I have gathered with the Ursuline community on many different occasions, and the constant theme of these interactions has been the Ursulines’ hospitality. No matter where I join them in celebration—even in a physically new place—it becomes home.
I felt this energy as I arrived at our St. Louis hotel for the 2019 North American Ursuline Convocation. On opening night, one of the Ursuline sisters of the Roman Union approached the podium to greet us. She spoke of the city’s many claims to fame, the richness of its history, and the diversity of its people. Then she took a deep breath and said, “I am a Cubs fan welcoming you to Cardinal Nation.”
It is easy to be hospitable within our comfort zone, but Saint Angela calls us to extend a much broader hospitality. Art teacher Annette Zobel, who sculpted the statue of Saint Angela (our convocation logo), likened Saint Angela’s hospitality to a magnificent tree—“grounded in earth, graceful in movement, reaching to heaven.” Likewise, the Ursuline family tree has established strong roots over its 500-year history, anchored in Saint Angela’s Counsels, Legacies, and Rule. These roots are not meant to lock us into one set spot. A healthy root system nurtures growth so that we can achieve new heights.
During the opening ritual of the convocation, we planted seeds in the centerpieces of our tables. We prayed with Saint Angela, whose heart cultivated the seeds of service and community that continue to unite us today. We, too, carry these seeds in our hearts, nurtured in the time we spend together.
These seeds germinated as we gathered around the tables for discussion. They swelled with life as our keynote speaker Sister Teresa Maya, CCVI, invited each of us to consider: “What is your ‘why’ as part of Angela’s family?” Sister Teresa herself, as a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, also reflected on this question. Historically, the Ursulines hosted many religious communities, including the Sisters of Charity, as they arrived in North America. As Sister Teresa’s community in San Antonio celebrates its 150th anniversary, she felt honored to speak at this Ursuline gathering as a “cousin” of our spiritual family.
The hospitality of our Ursuline ancestors reminds us that the call to create community is in our roots, dating back to Saint Angela’s writings. “Build community wherever you go,” Saint Angela writes in her 5th Counsel. She is speaking to us. It is the unique gift that the Ursuline community brings to our Church and our world today.
I had the opportunity to live out this call in a special way as I left the convocation early to attend my friend Sarah’s wedding. Sarah was born in Bangladesh, and in the many years that I have known Sarah, the Bengali community—like the Ursuline community—has extended incredible hospitality. The Bengali community has strong roots and rich traditions, and even a tree with such solid roots can move and dance gracefully in the breeze as it grows. I see this embodied in Sarah’s love for her husband and in their intercultural wedding ceremony that so beautifully blended their traditions.
At the reception, guests received packets of seeds as wedding favors. The story on the back of the packet described the teaching fellowship that originally brought Sarah and her husband together:
It is easy to be hospitable within our comfort zone, but Saint Angela calls us to extend a much broader hospitality. Art teacher Annette Zobel, who sculpted the statue of Saint Angela (our convocation logo), likened Saint Angela’s hospitality to a magnificent tree—“grounded in earth, graceful in movement, reaching to heaven.” Likewise, the Ursuline family tree has established strong roots over its 500-year history, anchored in Saint Angela’s Counsels, Legacies, and Rule. These roots are not meant to lock us into one set spot. A healthy root system nurtures growth so that we can achieve new heights.
During the opening ritual of the convocation, we planted seeds in the centerpieces of our tables. We prayed with Saint Angela, whose heart cultivated the seeds of service and community that continue to unite us today. We, too, carry these seeds in our hearts, nurtured in the time we spend together.
These seeds germinated as we gathered around the tables for discussion. They swelled with life as our keynote speaker Sister Teresa Maya, CCVI, invited each of us to consider: “What is your ‘why’ as part of Angela’s family?” Sister Teresa herself, as a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, also reflected on this question. Historically, the Ursulines hosted many religious communities, including the Sisters of Charity, as they arrived in North America. As Sister Teresa’s community in San Antonio celebrates its 150th anniversary, she felt honored to speak at this Ursuline gathering as a “cousin” of our spiritual family.
The hospitality of our Ursuline ancestors reminds us that the call to create community is in our roots, dating back to Saint Angela’s writings. “Build community wherever you go,” Saint Angela writes in her 5th Counsel. She is speaking to us. It is the unique gift that the Ursuline community brings to our Church and our world today.
I had the opportunity to live out this call in a special way as I left the convocation early to attend my friend Sarah’s wedding. Sarah was born in Bangladesh, and in the many years that I have known Sarah, the Bengali community—like the Ursuline community—has extended incredible hospitality. The Bengali community has strong roots and rich traditions, and even a tree with such solid roots can move and dance gracefully in the breeze as it grows. I see this embodied in Sarah’s love for her husband and in their intercultural wedding ceremony that so beautifully blended their traditions.
At the reception, guests received packets of seeds as wedding favors. The story on the back of the packet described the teaching fellowship that originally brought Sarah and her husband together:
“As a parting gift from the fellowship, Sarah & Damon (and their fellow attendees) received hollyhock seeds to ‘bloom where they are needed.’ Inspired by this purpose, these two teachers want to pass on their love for hollyhock—and all this opportunity has offered them—to all of you. Known for their hardiness and resilience, hollyhocks represent the fight for all things worth fighting for: justice, service, and of course, love.”
I’m not sure what kind of seeds we had planted at the Ursuline convocation in the centerpieces of our tables. We had tucked those seeds into the soil, unnamed. But I hope that the seeds planted in our hearts follow the tradition of the hollyhock. And I hope our hearts are open to receive these seeds so that they may take root.
I traced these roots to the “Parable of the Sower” Gospel reading, which I had heard when I had joined the Ursulines for daily mass at the Basilica of Saint Louis:
I traced these roots to the “Parable of the Sower” Gospel reading, which I had heard when I had joined the Ursulines for daily mass at the Basilica of Saint Louis:
“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:3-8)
As I boarded the plane back to Ohio, I gently placed the packet of seeds from Sarah and Damon’s wedding in my purse. The seeds were small but full of promise. May they bloom where they are needed.