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Advent Letter, 2024   Dear Sisters and Associates, At the CLB Meeting in October in Korea there was a discussion and a hope that, along with the monthly CDP Environment Day and Eco Challenges provided by the Laudato Si Commission, there could be something else that we might do as a whole Congregation together. Sr. Michele Bisbey told the CLB Members about what she was planning for the Marie de la Roche Province during the Advent season and she graciously offered to share it with the whole Congregation. Thus, we would all be spending time on the same texts during the Advent season. I am happy to announce to you that the four-week Advent series will John the Baptist: Joy on the Periphery, Widening the Circle of Friends Here is an Introduction to the Series by Sister Michele accompanied by the titles of each week’s presentation. Jesus, who is Providence Incarnate, has called us “friends.” Our international congregation of Divine Providence, which includes vowed members, associates, Providence Partners, Providence Companions, Circle of Friends, and the family of Providence is becoming an intercultural “Circle of Friends.” This Advent season we will join together in prayer and reflection through the lens of John the Baptist, the Advent prophet of joy. May our Circle widen to accompany and embrace those, like John, who exist on the margins, the periphery. A different aspect of John’s spirituality and ministry will be explored each week. The titles are:               December 1: Leaping for Joy          December 8: Prepare the Way/Baptizing on Jordan’s banks          December 15: What did you go to the desert to see?          December 22: He must increase, I must decrease Suggestions for prayer and reflection will be translated into our four languages and posted on our congregational website. Additional insights will be shared with the Provincials and Mission Director to distribute, as is appropriate for each area. When I think of Advent joy, I am reminded of the phrase from Nehemiah 8:10: “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” I believe this is a call to find our confidence, hope, and courage in the Lord. When we truly and fully trust in our Provident God and rely on God’s promises, our hearts are filled with joy…and that joy becomes the anchor of our strength. This kind of joy is a deep, abiding joy that comes from knowing that we are loved, forgiven, and empowered by God. It can bring us a resilience and endurance among the daily tasks of our ministry and community life. Even as we may face difficulties, overcome obstacles and see the situations in our world as hopeless and counter-cultural to joy, we can cultivate a culture of joy and celebration. We can encourage one another, inspire growth, widen our circle of friends, and strengthen our collective witness to the world. Perhaps as we look through the eyes of John the Baptist this Advent, we can view life with a spiritual lens, focusing on God’s faithfulness, and realize that our joy is not contingent on what we face but on Who walks beside us. So let us seek God wholeheartedly as we embrace these four weeks together. Let us cultivate gratitude for the blessings given us. Let us surrender our own will to God’s will. Let us serve others with love and compassion which brings joy both to them and to us. It is my hope that sharing these four weeks of Advent together as one congregation will indeed widen our circle of friends, deepen our Providence spirituality, and help us to feel even more interconnected.   Choose Joy; it’s contagious! Happy Advent! Sr. Barbara McMullen Congregational Leader     ***  Please, see the attachment for Sr. Michele Bisbey's prayer and reflection.  

This is a short video talk by Sr. Barbara about First Sunday of Advent.   To listen in Korean, German, and Spanish:  (1) Select  Settings [ ] on the right side of the toolbar below the video (2) Click Subtitles (3) Click Your Language Watch Video  https://www.cdpgeneralate.org/watch/#lg=1&slide=0

  Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!   "And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)   https://www.instagram.com/p/DC6rdXLJu7V/

We've launched Congregation's Instagram, so check back often to see what we're up to!   Link:  https://www.instagram.com/cdp7.13/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGvdmRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHTKIN0P8LyKWyKzTSdg40bWavP0Mlzr-vzo9qagVRa6aMG07uyQEZL0FBg_aem_oz2_fQRDgtmgoQtPEL086g  

  The CLT team participated as vendors in a bazaar held at St. Francis church, selling eco-friendly scrubbers and Korean face mask sheets. The bazaar also featured a variety of handicrafts, baked goods, drinks, Christmas decorations, and more.Despite the slightly wet and cold weather with rain, many people in the area visited and had a great time shopping and fellowshipping.

