FAITH INTO ACTION NOVEMBER, 2020 NOTRE DAME SISTERS 3501 State Street, Omaha, NE 68112 (402) 455.2994 | NotreDameSisters.org
FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY.
BELOW ARE UPDATES ON OUR WORK.
What will you be giving thanks to God for this month? As we move into this month of Thanksgiving it is so important to call up our prayers and words of gratitude, especially in this time of change, confusion, uncertainty and yes, fear. No one day is the same as yesterday. We long for some normalcy but the abnormal is becoming normal. It is so important to establish something in our day that grounds us, that enables us to find God in all that is changing, confusing and raising the stress level in us. My grounding time is early in the morning when I enter prayer for at least an hour. Using the scriptures and readings, I hear the call for me for the day—be attentive to your neighbor, speak your truth and the Spirit will guide you, pray for those you will meet this day. Praying the Psalms reminds me of the wonder of our God who is constantly loving me, loving us, loving all people and things. God never gives up on us. We are in another increase of COVID cases. We can’t let our guard down. When we keep ourselves safe, we
achieve safety for others as well. Thanks to all those who cooperate with this action. During this month of Thanksgiving, I invite you to find your grounding time, note what is happening in your life, find the gift of God in it and embrace it with great love. Make your prayers this month prayers of great gratitude to our loving God. The Magnificat of Mary is a wonderful Thanksgiving prayer. Let us pray it together this month: Our souls proclaim your greatness, O God, our spirits rejoice in You our Savior for you have looked with favor on your lowly servants. From this day forward all generations will call us blessed, for You, the Almighty have done great things for us and holy is your Name. (Luke 1: 46-55) Happy Thanksgiving Month! I thank God for you and together let us thank and praise God each day. Sincerely, Sr. Margaret Hickey, ND Provincial President, Notre Dame Sisters
Hilton Foundation awards our Safe Homes Program a grant Thank you to the The Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters for selecting our Safe Homes ministry as a recipient for their grant program. We truly depend on partners who support our work. Foundations and donors alike help end the cycle of domestic violence. The Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters honors the desire of Conrad Hilton to support the work of Roman Catholic Sisters around the world. In his last will and testament, Conrad Hilton characterized the Sisters as “protectors and defenders” of children, and encouraged generosity to their schools, hospitals and places of worship.
PRAY WITH US! In thanksgiving for all of those who have been staying safe and keeping others safe during this pandemic. For our leaders that they will be filled with wisdom and courage advocating for peace and justice in our world. For our brothers and sisters struggling with natural disasters of fires, floods, hurricanes and the effects of the pandemic. For so many people facing unjust situations due to racism, poverty, trafficking, unfair immigration policies, that we continue to work together to alleviate these injustices.
Save the Date! Celebration of Spirit: March 21, 2021 Alumnae Reunion: June 19, 2021
No strangers to tough times: read an account of Notre Dame Sisters in a German concentration camps A letter written by Rev. Mother M. Fabiola was sent by a soldier to his mother in the Holy Name Parish in Omaha. She forwarded it to the Notre Dame Sisters. “The hardest trial of the past years was that I was absent from the motherhouse (Horazdovice in Czechoslovakia). I was for 17 months in German captivity in concentration camps at Pankratz,
Rev. Mother M. Fabiola
in Prague, in Terezin, and finally at Ravensbruck in Meklenburg in the women’s concentration camp for the entire year. Sr. M. Epiphanie, the provincial superior from Marienbad (Germany), was also there as were Sr. M. Ernestine and Sr. M. Susanna. They all died there. God preserved me miraculously and saved me only because of the many prayers of the Sisters. I returned to the motherhouse exhausted, in a pitiable condition, and yet comparatively healthy.” About the Sisters who died in the concentration camps, Rev. Mother wrote, “I did not meet dear Sr. M. Epiphanie again in the concentration camp; she died a month before my arrival. Dear Sr. M. Ernestine found me immediately and we could meet daily because outside working hours it was permitted to walk among the cells. We prayed together our religious prayers, the rosary, and on Sunday the prayers of the Mass which was never said there. Sr. M. Ernestine was healthy all the time until... she contracted typhus and succumbed on February 4. I was told she died peacefully and quietly as she had lived. Sr. M. Susanna arrived shortly before Christmas 1944 from Terezin and was already then suffering from typhus of which there was a terrible epidemic because her cell block was isolated. I talked to her just once and she was very sick then. She was just skin and bones. Then she was taken to the hospital where she is said to have died peacefully on December 31, 1944.” On October 1, 1945 came further news from Horazdovice: “...In 1943 there were three German postulants here. Someone reported it to the Gestapo who came right before the reception. The German novices and postulants were commanded to go to work for the state outside the convent. They then took the superior of Bystrice, Sr. M. Ernestine, and the Provincial Superior from Marianbad into imprisonment and finally even me. Both these two paid for it with their lives. They died in the women’s concentration camp in Ravensbruck near Furstenberg in Meklenburg.” From the Archives submitted by Sr. Anita Rolenc. This article has been edited for space. Read the full article at notredamesisters.org/news
Terezin Concentration Camp cell block
We are thankful for YOU and your contributions! Did you know that we now have an Amazon Wish List? Buy a gift directly for a Sister and have it mailed to her door. Find the list at ShareOmaha.org
Our efforts to continue supporting our ministries have been successful because of you! We raised more funds for our Safe Homes program with our holiday poinsettia sale. In the past three months we have assisted more than 60 women and children. With their first month's rent
or utilities paid for, these women can continue down the path of independence. This is a critical point in a woman's life, after escaping domestic violence, to have the financial security and Sisters' support to live on her own while she rebuilds her life for herself and her children.