Meeting with religious superiors

MEETING WITH RELIGIOUS SUPERIORS  Bishop Serratelli speaks to Major superiors of religious orders at their annual meeting with him at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls in Madison Nov. 22.

MADISON  Major superiors of religious orders serving the Paterson Diocese met with Bishop Serratelli at their annual meeting with him at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls, the Diocesan Evangelization Center here Nov. 22.

Sister of Christian Charity Joan Daniel Healy, the Diocese’s chancellor/delegate for religious, coordinated the meeting and the agenda, which focused on the changing times of today’s world and as a result, the challenges experienced by those in religious life. Bishop Serratelli shared some updates on the ongoing restoration project at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and the plans to mark its reopening next June with several events. He also gave a report on the fall USCCB meeting in Baltimore, which he attended.

During the meeting, Franciscan Father of the Renewal Mariusz Koch gave a reflection on “Serving with the Heart of Jesus in These Times.” Reflecting on his own experiences in religious life, Father Koch said, “Each one of us has been loved into this vocation. It’s God’s love for us; it is his love for us from all eternity that we came to experience and to respond to it.”

Father Koch spoke about Peter’s encounter with Jesus after he denied Jesus three times and Jesus asks him to feed his sheep. Following the Scripture reading found in the Gospel of John, Father Koch said, “I like to talk about how God loves us and how we may love God and also how we as religious are to express our love for each other. A question Jesus asks Peter and a question he asks each one of us is: ‘Do you love me?’ Peter could not answer the question before the crucifixion. Only afterward, did he come to realized how much he is loved by Christ.”

The Franciscan priest talked about the importance of the little things religious can do to serve the people and how Jesus reveals himself in the little things — whether it was touching a leper, taking time to speak to the woman at the well or the dignity he gives to the woman caught in adultery who was about to be stoned before he intervened. “He looked at them with love; he looked at them with compassion,” said Father Koch.

The religious also engaged in “contemplative dialogue” in small groups, which was led by Sister of Christian Charity Joann Marie Aumand. She spoke about “Transformation — an Experiment in Hope” and learning how to engage in a contemplative manner.

“We have all been struggling for several decades to come to grips with the changing realities of our congregations. The charisms hold but we are challenged to something new,” she said.

In a small group, religious shared their thoughts on what is the essential work in religious life today and its future.

Little Sister of the Poor Mary Thomas Emmanuel Dmello said, “Patience is important. Listen to the people with a listening heart and be fully attentive.”

Filippini Sister Ascenza Tizzano said, “Religious must have openness and realize things are changing so quickly. We can’t think about what was. We need to be creative and accept what is happening.”

Following the small groups, Msgr. James Mahoney, vicar general and moderator of the Curia, gave diocesan updates and Bishop Serratelli spoke about the recent meeting of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop Serratelli also spoke about Pope Francis’ most recent apostolic letter “Misericordia et Misera” and shared updates on the cathedral with yearlong plans to celebrate the Mother Church of the Diocese that goes beyond the reopening of the cathedral.

“We have a very important role to play in our society today,” the Bishop said. “We have our work ahead of us. Our society needs to be re-Christianized. We have lost basic Christian values. Certainly through prayer, but we have to do basic things such as bringing people back in all the ways we can to see what it means to be Christian, what it means to be compassionate, what it means to be just and what it means to be fair on all levels. Our resources may seem limited, but how did the Church start — with 12 Apostles. We need to be optimistic about the future and we have to be proactive in saying we have something good. We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”