We’re hiring: Part-time accountant

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, an international congregation of women religious whose congregational offices are in St. Louis, is seeking a part-time Staff Accountant to support the Finance Department in managing the day-to-day financial operations of the congregation. This includes maintaining the general ledger, reconciling accounts, processing accounts payable and cash receipts, and preparing month-end and quarterly financial reports. This position requires a high level of accuracy, discretion and a working knowledge of nonprofit accounting. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in SAGE and SAGE Intacct.

Responsibilities

• Cash receipts and petty cash
  • Accurately record and report all cash receipts.
  • Prepare and process bank deposits.
• Accounts payable
  • Enter vendor invoices into SAGE accounting software.
  • Process manual checks, ACH and EFT transactions weekly.
  • Manage weekly check runs and electronic payment processing.
  • Maintain recurring payable schedules.
  • Resolve vendor inquiries and discrepancies.
  • Oversee annual 1099 processing, vendor database upkeep and W-9 compliance.
• • Corporate credit cards
  • Administer congregational credit card accounts for sisters and employees.
  • Monitor and resolve issues such as fraud or delayed payments.
  • Ensure timely payment of all departmental credit card balances.
  • Ensure credit card expenditures are properly coded to the correct accounting codes.
• Financial reporting
  • Lead the monthly and quarterly close processes.
  • Maintain and reconcile general ledger accounts.
  • Post and categorize transactions accurately.
  • Review investment reconciliation reports and post corresponding journal entries.
  • Prepare and enter necessary journal entries for all financial activity.
• Budgeting
  • Assist in preparing the annual congregational budget.
  • Prepare quarterly departmental budget reports and distribute them accordingly.
• Audit Support
  • Collaborate with external auditors and the CFO during the annual audit.
  • Prepare required schedules, reconciliations and documentation.
• General
  • Ensure compliance with internal policies, procedures and controls.
  • Maintain confidentiality and act with integrity at all times.
  • Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Preferred qualifications

• Proficiency in SAGE or SAGE Intacct (preferred) and Microsoft Office (Excel, Word)
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Respect for and alignment with the values and mission of religious communities
• Ability to work in an environment with frequent interruptions while maintaining focus and accuracy

Desired education and experience

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in accounting (or equivalent experience)
• Minimum of 2-4 years of accounting experience
• Experience in nonprofit accounting preferred

Status

Part-time, approximately 20 hours per week (non-exempt)

Location

Office is located in Sunset Hills, Missouri; Presence in the office is required.

Compensation

• $29,000 – $60,000 annually, depending on education and experience
• Health, dental and vision insurance 
• 15 paid holidays, three weeks of paid vacation annually 
• Retirement contribution after one year of employment 
• Parental and sick leave 

Equal opportunity employer

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

To apply

Please send a cover letter and resume to info@csjcarondelet.org. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

375th Anniversary 

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet join with our fellow Sisters of St. Joseph congregations in celebrating the 375th anniversary of our founding. 

In 1650, six ordinary women, under the guidance of Jean Pierre Medaille, SJ, joined together in community under the patronage of St. Joseph in Le Puy-en-Velay, France. These six women had a common desire to grow in their love of God and serve the unmet needs of the people around them, whom they came to call their “dear neighbors.” From their humble beginnings in a small kitchen, the order grew to include communities all over the world. 

As a part of our 375th Jubilee Anniversary Celebration, we’ve asked our sisters and charism partners to write blog posts reflecting on integral parts of our history and spirituality, illuminating how these symbols and traditions continue to shape our present and future. 

Foundations of Community

As the “Little Design” of Father Jean Pierre Medaille, SJ began to take shape in the mid-1600s, Father Medaille wrote the Règlements, carefully describing a new community of women in service of the dear neighbor. He wrote: “This association is established to provide for many young women or widows not called to the cloister or who have not the means to enter it, and who, nevertheless, wish to live chastely in the world.”

In 1650, six women of the “Little Design” joined together in community under the patronage of St. Joseph in Le Puy-en-Velay, France. Offering their lives in service to God and the dear neighbor, this religious community devoted themselves to the needs of ordinary people, living among them.

These women had no monastery and no convent but were called to live together in a “common life.” In a small kitchen, the original six sisters cooked, ate, made lace to support themselves and grew together as individuals and as a congregation.

