September 21, 2016

By Judy Talvacchia, SHCJ Associate

In his Jubilee audience on June 30, 2016, Pope Francis said, “Mercy without works is dead.” He went on, “To be merciful
 like God our Father demands constant sensitivity to the needs, material and spiritual, of those around us.” A number of SHCJ Associates are offering service in Holy Child ministries which respond to the material and spiritual needs of our world in the spirit of Cornelia Connelly.

Liam Mennis, Holy Child Associate from Pasadena, CA has been involved with SC LAMP (South Central Los Angeles Ministry Project) since 2012. The Society is one of eight founding religious orders of the project which offers literacy, empowerment and parenting skills to women in one of the poorest areas of Los Angeles. Liam was approached by SHCJ Associate Jan Clifford, a board member of SC LAMP, to offer finance and technology services. This was a perfect fit for Liam, a veteran of almost 50 years in the technology field. It was an opportunity for Liam to give back and also to explore the graces of Association. Liam’s wife Linda, also an Associate, is on the board of Loyola High School. Liam says that “since she spends a lot of time “hanging out with Jesuits”, it seemed appropriate for him to “spend an equal amount of time hanging out with the Sisters!” Liam is proud of the fact that during the early days of SC LAMP, Jan Clifford was the first lay Associate representative of a founding order on the board. Now Liam is the first male and first male Associate on the board. SHCJ charism, mission and values are well represented at SC LAMP!

Liam believes his involvement with SC LAMP allows him to live the Holy Child motto “Actions not Words.” He sees himself helping to educate and empower the next generation of U.S. citizens. It also moves him deeply to see the impact SC LAMP programs have on the women they serve – the humble and hidden of Los Angeles society – as they become competent and confident to take an active role in their families and communities.

His technological expertise helps the project to operate more effectively and efficiently in meeting a pressing need among female immigrants in Los Angeles. Liam shows how lifegiving Cornelia’s message can
be for men as well as women. His work at SC LAMP demonstrates the gifts that men can bring to the SHCJ charism and mission. We look forward to his continued presence and involvement as an Associate!

Other Associates have offered their expertise and passion to boards of Holy Child sponsored ministries. Ellen Colangelo and Barbara DeConcini have served
on the board of Casa Cornelia Law Center in San 
Diego. Casa Cornelia offers free legal aid to victims of human and civil rights violations, with a special focus on immigrants. Barbara is also currently Chair of the Board of Providence Center in Philadelphia. The mission of Providence Center is “providing joy and hope to the Fairhill section of Philadelphia through educational programming”, primarily to impoverished Latino students.

Associates Pat McKinley and Elaine Zajano offer a
very different type of service but equally necessary. They help Sr. Roseanne McDougall, SHCJ to inventory and catalogue the items in the American Province Archives. The items are then entered into a database for easier access. Pat and Elaine go through letters, journals, articles, books and artifacts that chronicle the history of the American Province in the U.S. and abroad. It is time consuming and laborious work but both Pat and Elaine say that it gives them a sense of meaning, purpose and joy. For Elaine, it is a way to learn more about “Cornelian connections and history.” Pat adds that many of the letters inspire her, with their description of the challenges and struggles of Sisters beginning ministries in Africa and across the Americas – “faced with a joyful spirit.”

Pat sums up the experience that she and Elaine share, “To be able to help in any small way, to capture these stories and preserve them for anyone to read and understand the work of the SHCJ, allows me to be part of and close to the women who gave so much of themselves to bring education, joy and recognition of God’s presence in our daily lives to thousands.”

Elaine and Pat are doing humble and hidden work that helps to make the SHCJ charism and mission manifest to the wider world. The works of mercy documented from the past will inspire us today to continue responding to our merciful God in meeting the wants of our age with creativity and joy.
Pope Francis has described justice as the other side of mercy. In his introduction to the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Pope says, “These are not two contradictory realities, but two dimensions of a single reality that unfolds progressively until it culminates in the fullness of love… Mercy is not opposed to justice but rather expresses God’s way of reaching out to the sinner, offering him a new chance to look at himself, convert, and believe.”

Associate Michelle Dugan, a passionate advocate for climate justice, resonates with this understanding of mercy and justice. Education, awareness and spiritual integration are all included in her advocacy work. She says she remembers when she first became aware of the connection between the environment and Incarnational spirituality. She was at a retreat day where she encountered Brian Swimme and the universe story for the first time. She remembers the day vividly – “a gorgeous October afternoon. I sat under a tree during
a quiet time and truly felt that connection to the natural world, beauty and God.” Tese Currie, SHCJ was there and invited Michelle to join the Evergreens, a group of Sisters exploring the connections between ecology and spirituality – ecospirituality.

Since then, Michelle has attended rallies on behalf
 of the environment, including the People’s Climate March in New York City in 2014, and lobbied with Interfaith Moral Action on Climate at congressional offices in Washington, DC. In the spring of 2015, she attended the Society wide Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) meeting in Nemi, Italy as the Associate representative from the American Province. She is a member of the SHCJ Ecospirituality Group where she shares action alerts about environmental issues with other members. She is always looking for opportunities to educate and increase awareness in herself and others. For example, she was interviewed on behalf of Catholic Relief Services by a group of high school students working on a climate project.

Michelle feels that her relationship with the Society helps to broaden her understanding of the Incarnation and find a path towards “right relationship” with the environment. She believes that educating ourselves about our common home “in order to be what God wants us to be” is also part of the SHCJ charism.

We rely on people like Michelle to encourage us to grow beyond our comfort zones. She and others like her, help us to see how the discoveries of science affect our Incarnational spirituality and how we can translate our awareness into action on behalf of creation.

These Associates and many more, have responded to
a call to merciful action that is unique to their personal gifts, passions and life circumstances; however, their common motivation is the life giving energy of Cornelia Connelly’s legacy. Nourished by her charism and spirituality, they are moved to give of themselves in service. The Society’s ministries cannot help but be enriched.

Questions for Reflection

1.    How do these examples of Associates volunteering with Society ministries inspire you to action that promotes the charism and mission of the Society?
2.    What is your understanding of the relationship between mercy and justice? How does Incarnational spirituality affect that understanding? How does it move you to action?
3.    How do the Holy Child charism and the Pope’s focus on mercy help you to respond to the violence, fear and prejudice we are facing today?