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Reflection

How to stay in the present moment? 

 Los Angeles Province

The Los Angeles Province Fall DESIGNS magazine will be in the mail soon! The theme this season is “The Power of the Present Moment.”

Many of our sisters and associates sent in beautiful reflections of their experience with how to get into the present moment. We were not able to fit all these pearls of wisdom in the magazine, so we are highlighting them here.

This one is from Sister Sean Patrice Smythe, CSJ:

How to stay in the present moment? Grabbing my original thought, prayer, holding onto it like a lifeline; renewing my attention and intention, apologizing to God sometimes.

Practices—letting a startling image take hold of me—the homeless shirtless​ man walking down our disserted street late the other night. My thoughts race off a 1000 scenarios of why and I have to look back at him as he trudges out of sight. That image revisits me.

Being in the present moment keeps re-focusing me on the bond between here and the great bond among all creation with our loving God.  I’ve become much more aware of people and their environment and tying all of it with God and allowing compassion and understanding to soften or clarify my judgment.

Being in the present moment brings eternity and reality and God’s presence as one.

Take a close look at our environment. It has much to teach, scandalize and reward us.

~Sister Sean Patrice Smythe, CSJ

Sign up for our Los Angeles Province mailing list to receive your copy of Fall DESIGNS 2024!

Category: Reflections

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The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to “do all things of which women are capable.” The first sisters of our congregation arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and we now have additional locations in St. Paul, Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Peru. Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic.

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