Reparation Thoughts
….By His Wounds we are healed
Volume XXIII, Number 4
Dear Donnès of Reparation, Family and Friends,
It was in 1959 that our Religious Community arrived in the Diocese of San Diego at Mt. Saint Joseph School. The city was Barstow located in the Northern Mojave Desert. It was the only Catholic Parish within a forty-mile radius. There were many forms of poverty awaiting our Sisters and a “poverty of religion” was one of them. A very simple example was the answer Sister Anne Joseph received when inquiring ‘Who is the Holy Spirit?’ A young man raised his hand to explain: “He is the dove on the front of our book!”
The Church was poor and had little to use as the Liturgical Seasons unfolded. Fortunately, our Sisters had brought supplies from New York which were used for their ministry there and included in preparation for the unexpected. Without these supplies there would be no Altar of Repose for Holy Thursday. Neither would there be a proper Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday. Not even pieces of charcoal were on hand to prepare the Easter Fire for the Vigil.
Mother Therese, Sr. Mary Aloysius, Sister Regina Rose and Sr. Mary Immaculate were diligently at work to measure, sew, create all that was necessary to properly adorn the altar for the Holy Triduum. Late into the night they all worked for this was a labor for God Himself. Nothing was too great or too difficult when it was for God! How wise Mother Therese was in her preparation for this new adventure. How inspired were her actions! No wonder, her titular name was “of the Holy Spirit”.
These humble, loving people were in awe of the beauty that unfolded in this most Sacred time for our Catholic Church. They had much respect for their God and our Sisters helped to formulate this into a natural, lovely unfolding of the Love that God had for them.
Tears of reverence and joy filled their eyes and their hearts. Families from Mexican heritage, Chinese lineage, Native American, Marine Base populus, many other nations and Caucasians blended as one with the songs and festivities of the Last Supper, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Morn. I suspect the newness that the Apostles felt as Jesus’ Promises unfolded had a similarity to this desert experience.
Hopefully, each of us realizes the newness that God invites us to experience with each day. His Love has no end, so its outpouring continues to open new horizons, new windows of hope for each of us. We are not locked into our past. We are not confined by our sin unless we are unwilling to ask forgiveness and make the necessary changes in our lives. Jesus has suffered, died and risen from the dead that we might have the promise of eternal joy and happiness. Let us live as people who have been saved and redeemed! May our light of hope shine for all to see. May we be His witnesses daily!
Mother Mary of the Angels, SR
March 2024
