Mission Effectiveness
Papal ambassador Nuncio Brown no stranger to Sister Olga
Nuncio Brown is the new papal ambassador to the Philippines. Pope Francis assigned United States Archbishop Charles J. Brown as his ambassador to the Philippines last September. The New York native had been the Vatican’s diplomatic representative in Albania from March 2017 through September 2020. It was during his last year serving as Nuncio in…
Sisters make final vows in Vietnam and Senegal
Two former international students who came to the Mid-North America Province Center while learning English as a second language made final vows recently in their home countries. Magdalen Bui pronounced her vows on December 16, 2020, in East Asia Province, Vietnam Sector. She came to St. Louis from the East Asia, Vietnam Sector on July…
Good Shepherd convent in Vietnam
Let me share about my ministry and our Good Shepherd convent in Vietnam. It is difficult to introduce the convent because we don’t yet have a place to call our convent home. We are in the process of asking permission of the government to register the name Good Shepherd. It is a political process and…
Spiritual healing a call to vocations
Spiritual healing is Sister Cathie Boerboom’s call to vocations. She is a Reiki Master, certified grief recovery specialist, and certified spiritual director. She offers spiritual direction and retreats, grief recovery services, and Reiki in a private practice in Portland, Oregon. When did you open your spiritual healing practice? I began offering Reiki and grief recovery…
My pilgrim year as a contemplative
I began my pilgrim year right after the Maria Droste Contemplative Community closed in January 2020. I took a 30-day retreat in February under the spiritual guidance of Janice Rushman, RGS, in Detroit. I used the Itinerary of St. John Eudes as my material for the retreat. I continued the journey along my pilgrim year…
Gracenter online fundraiser focused on recovery
The first ever Gracenter online fundraiser took place throughout the full month of September, in tribute to National Recovery Month. Good Shepherd Sisters thank all of the generous supporters who gave sponsorships, bought raffle tickets, bid on silent auction items and made donations to help the brave women of Good Shepherd Gracenter as they break…
Card ministry begins
A new card ministry sprang up this fall when COVID forced our elderly Sisters to stay locked behind closed doors. Mason Pointe Care Center in St. Louis is home to 22 Good Shepherd Sisters and two lay women who are elderly. The facility is on renewed lockdown due to an outbreak of positive tests for…
Tale of two cemeteries
The Province Leadership Team decided in 2019 to move Sisters’ graves from our private Good Shepherd cemetery in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, to a perpetual care cemetery under the Diocese of Scranton. Leadership made the decision because no Sisters had lived in Scranton for at least 10 years, and the private cemetery needed much work. The…
Technology as a teaching adventure
In early February, a young Sister in Vietnam wanted to improve her English, especially her pronunciation and writing. She contacted her aunt Sister Monica Duong in St. Louis and asked if she knew anyone who could help her achieve these goals. Sister Monica asked me if I would be willing to take on this task….