Sharing of the Heart in Le Puy

Take into your heart all my words…hear them well. Then, go to your own people and speak to them.

Ezekiel 3:10-11

While forming the first community of Sisters of St. Joseph, Father Médaille called the original six sisters to meet weekly to “confer for a half hour on the state of their congregation and the current works of zeal.” This practice, today understood as the Sharing of the State of the Heart and the Order of the House, gave the first sisters the opportunity to discern together about how the Spirit of God was calling them to live their vocation individually and collectively.

Sister Theresa Kvale, CSJ described Sharing of the Heart as “…finding God through the neighbor, through the activities of daily living, in the zeal for the mission, in nature…it’s a communal spiritual direction.”

The Sharing Continues

A Cornerstone of Our Spirituality

Called to return to our foundation after the Second Vatican Council, we began to relearn about Sharing of the Heart and Order of the House in the 1970’s. Research teams from many different congregations of Sisters of St. Joseph went to France to study our spirituality and history.

“Our tradition of Sharing of the Heart may have elements in common with theological reflection, contemplative dialogue, Lectio Divina and communal discernment, but Sharing of the Heart is different from all of those. It is unique and central to Sisters of St. Joseph,” writes Sister Mary McGlone, CSJ. “This communal prayer practice undergirds all we do and leads us to do anything of which a woman is capable to serve the Dear Neighbor.”

Sharing of the Heart and Order of the House returned to their rightful places as cornerstones of our spirituality. Strength for our mission comes from fidelity to community, prayer, our practice of sharing our heart and celebrating the rituals of church and community. Today, our sisters participate in regular Sharing of the Heart groups with fellow sisters from across the congregation.

The Practice of Sharing of the Heart

Preparation:

Sharing:

In 2013, Sister Irene O’Neill, CSJ, Anne Hannahan and Anita Duckor made a trip to Homa Bay in Kenya, where Sister Rosita Aranita, CSJ had spent five months with the Franciscans of St. Joseph, experiencing and learning the unique local needs. Sister Rosita is a social worker from Hawai`i who had worked in new uses for fields that fruit companies abandoned. She worked with tribal leaders in Homa Bay Hills to identify 36 schools that needed better water catchment and sanitation.

Both Sisters Irene and Rosita are Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Anne and Anita are consociates of this community in St. Paul, Minnesota. Consociates are more commonly called lay associates of religious communities. Consociates in St. Paul prefer the prefix con, which means with, stressing community.

Back in the States, Sister Irene heard Rotary Clubs commit to drill wells in dry areas of the world. “Water is such a basic need, and girls are often the water carriers,” she explains, “keeping them out of school.” But near Lake Victoria, wells produce water too acidic to use. “Their only water supply comes from the sky,” Anita confirms that it’s a condition amazing to the visitors from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. Access to safe water from wells wasn’t an option.

“The roads from Nairobi to Lake Victoria were bumpy. The area was hot,” Anne remembers, “but we wanted to see the needs firsthand, and we did. The water is too acidic to drink or even use to wash clothes. We saw beautiful children playing with rocks and sticks, who asked, ‘Where is Sister Rosita?’”

The Holy Spirit inspired us with a vision to help students, teachers, staff and surrounding communities by investing in the school environments.

Mary Lieta, a local educator and a consociate of the sisters, guided the three visitors to the schools, communities and houses in need of a safe water supply and sanitation. The visitors met tribal leaders and school principals of the Imbo Community Action Program (ICAP), a certified NGO (non-governmental organization) in Kenya. Imbo supports local workers in the schools, gives two sheep to each school, provides trees for planting and identifies new needs. The government pays two-thirds of the school tuition; parents must pay the rest.

“The Holy Spirit inspired us with a vision to help students, teachers, staff and surrounding communities by investing in the school environments,” says Anne. The two consociates returned home and co-founded a nonprofit to raise funds for safe water and sanitation projects. Growing Community Roots (GCR) received its non-profit status in 2014. Another consociate, lawyer John Gries, helped with the legal work pro bono.

“GCR is an all-volunteer organization supported by donations. Relationships matter,” explains Anita.

Today there are ten consociates in the Homa Bay Hills area, and four work with the Growing Community Roots NGO. The website features a bridge, the span of new relationships the water and sanitation projects have built.

