Dancing In the Fountain
Group Picture after
Commissioning
The last few days of orientation were a whirlwind of activity and filled with many different emotions. Sunday was our official commissioning day. We had a mass where we were all anointed with oil and read our pledge to the passionists. We help create and plan the entire mass including our ritual. For our ritual Carolyn Payne painted the Passionist Volunteers International symbol on a large board and then we cut it into 10 pieces. At the mass our names were read as well as a gift we would bring with us to our sites and as we were called we placed our piece into the puzzle on a black board. The gift that i will bring is energy and all the other gifts were very fitting for each person. The other gifts were love (Charity), compassion (Matt), selflessness (Jared), understanding (Tracy), creativity (C.Payne), curiosity (Carolyn Plunkitt), openness (Jean), ingenuity (Jamie), and humor (Joanine). We also received our hand made passionist necklaces at mass which were presented by Father Lucian. The whole mass was amazing and really made it seem real that we would be leaving in less than a month for this incredible adventure. We had a reception after where families, associates, and the monastic
community were invited to! We had planned to go kayaking after the reception but it was raining hard so we hungout in Pittsburgh for a bit and got dinner then it was pretty quiet night for all of us.
Monday morning Father Lucian went over the Passionists Mission Statement with us and then we were given the rest of the day to work on our own personal mission statements. I was really excited to find out that our last two days would consist of working on our mission statements, having an exit interview with Father Lucian and Sister Maureen and really allow for us to have time for our own personal reflection. At this point we were all pretty worn out and tired from all the information we had been getting. I worked on my mission statement all Monday morning and part of the afternoon and was very excited with the finished product. It was a really interesting experience to write your own mission statement but i found it really helpful and fun to do. Monday afternoon and evening we had a retreat with Sister Maureen Kervick and this really allowed for more personal reflection time. She gave us a list of questions that we could reflect on. We could reflect on one or all of them but got about 45 minutes to go off on our own outside to sit and think. The question that stood out to me the most was "Where and when have you felt God's transforming love?" I thought for a long time about this question and the picture that kept coming to my mind was from when i was in Honduras. About mid-week when i was in Honduras this spring John and I went for a walk around the Ranch at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos around 12am. As we were walking we talked about how our week was going, struggles we were having, and how we were processing. We ended up in front of the church were we sat on a platform with a statue of the man who started NPH and two children reaching up to him. Where we were sitting there was a gap between two trees and you could see off into the mountains where the stars and sky met these mountains. For a few moments we silent and it was then that i felt God all around us. It felt so safe and calm as though God had created this special place for all these children who have been abused and neglected...it was here that God was watching over them and all that come to the ranch. I shared this story when we came back together and my final thoughts were...i just felt so much love and peace at that moment. At the end of the retreat we had a Taize prayer service in the chapel. It is a prayer service that has a lot of music that is repetitive and its really a time just to "be". There are prayers read in between the songs and towards the end we did the washing of the feet to each other. Father Lucian washed someone from Honduras' feet and then someone from Honduras washed another person's feet that is going to Honduras...so on and so on until we moved onto Jamaica and the last person from Jamaica who had there feet washed washed Father Lucian. Washing of the feet is one of the most humbling experiences i have ever had. The lights we low and candles were lit. It was such a beautiful experience.
On Tuesday i finished up my one on ones with people in my group and had my exit interview which went very well. I was feeling in such a great place and really happy with how orientation. Sister Maureen and Father Lucian put so much effort into Orientation to make sure we have all we need to succeed. Tuesday night we went out to Station Square and ate at Bar Louie and after we went out to the water fountain. The fountain puts on a water show and plays music we danced the night away on the ledge together. We got soaking wet but it was a blast!
Wednesday morning we all got together to share our mission statements. Every one's really fit who they were and what there mission is for this next year. I loved that we were all so open and willing to share our vulnerabilities. Its hard to describe the experience other then amazing. Wednesday afternoon we had a closing ritual and then the monks had a BBQ for us. We spent time with them talking and sharing stories and then closed with a slide show that Jared made from pictures over the past three weeks of orientation. After packing up our things we went out for one last night of Karaoke at the Corner Cafe.
These past three weeks have been amazing. I feel as though i have already grown a lot in so many areas. I'm ready to be home for three weeks but i know that i will be ready to go on the 23rd!
