The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word opened\ntheir jubilee year celebrating 150 years with a bilingual liturgy March 2 in\nthe Chapel of the Incarnate Word with Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller, MSpS,\npresiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur Lord Jesus Christ, suffering in the persons of\na multitude of the sick and infirm of every kind, seeks relief at your hands,\u201d\nBishop Claude Marie Dubuis wrote a century and a half ago, and responding to\nthis call, young women left France for Texas, and three eventually journeyed to\nSan Antonio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, they encountered cholera victims, orphans, and\nwidespread poverty. With courage, compassion, and faith, they worked to respond\nto the needs of a frontier town. Women from Ireland, Mexico, Germany, and the\nUnited States, each responding to ever-new challenges, joined these first\nSisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word\ncontinue to answer the call through the same healthcare, education, and\npastoral and social ministries, especially for the women and children living in\npoverty, for the elderly seeking dignity at the end of their lives, and on\nbehalf of justice, peace, and the care of creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the jubilee Mass, the University of the Incarnate\nWord Mission and Ministry comprised as the choir, and Sisters served as\nlectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, users, and gift bearers.\nSister Teresa Maya, CCVI, congregational leader, welcomed attendees to the\nMass, thanking those there for the celebration and expressing her gratitude for\nthe many lay women and men who have collaborated with the Sisters for the past\n150 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Gospel reading, Jesus challenged his\nlisteners to bring forth a harvest of good fruit. Jesus says, \u201cA good tree does\nnot produce decayed fruit any more than a decayed tree produces good fruit. Each\ntree is known by its yield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you look at a fruit tree and see lush green\nleaves and branches heavy with apples, you are assured that the tree is healthy\nand that your fertilizing and pruning have paid off,\u201d explained Archbishop\nGustavo in his homily. \u201cBut, when you look at a tree and see its leaves\ndrooping in a time of drought, you worry that the tree is sick and needs an\nurgent remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The archbishop emphasized that the Lord\u2019s words\nremind us that the world observes us in much the same way. \u201cWhen our neighbors\nsee us visiting an elderly person and helping her with chores, they conclude\nthat our faith has taken root in us,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen they observe us collecting\nfood for the poor or providing shelter for the homeless, visiting the sick, or\ndefending a neighbor against gossip, they infer that our faith is healthy and\nthe church is alive here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the prelate continued, if they observe us\nfighting with one another, slandering a co-worker, expressing selfish or greedy\nattitudes, or exhibiting racial prejudice, they may well ask themselves, \u201cIs\nshe not supposed to be a Christian? Does she not belong to the Catholic\nChurch? Is she not a consecrated woman?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Missionary of the Holy Spirit acknowledged that,\nas members of the community of faith, many have been angered, frustrated, and\nsickened by the instances of sexual abuse of minors, especially by priests and\nsome bishops. \u201cWe also exhibit alienating differences and polarization within\nthe church that diminish the good fruit we are expected to bear,\u201d he lamented. Jesus\nsays: Good persons produce goodness from the good of their hearts. Evil persons\nproduce evil out of their store of evil. Everyone speaks out of the abundance\nof love in his or her heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the 150th anniversary of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Archbishop Gustavo prayed that we will look honestly and discover the reservoir of goodness that God has given to each of us. \u201cMay the Holy Spirit give us the wisdom, strength, and courage to allow that goodness to influence all we say or do,\u201d he concluded. \u201cOur Lady of Guadalupe will show us the way to bring diverse people into unity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n