Feast of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat Celebrated by Sacred Heart Alums Worldwide

Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat
Sacred Heart Schools - Atherton, Calf

"The nature of Love is to change the lover into the Beloved. What a wonderful one-ing of God and creation, which makes us able to say, "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me."

~ St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

Founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart 

The above quote was taken from The Wisdom of Madeleine Sophie Barat - Day by Day Calendar.  To order a copy of the calendar (Cost: $10.00 + postage) - click here. 

Madeleine Sophie Barat: Relationship Builder

Madeleine Sophie Barat - A Life by Phil Kiroy, RSCJ
to order a copy

"As a 19th century woman, Sophie Barat found her way out of a private life into a public role with a public profile; and she did this with her colleagues because she had a public service to offer which met a need in society and in the church. However, another inner narrative was taking place at the same time, one that informed the outer and gave the impulse and energy to sustain so much activity. While she was engaged in the founding and consolidation of the Society of the Sacred Heart, Sophie made an inner, spiritual journey in the course of which she continually strove to transform her image of a severe, harsh God into one of warmth and love and vulnerability. Though her exterior success was the focus of her fame in the 19th century and beyond, her inner achievement had greater, long term consequences for the image of the divine, of the holy in our time. Sophie was endowed with a remarkable capacity for human relationships, a gift she used to good effect in her leadership of the Society of the Sacred Heart."   

The quote above is from the book Madeleine Sophie Barat A Life by Phil Kilroy

I have posted the following homily by Fr. Frank Buckley, SJ before (see Blog post - July 20, 2013)  however, today on the eve of Sophie's Feast Day which will be celebrated tomorrow and marks the 150th anniversary of her death, I feel the need to share Fr. Frank's homily again.  Believe me it is well worth the time to watch this all the way to the end.  If you should wish to jump to the part about Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat and her life you should advance the video to the 11 minute mark but trust me you will have missed most of the message: "Who is my neighbor?" 

In full disclosure I should tell you that I first met Fr. Frank at Oakwood (the RSCJ retirement community in Atherton, CA) when he said mass for the 2013 Feast Day of St. MSB.  After his homily which was fabulous we were introduced.  So naturally when I learned he would be the presider at the last mass hosted during the 2013 Society of the Sacred Heart Spirituality Forum I made certain to have my camera ready to video tape his homily. 

"Coast Live Oak" A Poem by Danielle Moragne, SHP'13

Photo taken July 2013 on the grounds of Sacred Heart Schools ~ Atherton, Calf
near Oakwood, the RSCJ Retirement Community

Coast Live Oak

A trunk
massive, contorted, and gnarled
splits and cuts its way into the sky,
demanding its place in the earth by spreading its roots.
Thick at first, then wean away,
like capillaries.

Though native only to the
Golden Coast,
the wide canopy,
dark leaves, and grand stature 
forge the confidence of a continent,
reminding us that we must respect
what we cannot change, and
that we must praise
that which is
greater
than we.

~ Danielle Moragne, SHP '13

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, "Consider the Great One, ..."

Mother and Child as seen at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, CA

December 24

"Consider the Great One, the Most High, who becomes a frail little Child, the Changeless and Eternal in nothingness and humility, Riches made poor, a God bound and linked to weak humanity."

 ~ St. Madeleine Sophie Barat 

The above quote was taken from The Wisdom of Madeleine Sophie Barat - Day by Day Calendar.  To order a copy of the calendar (Cost: $10.00 + postage) - click here. 

The above photo taken at Sacred Heart Schools ~ Atherton, California

Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ Named Next Provincial of Chicago-Detroit Province

MER with Fr. Brian G. Paulson, SJ  taken at the IVC Chicago
2013 "Evening of Gratitude" Reception

Sending my heartfelt congratulations to Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ who was recently named the next Provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province.  Fr. Paulson will begin his new leadership role in July 2014, succeeding Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ who will become president of the U.S. Jesuit Conference.  By the way, Fr. Kesicki, SJ gave a wonderful Invocation at the 115th Commencement exercises at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, California on May 24, 2013 (click here to view on YouTube)

“As I finish my term as provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province, I couldn’t be happier that Fr. General has named Fr. Paulson to be the next provincial,” said Fr. Kesicki. “He has the proven capacity and the gifts to care for the Jesuits and the ministries of our province. … I look forward to working with him in my new role as president of the Jesuit Conference.”

