National Day of Encouragement

Can you remember those early days of COVID when we longed to leave our homes and go to the grocery store or the drug store or for a walk in our neighborhood?  We were cautioned daily about where we could go and warned that it was important to wear a mask, sanitize our hands upon entering and exiting buildings including our own homes.  In the stores we moved down the aisles in an orderly fashion, keeping our distance from the person ahead of us. Rarely did we see anyone stocking shelves and only met workers at the checkout counter behind plexiglass not seeing any smiles or hearing greetings of welcome.

I recall the urge to offer words of encouragement and thanks to those folks who faithfully served my needs during those long months of isolation from the mainstream of society.  It seems to me that ‘many of us were kinder and more caring’ and took time to recognize people when we passed them on the street those days.  It meant a lot to have someone say hello (even though they were masked) and we found other ways of acknowledging people with a nod of our head or a deliberate attempt to have eye contact.  We learned and lived the importance of encouraging folks to “carry on” as best as they could given the situation we were living in during those 3 years of COVID.

A recent incident has called me to be mindful of using words of encouragement when I meet people during my day.  A young woman whom I have recently met called me over to her table and said these words “I am proud of you!”  I was taken back at her words, thanked her and asked her why she would say this. “Because you are old, and you are volunteering here” was her response.

In the end, it is not what was said but rather realizing that someone has taken a risk perhaps to recognize another person and make a comment that could be the highlight of the person’s day.

I invite you on this National Day of Encouragement to take notice of the folks who cross your path today and offer words of encouragement and kindness.  Words can harm and words can heal – it is our choice!

-Sister Ann MacDonald, CSJ

Header Image: Unsplash/Katrina Wright

Welcome Home Yellowknifers

On Wednesday September 6, 2023 at 11:00am, the Evacuation Order for Yellowknife was lifted. At 11:30 a.m. I left Behchoko for my home in Yellowknife. I had anticipated a long convoy of vehicles from the south, but I seemed to be the only vehicle travelling to Yellowknife.  Only one other vehicle followed behind me. Many are still in the south. Some places along the highway are still very smoky.

The city is still very quiet. Only some services- groceries, stores, drug stores, gas stations -are available but on shortened schedules.

It is very good to be home. To my surprise, it was a very emotional journey back to Yellowknife. I stopped at one store and there I saw and approached one of the Firefighters. Bright yellow jacket.

I asked, “Did you stay behind to keep city safe?”

He replied, “Yes, I did. That’s what I do.”

With big tears in my eyes, (again) I shook his hand and thanked him.

He said, “Welcome back home. Enjoy your return.”

Wherever you go in my apartment building, at gas bars, grocery stores, etc - people stop to talk and share their evacuation stories.

I am so grateful to front line workers and the collaboration of all governments: Government of NT, Municipal Government of Yellowknife, and First Nations Government of Yellowknifers, Dettah and Ndilo.

Gratitude to all of you who prayed, emailed, called- masi t’a masi.

Now, we continue to remember our dear Sister Maggie and all residents of Hay River and Fort Smith who await their return to their homes. We remember all those who have experienced great losses, especially the village of Enterprise,  NT.

Se Nothsi, Masi

Sister Diane Naud

What Do You Wake Up For?

Another product tagline caught my attention. Recently, as I sipped my morning coffee, I heard the question, “What do you wake up for?” on a TV mattress [1] commercial. This question, amid the coming approach of autumn, became a catalyst for deeper thought. The start of the school year, the resumption of meetings and another year of activities often acts for me like a mini- New Years inviting me to renew or make new resolutions. I am given the opportunity to begin a change I want to initiate. This seasonal change offers me the necessary prompt to consider what needs addressing in my life?

Still enjoying my morning coffee, these lines from a poem often attributed to Pedro Arrupe came to mind.

What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

-Joseph Whelen, SJ

Indeed, what we are in love with, what seizes our imagination, will affect everything. It will decide everything. What motivates us? Is it time to make mid-year resolutions?

- Sister Nancy Wales, csj

[1]  Tuff and Needle Canada | Image: Unsplash/Timothy Eberly

A MEMORABLE VISIT

This summer I had an experience that I never imagined would come my way. For two weeks in July I had the marvelous opportunity of visiting the Northwest Territories (NWT). I was the eager guest of Sister Maggie in her cozy rented house on the banks of Hay River for which the town is named. Untouched by the forest fires are wooded areas that surround her home. Maggie is an avid gardener, and her variety of vegetables and bright flower plots attest to her creativity.  