The ImboCAP Board yearly visits each school to ensure toilets and water storage tanks keep working. The School Board of Management receives annual reports. These boards, composed of parents, make decisions and set priorities. Anita has visited all 16 schools with new water catchment and sanitation during three trips to Kenya. “We take photos of projects before to show the need and estimate costs, then we take photos again both during construction and after completion.”

The work of having safe water, sanitation, gardens and trees has helped girls stay in school in 16 schools.

“Our investment to date is $407,031, all from donations. We have affected the lives of 16,000 girls, 11,000 boys and 44,000 community members, although we will never really know how many are positively impacted by our educational investments,” says Anne. “We do know that our work enables systemic change for a brighter generation of Kenyan students.”

Girls stay in school when water and sanitation are available. It makes it possible to come to school during menstruation. “Lifting females out of poverty is one of the long-range benefits of our work. Staying in school opens new opportunities for girls in high school and even college,” says Anita.

Mary Lieta, Sister Rosita’s first contact, and nine other men and women have become consociates, keeping the congregation’s mission alive in a part of the world we had not known before.

Growing Community Roots

In a book club comprised of sisters and charism partners, Sister Diane Smith, CSJ reads books that enrich her spirituality and challenge her to the more. Recently, her book club finished Victoria Loorz’s “Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred.”

Dedicated to the teachings of Laudato Si’, our sisters and charism partners embraced Loorz’s book as a part of their ecological conversion. Find Sister Diane’s reflection on “Church of the Wild” below.

Victoria Loorz invites the reader to slow down, really look at nature and listen to how it wants to connect, allowing ourselves to embrace the experience. Nature calls us into the sacred. Victoria shares many of her mystical experiences in connecting with nature, particularly with deer.

As a minister, Loorz struggled with the patriarchy in the church. She found herself wandering on the edge of the Christ experience and suggests that every mystic walk on that edge. Loorz encourages us to acknowledge the Cosmic Christ’s presence in all things, acknowledging the web of life as it continues to embrace us in love.

One excerpt from the book that stood out to me was when Loorz refers to the Gospel of John’s opening verse: “In the beginning was the Word.” From her research on logo/word, she invites to see it as a conversation. The reader is encouraged to go out to the woods or forest to have a conversation.

Since I am a point in my life when going to the forest is not an option, I find myself sitting in a small grove of trees listening to their message. Encouraged to find a way to connect I find a tree that seemed to draw herself to me. The following is what I was encouraged to share.

When first we met,
    leaves dancing in the wind,
    bedecked with small delicate flowers.
She reached down,
    embraced me with her beauty.
We spent the summer together,
    sitting under her branches
    she gave me peace and calm.
In the fall she taught me
    how to let go.
Sleeping in the winter,
    under my watchful presence,
    she knew I was there.
Spring has now awakened her,
    but not to full stature,
    less leaves dancing in the wind,
    still wearing small flowers.
She blesses me by dropping a flower,
    one that is meant for me to keep.
Some branches refusing to come
    back to life.
What message is she giving me? 
At this time in life I still have
    green leaves giving hope to others,
    dropping flowers of encouragement.
Many of my branches, activities, contacts 
    no longer have life,
    finished with what has meant to be.
I look forward to the next seasons,
to learn what more she has to teach me.

Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred

Victoria Loorz

Bookshop.org

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Rose Irene Parkhurst, CSJ, who died on May 22, 2025, at the Teresian House in Albany. She had been a Sister of St. Joseph for 75 years.

Sister Rose was born in Rochester, New York, and later, her parents, Mary and Cecil, relocated the family to Rome, New York. Rose was one of seven siblings and often noted that she had a wonderful lesson in the joys of living in community. After graduating from St. Aloysius Academy in Rome, Rose entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1949. She made her religious vows in 1952.

Sister Rose had a rich and varied ministry. For several years, she taught grade school, eventually finding herself assigned to every grade level. Because she was both gifted and flexible, Sister Rose was often changed; she accepted these challenges with her usual calm and willingness to do her best. Her students liked her, particularly her fairness to each one. They also discovered her low-key sense of humor and loved to tease her, delighting when she would respond in kind.

Eventually, Sister Rose was called to administration and then to parish visitation, new ministries that delighted her. Once again creative and flexible, Sister Rose gladly gave her talents at neighborhood centers, justice councils and other agencies. She would remain in these ministries except for a wonderful sabbatical experience at the Pontificio Instituto in Rome, Italy. Sister Rose returned grateful and recharged until she retired at Shaker Pointe.

