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May Issue of Reflections & Connections

May 24, 2022
By CSA Sisters of St. Agnes

Cover of Reflections and Connections

The May 2022 issue of Reflections & Connections is now available online for your viewing.


In this issue, we celebrate Sister Mercedes' 100 years of life, reflect on Sister Jean's 17 years of leadership, acknowledge and appreciate Earth, pray for those in leadership, and invite you to join us for Jubilee.

This letter appears in the May Issue of Reflections and Connections

Dear Friends,

A number of years ago at a General Chapter, CSA came to the awareness that, “at the heart of who we are is the desire to be connected at the level of the Sacred.” This realization set the community on a journey that beckoned and deepened CSA’s commitment to proceed “… from the wellspring of the Sacred [as we] unfold the mystery of all that unites us.” Chapter followed chapter every four years, leading CSA to find new ways to be and build community in its mission and ministries across the United States, in Nicaragua, and even in Siberia. Ministries continued, flourished, and expanded the charism that God freely shared with us. Once initiated by CSA, a particular ministry became its own reality in an ongoing dynamic of giving and receiving with all involved. This extension, with and by others, nurtured seeds sown by a charism that cannot be contained. We are aware that we will never entirely plumb the depths of this mystery that contains us, is beyond us, and of which we also uniquely have a share.

No matter what goal has been chosen over the years, we have been led on a path that invited CSA “… to respond to those whose faith life or human dignity is threatened” in the very society and culture of this place and time. This defines our way of life, and this way graces the ways in which we interact with others in whatever we are doing or how we are being as Sisters of St. Agnes.

At this time and place, this path has led us to join together as we embrace a transformative journey. We recognize that the journey itself is an end, and the end is a journey. Never alone, always with God and the others with whom we connect along the path, we are on the way to becoming who we are and always have been—pilgrims on a journey that by its very nature is transformative. As one of our founders said, “No step is lost, no drop of sweat is in vain, if one lives in grace and acts through love of God.”Sister Jean Steffes, CSA

In words adapted from Chapter 2017, the Sisters of St. Agnes, grounded in a contemplative heart, God’s mission, and our charism, face our future with honesty and hope embracing our call with courage as we interweave with the reality of the 21st century.

In the peace and love of Christ,
Sister Jean Steffes, CSA
General Superior

Read the full issue of Reflections & Connections here.

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