Following a smooth flight, Sisters Maggie and Diane who have ministered in the North for decades, met me at the airport. After an enjoyable lunch with Sister Diane, in her Yellowknife apartment, Maggie and I set off for the five-hour drive to Hay River. Along the way, I had my first sight of a bison herd that was resting and grazing on the side of the road.  As we drove along the McKenzie Highway, I noticed stark evidence of past fires in the region. Thus began my introduction to the North.

Sister Maggie and Sister Loretta, 11:00 PM, Great Slave Lake, NWT 2023.

During my visit, Maggie, was the perfect hostess and tour guide.  Because of our travels, Fort Simpson, Fort Resolution, Fort Smith and Enterprise are no longer just names of which I have heard the Sisters speak.  They are localities I visited and was welcomed by people who call these places home.  As we travelled around the countryside, I was introduced to black bears and more bison. At one point, a magnificent caribou bounded across the road in front of us. Maggie who was always on the lookout as she drove, was able to stop in time for us to admire all these marvelous creatures as they made their way around or beside us.

The highlight of my trip was spending time with Maggie and accompanying her as she went about her daily ministries.  When at home, we sorted bundles of recycling, gardened, played with Ts’udaa, her entertaining cat, or just sat in the back yard and watched the antics of the birds and squirrels.

It was intriguing to look out the window at midnight and be able to enjoy the sight of God’s creation in the natural light of the summer sun not quite set. Unfortunately, because it was never really dark, the famous Northern Lights were not apparent in the night sky.

All too soon, two unforgettable weeks flew past, and it was time to bid farewell to Maggie and head for home. Because of the recent outbreak of a forest fire near Yellowknife, I had to rearrange my flight plans and fly to Yellowknife rather than having Maggie drive me. In Yellowknife, I bid farewell to Sister Diane and Linda and continued my memorable journey homeward.

I am grateful to my community for providing a wonderful opportunity to expand my horizons and visit the Land of the Midnight Sun.

-Sister Loretta Hagen, CSJ

Header image: Unsplash/Alexis Mette; all other images Sister Loretta Hagen.

Memories of World War II and the Red Cross

Relaxing during our summer evening meals at the cottage often leads to interesting discussions.  Recently, we four vacationers were discussing the state of the war in Ukraine and other world hot spots.  Sister D’s thoughts soon turned to her experience of World War ll through the eyes of a young girl in a family of nine who endured the travails of the war in the Netherlands.  They lived in a rural setting, not far from the city of Makkum.

She spoke of hearing the drone of enemy planes overhead and wondered what that might mean.  Although being surrounded with worry, her parents provided safety from fear. “Our Dutch world was upset but going to school remained a priority.” One day as the children set out to walk to the local school, they were turned back because the school building was needed for emergency care of the wounded. Puzzled, they trudged the seven-kilometer journey home.

Sister D continued her story, Sometimes, gunshots were heard regularly in the city but not out in the country where we lived. From time to time, a large airplane with a visible Canadian Red Cross sign would fly over the farm fields. How excited we were when they dropped large crates of oranges and canvas bags of supplies into the fields.  The farmers would quickly collect the items and deliver them to the city schools.  I’ll never forget the pretty green skirt I once received.  We also gratefully received our treasured orange wrapped in soft tissue, and excitedly ate it, savoring every morsel. Even the peel was not wasted. We would put a piece of it in our pockets so we could enjoy its sweet smell.  To this day, the Dutch people have never forgotten the bravery of the pilots and generosity of Canadians who made those wonderful sky drops that filled our hearts with excitement and gratitude.

After the war, in 1951 when I was fourteen, my family moved to Canada.  I remember being on a train from Halifax to Montreal. Looking out the windows, we were amazed at the size of Canada with its vast crops, soaring mountains, and rolling hills.  We were awed at the beauty surrounding us on all sides, especially the tumbling waterfalls that seemed to pop out of nowhere.

Ever since those war years, The Canadian Red Cross has meant a lot to me; I longed to work for them.  As the years passed, I had an opportunity to do so and was hired as a registered nursing assistant to attend to the sick and elderly in their homes.  At last, I was fulfilling my dream to express deep appreciation to The Canadian Red Cross. Proudly, I carried my Red Cross bag from client to client.  Still today, this great organization continues their outreach to help where help is needed most”.

Those of us listening at the dinner table were moved deeply by having one of our Sisters share her war experience.  May Canada remain a welcoming land and may countries at war soon experience peace.

-Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