Sister Rose opened her whole heart to God with a life well lived. She loved her religious community. and she also loved her family, spending time with her siblings and with the numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom returned the love. “Aunt Rose” was a cherished visitor.

Sister Rose was predeceased by her parents and two brothers, Cecil and Thomas. She is survived by her sisters, Mary Whittemore and Kathleen Parkhurst; and brothers Michael (Marybeth) and Robert (Joyce), along with a host of grateful nieces and nephews. The Sisters of St. Joseph are grateful to the staff at The Teresian House for their loving care.

A wake service will be held at St Joseph’s Provincial House on Tuesday, May 27 from 2 – 4 p.m. with a prayer service at 3 p.m. The funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday, May 28 at 10:30 a.m.

Contributions in Sister Rose’s memory may be made to the Office of Mission Advancement, St Joseph’s Provincial House, 385 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, NY. 12110 or donate online.

June 21, 1938—May 21, 2025

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Linda Nicholson, who went peacefully to God on May 21, 2025, at St. John of God Care Center in Los Angeles. She was 86 years of age.

Linda was one of two siblings. She was born in San Jose, California, on June 21, 1938, but moved as a youngster to San Francisco. San Francisco became her playground, and Fort Point was her favorite spot; this was the city her family called home for many years, and where she nurtured her vocation.

After graduating from Star of the Sea Academy, Linda entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet community in 1956. She ministered for more than 55 years in the field of education as a teacher, administrator and supervisor.

The Diocese of San Bernardino, California shared this tribute to Sister Linda:

Sister Linda Nicholson, a Sister of St. Joseph of St. Joseph of Carondelet who held several key positions of leadership in the Catholic schools of the diocese over 35 years of ministry, was called to eternal rest on May 21 at the age of 86. Sr. Linda served as a teacher and then principal of two Catholic schools in the diocese before moving into diocesan education and formation ministries. She came to the diocese in 1985 to serve as eighth grade teacher at Precious Blood School in Banning. Seven years later she was named principal of St. Mary Regional School in Apple Valley and during her tenure there was named a Distinguished Principal of the Year by the diocese. In 2001, she was named principal of Sacred Heart Academy in Redlands where she worked tirelessly to boost enrollment, foster academic achievement and strengthen Catholic identity. She was named an Associate Superintendent in the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools in 2012, a post she held for five years. In 2017, Bishop Gerald Barnes asked Sr. Linda to lead a new ministry of Mission Integration, designed to help all Church employees live out and model their Catholic faith in their everyday work. Together with her longtime friend and companion, Sister Sara Kane, CSJ, Sr. Linda ended her years of active ministry in the diocese in 2020. … Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord, and let Perpetual Light shine upon her.

Sister Linda approached each mission with a listening ear, a forgiving and understanding heart, a love for challenge and organization. She was a faithful companion and mentor, truly a woman of wisdom and courage. A faithful friend and community woman, she was a true Sister of St. Joseph.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Los Angeles Province, 11999 Chalon Road, Los Angeles, CA 90049 or donate online.

This past week, the Albany Province was filled with joy, laughter, and sweet treats as sisters, staff, and dear neighbors gathered in the Office of Mission Advancement. The occasion? A heartfelt celebration for the appointment of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost! With beaming smiles and warm hearts, the group shared their congratulations, love, and prayers for His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo, born in Chicago, is a Peruvian citizen and was a missionary and Bishop in Peru. Sister Alma Jones, seated in the middle at the table in the Office of Mission Advancement, spent time in Peru as a missionary. In conversation, Sister Alma said, “The people of Peru speak fondly of His Holiness and his pastoral presence.”

Amid the festivities in the Office of Mission Advancement, the sisters were also busy preparing for one of their most beloved traditions – the Annual Spring Raffle! This cherished event brings together friends, neighbors and supporters each year for a chance to win and fundraise for a cause close to their hearts, helping the Sisters of St. Joseph to continue their mission and thrive in community.

Mark your calendar, the raffle drawing will be held on June 20, 2025. 

Want to join the fun and support the Albany Province? Contact the Office of Mission Advancement at 518.783.3604 or via the Albany Province donation page.

With grateful hearts, the CSJ Albany Sisters thank you for your support!

