On Saturday, August 25, Ludwiga and Mathilda were prepared to receive their First Holy Communion…their joy and anticipation shouted loudly their love for the Lord and their desire to now take and eat and to take and drink the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It has been a very blessed weekend for us here. Ludwica and Mathilda were accepted into the Catholic Church and received their First Holy Communion. They have been preparing for this moment during this past year, desiring every day to participate at the Table of the Lord. Over the summer, they had some intense preparation as the day became closer.
On Friday, August 24, everything was ready for their Baptism in our convent chapel. The water, the holy chrism for Baptism, the candles. Dressed in their white dresses, made by Madam Omanie, they were ready to enter the sanctuary of the Lord. Father Samson presided at the Mass and preached boldly what their Baptism means for them and the Church: their call to be priest, prophet and king, now to be a living witness of their lives with Jesus Christ and His Church. Ludwica and Mathilda were ready to answer loudly the questions asked: DO YOU BELIEVE…? YES, I BELIEVE…could be heard by all.
After the celebration, a small receptions was given with Soup Jamou (pumpkin soup) and two cakes. The joy of the Lord is our strength!
We never know when someone comes to the door what their need might be. One day, within that one morning, we received two little babies. One, you may remember his story, was Jamesly. When he came to us last year, just a month or two old, he was nearly dead. Malnourished and sickly, he did not have the strength to feed at his mother’s breast. Today Jamesly, who we see monthly, is a healthy year-old boy, getting ready to walk. Jamesly gives us such joy when we see his progress.
Right after Jamesly left, another mother arrived. This one we had not seen before. Her child was lifeless at first and also a year old. What a difference from Jamesly!
Both the child and her mother looked so sick and so hungry. The mother gave us a story that the child had been in the hospital and received blood, but she was still in bad shape. We gave her some pedialyte, powdered milk, diapers and some clothes. We encouraged her to see our doctor in the Mother Angela Clinic.
And, as always, we prayed over them for healing…
Here at the Felician Haiti Mission, August means preparation for the the new school year. Felician backpacks with school supplies need to be prepared, and uniforms need to be made…
On Saturday, August 11, we celebrated the feast of St. Clare. What better way to do this than by inviting some young women who are interested in our religious life to pray with us and to learn about the life of St. Clare! It was indeed a Festival of Lights!
We all gathered in the chapel before the San Damiano Cross, just like Clare would do with her sisters. The young women first watched a short PowerPoint about the life of St. Clare in French.
Then we shared the prayer from darkness to light as we walked with Saints Francis and Clare, embracing Christ and listening to our personal call to know what is ours to do with our lives here and now.
The celebration continued with homemade banana bread, iced tea and, of course, some chocolates. The joy of the Lord was shared as we got to know each other even more.
What you hold, may you always hold.
What you do, may you always do and never abandon.
But with swift pace, light step and unswerving feet,
so that even your steps stir up no dust,
Go forward, the spirit of our God has called you.
—St. Clare of Assisi
Sharing our gifts and talents with others is a necessity. James, our seminarian, shares the faith with Ludwiga and Mathilda as they prepare for Baptism and Communion; Sr. Marilyn gives guitar lessons; and Sr. Inga leads young women in prayer.
On Tuesday, August 7, Sr. Marilyn began her journey to return to Jacmel. Very happy to return to her Haitian family, she was to leave on her early 5:40 a.m. flight to Orlando, Florida. then to Port au Prince, Haiti. She arrived on time in Orlando. Eric, our JetBlue pilot friend, was even going to be the pilot for this run. With an excited heart to re-enter the mission, a phone call came from Sr. Inga, who was in Jacmel. There were demonstrations near Jacmel and Fritz, our driver, could not pass to get to the airport. He had to turn around and return to the Mission. The best thing for Sr. Marilyn to do was to wait it out, stay overnight in Orlando, and try again on Wednesday. JetBlue changed the ticket, free of charge. Eric was still flying the plane, but he gave his car keys and car to Sr. Marilyn to go to stay with his family over night. His wife, Cassandra, and family welcomed Sr. Marilyn like one of the family. Now remember, the Gospel for the day was Peter going to Jesus walking on water saying: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
In the meantime, Eric was trying to contact the pilot who flies a small plane from Port au Prince to Jacmel daily to see if he had a run on Wednesday. No word from Roger, the pilot, until Wednesday morning. He had a space because another passenger was going at 5 p.m. and the price of the ticket was split. We had always wanted to know how this would work, in case we were in need of the plane; and we got the opportunity to find out. Sr. Marilyn kept remembering the words given to Peter and accepted God’s plan for this new journey. And then the Gospel for this day was “O woman of great faith, let it be done to you as you wish.” Matthew 15:28. My wish was to return to the mission safely.
Sr. Inga was concerned for Sr. Marilyn with three bags and needing to get to this small airport. She had Fritz and Jean Philip leave very early in the morning, before the second day of demonstrations started in JACMEL. When Sr. Marilyn arrived in Port au Prince, they were waiting, ready to take her to the small airport next to the international airport, which was about a 10 minute drive away. Roger, the pilot, was waiting Sr. Marilyn in his plane.
Here is Roger’s helper cleaning the windshield.
Fritz and Jean Philip made it back home to Jacmel four hours later.
Sr. Marilyn boarded the plane and was the co-pilot 😉.
Thank God Sr. Marilyn had once flown with her brother in a helicopter that had no doors, because Roger said to keep the plane door open until getting in the air in order to get some air. 🤔🤭😲 Thankfully, he shut and locked the door. It was glorious, like touching God in all his beauty.
Now getting ready for our landing into Jacmel.
It is so good to be back home with my family in Jacmel. 😁
From July 17-August 6, Sr. Marilyn was in New Jersey, Chicago, and Texas. First she was visiting our Sisters in Lodi, NJ. It was a graced time for prayer and presence. Then it was sharing with our Sisters in Chicago, visiting friends and having a mission appeal at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Belmar, NJ.
My dear 👁👀friends!
The last stop before Sr Marilyn’s departure and return to Haiti was a trip to Texas to visit her brother and sisters-in-law, Jim and Barbara. She was able to also see her niece and grand nieces and nephew.
Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti 