simcoe with my husband and we have four adult children. I taught elementary school for 20 years but had to retire early when I developed laryngeal cancer in which I lost my voice. That challenged me physically and emotionally and while I grieved the many losses in my life, one of the positives that came out of it was that it focused my mind on what was and is important. The rush of everyday life can sometimes cloud my vision but whenever I stop and reflect, I know that I learned that lesson well. While teaching in Brant County I worked with some of the St Joseph Sisters. Their gentle touch and God centered approach was evident to me then even though I was not aware of the Medaille maxims, the dear neighbor or the more, but I recognize it now for what it was then all those years ago. Our Bread and Roses group is a diverse group of women whose career paths span a spectrum of service to the "dear neighbor" from education to social work and beyond. Our groups name was chosen with great care. We had been together for some time and had learned from our mentor Sister Doreen that the charism of the Sisters of St Joseph brought with it privileges and responsibilities. We got our name from the textile workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912 where women marched for justice :"Hearts starve as well as bodies. Give us bread, but gives us roses too". The Bread signifies our commitment to social justice and bread for all, while the roses signify the beauty and joy that we all need to receive and to give. Joining the Bread and Roses group has helped to centre me, give clarity to my thoughts and focus to my actions. As we gather together every month, first under the direction of Sister Doreen and now on our own, we get to share our stories, laugh and pray together as we study the maxims and other writers. The fact that our group is just one of many other groups in our diocese exposes me to a wealth of people with their ideas and knowledge when I join them for specific functions. I am very involved in the commitments of my own family and extended family and take great delight in the individual journeys of my children as they take the "road less traveled". They continue to expand my horizons in ways that I could never imagine. I am involved in various aspects of our church and community in Simcoe where I live. I am greatly encouraged and find comfort in the work of Development and Peace in the wider world in empowering our neighbor in the global south to find just solutions in their daily lives. I enjoy offering retreat experiences to others and providing opportunities for them to gather in the spirit of prayer and deepening our spiritual connections. The joy that I find in life is being connected to the seasons of the heart and the rhythms of the earth, to those who know me and those that I have yet to meet, creating the web that is my life. Mary O'Sullivan, Bread and Roses |
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