Tag Archives: IHM sisters

So how was the Nun Run? (follow up on 3/16 post)

Nun Runners sharing a meal with Sr. Monica and Sr. Mary Bea at Visitation Spiritual Center

Great! Eight women participated in the whirlwind visit to six different communities in the Detroit area between last Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 8:00 PM. A Nun Run provides a way to experience how different groups of sisters  live out their call to religious life. Though the time limit precluded some areas of interest to the women like the steps in the formation process,  the vows and an experience with the sisters in their ministries they recognized the advantage of getting to know a little bit about the different groups in a day. You might call it one stop shopping. In their favorite session the runners learned what “charism” meant and then were treated to a creative process in which each vocation director brought two objects that were significant for the community and why. Nothing like visual aids! Then they each told two of stories showing how their sisters live the charism today. One of the runners said that the most important thing for her was “seeing the orders together and being able to see how they are different yet the same.” Another commented about the day,”I have a better sense of where and what I’m called to.” Another added, ” I think today helped me realize that I’m being called into deeper discernment. Some days it’s so easy to brush off that gentle tugging on my heart.” She continued, “even being around sisters fills me with such joy and happiness, and it just feels right.” One said on her evaluation,” I loved praying with the sisters and eating meals together.”

If you’re sensing a call to religious life and have the opportunity to go on a Nun Run I highly recommend it.

Running with Nuns

Think about joining Detroit area vocation directors for a fun nun run. We’ll visit Mercy sisters, Adrian Dominican Sisters, Daughters of Charity, Bernadine Franciscan Sisters, and IHM sisters. Yes— all in one day! The advantage of meeting a number of groups in one day is that  you get a rare chance to experience first hand how various religious communities are alike as well as how they differ. Each group has a unique spirit, a different way of living the Gospel. God doesn’t make a generic call to you but rather leads you to a particular group where you can best live and grow and minister to the people of God.

“Nunnabes” and Friends


For the last few days we’ve had a fabulous time hosting nine women interested in joining the IHMs in some way. This was the weekend of our Coordinating Council meeting so many of our sisters who live at a distance, even Puerto Rico and Washington, DC were home for it. We  invited some IHM “wannabes” to hang out with us and join in the prayer and  presentations at the CC. I’m not sure which was best, the laughter, the wonderful sharing or the extra loud but delightful noise in the dining room. However, I do know  a lot of discerning happened as we shared our lives.

IHMs prepare for Chapter 2012

Chapter 2012! What’s that you might ask. Since religious communities are living, breathing organisms,  they don’t just keep existing from year to year. If they’re healthy they  grow and change in response to God’s new invitations to them. Thus all congregations meet every four to six years to set directions for the future and open to the Spirit’s call.

This year the IHM community comes together for Chapter 2012 from January 23 to 28, and this will include election of our IHM Leadership Council for 2012 to 2018. Then on Sunday,  January 29, the whole community–vowed members, associates and friends –will gather at a 2:00 PM Mass in the Motherhouse  chapel to celebrate the graces of the Chapter and our newly elected Leadership Council. We’d love to have you with us on the twenty-ninth if that’s possible for you. Give me a call at 734-240-9820 if you’d like to come. 

Of course we don’t take lightly the importance of this time . We desire to be  open to the Spirit of God moving among us, so we’ve been joining in this prayer for the whole year. As friends of IHM I invite you to pray it with us.

PRAYER FOR IHM LA ASAMBLEA – ASSEMBLY 2011

God, life-giving Spirit:
Traveling our communal faith journey, you guide us.
Stepping along the pathway toward our destiny, you guide us.
Discovering our purpose for existing, you guide us.

Listening to our journey’s life-revelations, you walk with us.
Sharing our story with others, you walk with us.
Discovering the wisdom in each other, you walk with us.

Gathering strength from one another, you give us courage.
Believing in our abundant wisdom, you give us courage.
Celebrating our passion for mission, you give us courage.

Seeing what to keep and what to let go, you give us new life.
Daring to dream, you give us new life.
Moving into a prophetic vision, you give us new life.

God, life-giving Spirit, you guide us into a future full of hope.
Thank you for our wisdom experiences and for all that
will unfold on our journey.
Amen.

Feel free to ask if you’d like to know more about Chapters in religious communities.

Why I never published this “Fun with Sabrina” post I have no idea!

Sabrina and Sr. Julia Ann Kline

Sabrina Melni came early for the Come and See weekend to hang out with the nuns. She spent her first day here at the Motherhouse doing volunteer work with some of our elders, a work that seems to come naturally to her. As you can see from the above pictures she and the sisters (and Rocky the cat) enjoyed each other. Sabrina loved the stories the sisters told her about their early days in the convent and got a good chuckle as they talked about a picture of sisters doing the dishes in the old days with habits and big blue checked aprons. The picture is intersting  to look at but Sabrina  loved the way the sisters were all disagreeing about the details they remembered, like what material was used for their home- made petticoates, cotton or satin.  I’m betting it was cotton!  Today one of our sister artists is going to teach her techniques of calligraphy and later she’ll be joining the sisters on the fourth floor for a pizza party. It’s fun to have her here.
Sr. Jean Burbo, Sabrina and Rocky