We commend to your charity the soul of our beloved Sr. Carole Riley Who departed this life on November 3, 2024 In the sixty-fifth year of her religious life Age: 82 years, 5 months, 4 days         Sister Carole Riley entered the Sisters of Divine Providence on September 6, 1959, giving up a promising future as a classical pianist. Quiet, devout, and disciplined, Carole seemed more fit for the Carmelites, but she was inspired by Sister Clare Louise at St. Anne’s Elementary School, Castle Shannon, and often spoke of how Providence had guided her here. In a 2021 interview, she said that as a young novice, she set a goal for herself, “to work and be a saint who made a difference in people’s lives, bringing them closer to Christ and heaven.” During her 65 years of religious life, she succeeded in the goal of bringing thousands closer to Christ, even giving summer “Almost Heaven” retreats in West Virginia, where she spent most of her last years. Like most of her novitiate classmates, Carole (then Sr. Mary Patrick) began her ministry teaching grade school students, but she quickly moved to teaching music in high school. Graduating from Duquesne University with a B.S. in Music Education, Carole began work on an M.S. in Music Education, followed by a Master’s in Music Performance and Theology, all from Duquesne. Beginning with teaching piano in the Music Department at Duquesne, Carole eventually became Chair of the Piano Department, Director of Graduate Studies in the Music School, and a full Professor. Carole also was a Distinguished Alumna and member of their Century Club.But what drew Carole to religious life was not music, but spirituality. While she was teaching in the Music Department, she began taking classes with Dutch-born Spiritan Father Adrian van Kaam, founder of the Institute of Formative Spirituality at Duquesne. This internationally renowned program combined existential psychology with philosophy and sociology. Carole not only earned a Ph.D. in the program but also continued to teach classes in the program, while still teaching piano. Spiritual direction was Carole’s gift. She became associated with the Cenacle Sisters, who founded a Retreat Cenacle near Duquesne. Carole was drawn to their retreat work and spiritual direction ministry. When the Cenacle closed in 1977, she helped the three remaining Sisters to relocate to Charleston, West Virginia, driving their donated truck for them. The relationship blossomed into a new ministry. She co-founded the Cenacle Retreat House, which became the ecumenical West Virginia Institute for Spiritualty, chartered in 1999. During her years in Charleston, Carole directed hundreds of individual and group retreats. She traveled to Europe, eight African countries, Asia, Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, the Philippines, and almost every state in the Union. She gave retreats for men’s religious communities, seminarians, and many women’s communities. Because she could not fulfil all the requests for her retreats, Carole made videos and CDs for Alba House/St. Paul’s. The ecumenical nature of WVIS meant few of Carole’s retreats or workshops were solely Roman Catholic. One of the things she loved about this ministry was that it fulfilled the mandate of the Gospel, “That all may be one.” As the ministry grew, the Internet allowed her international reach through Zoom. Graduate credit was given through partnership with Indiana’s Graduate Theological Foundation. As Executive Director, Carole not only taught in the program, but trained many of the ministers she taught over the years at the Center. In a 2019 interview, Carole said, “We started out with the $40 people gave us that we used to open a bank account, and 20 years later, we’re still here with satellites in five states. These days, about 5,000 people come through the house in a year.” The shy, quiet young woman who entered the community so many years ago used the gifts God had given her in ways that Providence continued to provide. Her music training led to workshops using music for healing. The discipline that was her gift as a musician prioritized her own spiritual life. She continued to crave solitude in the midst of the many tasks in her life. She cherished weekends when they had no retreats.Carole Riley was truly a Woman of Providence. She worked hard, prayed always, and was generous with time and talent to the end of her life. In those last days when she chose solitude in her room at St. Joseph’s Center at The Commons, Carole finally had time for a silent retreat. While Carole is no longer with us, her spirit survives in the music teacher leading a children’s choir, in the recovered person addicted to alcohol or drugs, in the minister whose spirit was renewed after a retreat in Charleston. Carole died on November 3, the 23rd anniversary of winning the Emil Penet National Religious Formation Conference Award for the impact on the U.S. through the mentoring model. In countries around the world, she will be mourned, but she came home to die, once again guided by Providence. May her memory be a blessing. Birthday: May 31 Sr. Rita M. Yeasted, SFCC

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Beautiful fall leaves  … Yes, God's blessings are breathtaking!  

