Saturday, September 15, 2007
Our Lady of Sorrows
Today is a day of sorrows not just in the liturgy, but in particular for our Sisters in San Antonio. Years of redevelopment in the neighborhood of our book center have been good for the city, but bad for us. A whole new project has begun recently, progressively choking off access to our beautiful center, just across the park from San Fernando Cathedral. We can't support ourselves at that location with all that going on, so today will be the last day we are open for a while. A team of sisters will stay on while going to the exhibits we have already committed to. They will also try to gather information and insights to help us see the path we need to take for an effective mission in a state where we have had an active presence for 53 years. Please pray for the community and for our many wonderful friends in San Antonio.
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3 comments:
How sad indeed! It reminds me of when the Sisters had to leave Hudson Mall in Jersey City, in large part, because of the owner/manager of the Mall would not give them an exemption from being open for business on Sundays. However, as much as felt the loss of their being so close, we know that there was - and continues to be a great mission for them (not so far away) in Edison, NJ.
As frustrating as it may be that the plans for rejuvenating the city did not better include the vital work and mission of the Pauline Center, it's probably that God has an even greater need for the Sisters and the Center is another part of the city/region/state. It's a blessing that a team of FSP can stay on to continue the already committed to outreach events and also evaluate where God is taking the FSP presence in Texas to next. Perhaps it will only be a time of "advent" after which San Antonio itself will say "we must have the Sisters here ... how can we make it possible and mutually fruitful?" Here's hoping - and praying!
Oh no! I live in San Antonio and am considering religious life with the FSPs! I had no idea this was happening.
I'm sorry you had to hear it from me, Angela. Probably the sisters there are feeling so sad they didn't know how to communicate the news without crying, so they just ... procrastinated. Sr. Kathleen and Sr. Beatrice are staying for a while, though, and Sr. Margaret Joseph will come down to help analyze the needs in the area. Then Sr. Beatrice will go help the nuns in HONOLULU!!! (But right now, she feels so sad about San Antonio, she probably can't feel too excited about going to Hawaii.) Two of the sisters here in Chicago had served as superior in San Antonio years ago, and they didn't want us to even mention the closing in our prayers. It was just too hard on them. So pray for all the sisters whose hearts are still in Texas...
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