Fr. Paulson, SJ is well known here within the Chicago Sacred Heart community serving as the presider for many masses for both Sacred Heart alums and current students at Josephinum Academy and Sacred Heart Schools - Chicago. On occasion those fortunate may find him as presider for the Sunday evening mass at Holy Family Parish.  Holy Family Parish is the very same parish where the Society of the Sacred Heart had established in 1858 a parish school, as well as boarding school.  The Sacred Heart boarding school eventually relocated in 1904 to Lake Forest, IL and today is known as Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart.  

Fr. Paulson served as president of Saint Ignatius College Prep from 1999-2010 and he currently serves as rector of the Loyola University Jesuit Community in Chicago.  

“I am deeply humbled to accept this call of Fr. General to lead and serve my brother Jesuits as provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province,” says Fr. Paulson. “In my 32 years as a Jesuit, I have been richly blessed with Jesuit and lay friends, along with tremendous opportunities for ministry, all of which I treasure.”

To read further information and details of this good news about Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ, please go to the Jesuits website - www.jesuits.org or click here. 

Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J. - Invocation at Sacred Heart Prep 2013 Commencement Exercises

Very Reverend Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J.

Sacred Heart Schools Preparatory in Atherton, California held their One Hundred and Fifteenth Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 24, 2013. The Very Reverend Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J. currently serving as the provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus gave a moving Invocation prior to the Feast day of the Society of the Sacred Heart Foundress, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat.  Fr. Kesicki's most memorable Invocation will long be remembered by the 2013 graduates. 

Fr. Kesicki asked the graduates to imagine what it would be like if Madeleine Sophie were with us now. "Would she have the iPhone 5? Would she be tweeting pithy little aphorisms? Would Madeleine Sophie be sporting Gator pride and high five the graduates as they walked in the procession?"  

Fr. Kesicki concluded his remarks by asking the graduates to give witness to St. Madeleine Sophie Barat's belief that 'your example, even more than your words, will be an eloquent lesson to the world' and "may that example further Sacred Heart's noble mission to form leaders who love God and serve others."

Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J.  was recently named the New President of the Jesuit Conference of the Society of Jesus and he will assume his new position August 1, 2014.

Nancy Morris, RSCJ Honored with Alemany Award

Nancy Morris, RSCJ

Every year, in memory of Arcbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, OP, the first archbishop of San Francisco, the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology honors men and women who have distinguished themselves by exemplary service to the church and community. This year the Alemany Award was presented to five religious whose work has exemplified the service to the church for which their congregations were founded.  One of those honored at the Alemany Award Dinner on April 6th was our very own Sr. Nancy Morris, RSCJ.   

Born and raised in Piedmont, California, Sister Nancy Morris was the middle child of seven children of John Morris and Thelma Toomey Morris. Attending local public schools, she graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in June, 1949 with a BA in English

A trip to post-war Europe deeply impacted her faith and, after a year teaching in a local high school, she entered the noviceship of the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Albany, New York. After her first vows, she returned to California to teach at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco and thence to the boarding school in Menlo Park (now Atherton). She taught sophomores for three years before going to Rome to prepare for her final vows, made on July 29th, 1959.

Returning to Menlo Park, she continued to teach and was made Principal of the Convent School. Introduced to school administration on the Community's well-worn principle of "learning by doing", she prepared second-graders for 1st Communion and taught the seniors Religion. Suddenly, when she was getting the hang of the job, she was made President of the San Diego College for Women, and worked to merge the Women's College with the Men's College to become the one University of San Diego in 1971. She was then sent back to Menlo Park to become Director of Schools.

In 1998 Sister Morris was given a sabbatical and lived directly opposite St. Mary Magdalen Church in Berkeley. Dealing with the Loma Prieto earthquake and the Berkeley fire at that time were memorable experiences.

Sr. Morris moved to San Jose to work with the poor and homeless. She raised funds and wrote the monthly newsletter for the San Jose Family Shelter, witnessing first-hand the desperation so many new immigrants and impoverished families experience in our culture. She learned how to write foundation grants, a skill that held her in good stead as her Superiors asked her to travel the country, to help poverty-based ministries write proposals.

She went on to become the Development Director at an inner city Catholic school for girls in Chicago founded by the Sisters of Christian Charity. She returned to the Bay Area in 1997 and worked for a time at her old school in Menlo-Atherton. In the mornings, she worked at St. Raymond Elementary School while writing grants and the newsletter for Oakwood the Society's Infirmary on the campus of Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton. She continues to hold these two jobs today, enjoying being with young children once again. She is more involved with her parish, St. Raymond's and serves as co-chaplain to the Serra Club.

Congratulations to Nancy Morris, RSCJ!