Global Connections Volume 8, Issue 4   ENTERING THROUGH THE NARROW GATE (Matthew 7:13) Sister Rosa Eunsoon Kim The directional statement of the 24th Congregational Chapter invites us into “caring for creation and the vulnerable on the periphery”, “in the spirit of Bishop Ketteler, a man keenly sensitive to the needs of the times” (Constitutions # 41). It reminds us that being concerned about and serving the needs of the world is one of our missions which we should continue to do as Christians and members of the Sisters of Divine Providence.  The call, as we know, is ‘a highly significant matter’ and has been found throughout the ages. In reality, however, it cannot be denied that sometimes we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable and burdened with the request, rather than willingly responding to it. Why, then, are we reluctant to respond to the call and experience inconvenience? Perhaps we might say that it is hard enough living our lives. Or perhaps it is because of the fear that a certain action we might take would cause us to lose what we believe is our security. So, I would like to share reflections from Fr. Gabriel Vecchi OCSO. God is too narrow, too restrictive, too different from me. The further away I perceive myself from God, the narrower this gate seems – so narrow that it seems almost closed. But the gate is not that narrow, nor is it closed. This gate seems narrow because the eye seeing it is narrow, the mind peering into it is narrow, the heart loving it is narrow. How can we change this? By desiring to change. The desire to change is already a change. Desiring the gate of God is already the beginning of its crossing. When we try to love God, who seems so narrow to us, the width of the gate remains the same, but the width of our heart, eyes and mind, does not. They expand and begin to accept with less and less resistance what previously seemed intolerable. The narrow gate is the gate of a new life, a life of forgiveness, meaning and union with God. As I am reflecting on his saying, the way of overcoming fear seems not that complicated as Fr. Gabriel shows – just desiring to change, that is, changing one’s mind. To me, it seems that attempting to do so helps us realize that ‘caring for creation and the vulnerable on the periphery’ is not as hard as we think; “for my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:30). In other words, we could pass through the gate of God without resistance.  Therefore, I would like to conclude this reflection with my wishes and prayer that once again we all would have the courage to respond to the needs of the world and to meet at least one of them before courage faltered. image:pixabay.com  .................. please, click the attachment to read the full article ................................   

       We commend to your charity the soul of our beloved Sr. Rose Anne Krantz Who departed this life on September 27, 2024 In the sixty-second year of her religious life Age: 79 years, 1 month, 6 days   “What you have received as a gift, give as a gift” (Matthew 10:8)Sister Rose Anne Krantz, (formerly Sister Thaddine), was the second of five siblings born to Catherine (Hadden) and Lawrence Krantz.  After completing high school at Marycrest, she entered the Community in 1962.  Rose Anne always credited her parents’ faith as the primary model for how she would live her life. Sister Rose Anne initially ministered as a teacher and principal for 17 years in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  She then followed a call to minister as a pastoral associate at Christ the King Parish in Dunbar, WV, where there was no resident priest.  As a pastoral associate she was particularly attentive to the sick and volunteered as a hospital chaplain and as a hospice chaplain.  Ten years of ministry in Dunbar were followed by pastoral ministry in other West Virginia parishes in Parkersburg and new Martinsville (1995-2001). During a five-year hiatus from pastoral ministry, Rose Anne accepted the call to be co-director at the provincial house in Pittsburgh.  She also served in formation ministry.  She then returned to pastoral ministry in Ohio.  Since 2020, Rose Anne has generously served a second term as house director at Providence Heights and at The Commons. Throughout, Rose Anne’s mantra has been “What you receive as a gift, give as a gift” (Matt. 10:8). Among Rose Anne‘s many gifts was her talent with a sewing needle.  Her quilts are cherished by many fortunate recipients.  Her culinary skills were particularly evident in the thousands of pies she made for community and parishes.  Of course, she insisted on homemade pie crust recipe!  Rose Anne also enjoyed biking, hiking and tent camping with her dear friend, Sister Lu Haidnick. Rose Anne continued to minister to her Sisters throughout her diagnosis and treatment for cancer.  She found great comfort in the prayer of abandonment of Charles de Foucauld and in a recent book While I Breathe, I Hope: A Mystagogy of Dying by Richard R. Gaillardetz. Even in death, Rose Anne continued to give herself as gift, donating her body to the Humanity Gift Registry. We are so grateful for the many ways and numerous years she was gift to us.  We count on her continued intercession for all of our needs. Birthday: August 22 Sr. Michele Bisbey