Goodwill and blessings are fellow travelers across the spans of a life well lived. When they cross paths, it’s wise to note the circumstances and give thanks before moving on. 

One such experience recently sparked a full-circle moment for Sister Suzanne Jabro, CSJ, who was desperately searching for a safe and welcoming home for a woman with four children whom she encountered at her ministry, Border Compassion. 

The family had lived in the Posada del Migrantes Shelter in Mexicali, Mexico, for an entire year before receiving permission to cross into the United States legally from Mexico. They are asylum seekers fleeing violence or what is called in the immigration process “a critical fear.” 

As Sister Suzanne prayed for a miracle and threw the net wide, she received an offer of assistance from the Los Angeles House of Ruth. 

In 1978, a group of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet founded the House of Ruth to provider a shelter for homeless women and their children. These founding sisters included Founding Director Linda Pearson (Jennett), Jeanette Van Vleck, Georgeann O’Brien and Judy Molosky—all peers and dear friends of Sister Suzanne. Over 45 years, the founding sisters moved on, and many others took their place. More than 5,000 women and children, most fleeing domestic violence, have found home, help and community at the House of Ruth. For 27 of those years, Sister of Social Service Jennifer Gaeta has led the agency and grown it into an 80-bed transitional shelter. 

Through the network of sisters and others aligned around helping women in need, Sister Jennifer heard about Sister Suzanne’s family. A full-circle moment was born. 

“When I went to the House of Ruth to meet with the family and stood at the bottom of the stairs, I thought back to how many times I had been there before when I lived in East LA,” recalled Suzanne. “It had been 45 years since I stood at the bottom of those stairs picking up Linda Pearson on her day off. There are so many stories, and it was a moment of déjà vu.”   

Though names and faces change, the mission to care for those in need remains constant over time. Blessings and memories flow in moments like these, as does gratitude for the grand, unknowable design that unites us with the Great Love of God.

This story appeared in the 2025 issue of our Los Angeles Jubilee Designs magazine. Find a digital copy of the magazine here.

Border Compassion

Border Compassion, founded in 2021, is a faith-based effort sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministerial Services. It supports 60-150 migrants at Posada del Migrantes Shelter through monthly visits, ESL classes, essential supplies, legal services, trauma-informed care and more. Despite restrictive U.S. immigration policies, Border Compassion continues to aid asylum seekers and deported individuals facing homelessness.

• Learn more at border-compassion.org

House of Ruth

Los Angeles House of Ruth (LAHR) was founded in 1978 to serve homeless women and children, providing all services free of charge. Many women leave their abuser when they realize their children are also in danger, essentially choosing homelessness over abuse. LAHR provides these brave women and their children a safe and secure place to heal.

• Learn more at losangeleshouseofruth.com

January 23, 1925 – May 13, 2025

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Winifred “Winnie” Adelsberger, who passed away on May 13, 2025, at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis. She was 100 years of age.

Sister Winifred, baptized Mary Winifred, was born on January 23, 1925 in St. Louis to parents Stephen S. and Winifred (O’Neill) Adelsberger. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1941 and was received into the novitiate in 1942 as Sister Mary Leander. She received a bachelor’s degree in Latin from Fontbonne College (now University) in 1955 and a master’s degree in Latin from St. Louis University in 1964. 

Sister Winifred devoted more than 60 years of ministry to education. She began in the 1940s at Holy Rosary Grade School and St. Louis Cathedral Grade School, both in St. Louis. She continued into the 1950s at St. Patrick’s in Rolla, Missouri; St. Edward’s in St. Louis; and Sacred Heart in Muskogee, Oklahoma. 

She began teaching high school in 1956, first at St. Thomas Aquinas in Florissant, Missouri. After assisting in the opening of a new parish high school in Chicago, where she taught for six years, she returned to Missouri and taught at Redemptorist in Kansas City. 

In the early 1960s, she taught at St. Anthony High School in south St. Louis. From 1966 to 1971, she was a teacher and assistant administrator at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis and returned to St. Thomas Aquinas High School for 12 years as administrator and principal. 

From 1983 to 1986, Sister Winifred worked for the Catholic Education Office in the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the coordinator of school data services. During that time, computer scheduling was introduced into the Archdiocesan high schools. 

Serving her Sisters of St. Joseph community, she worked at the Congregational Center as an administrative assistant through 2002.

Sister Winifred retired in 2002. For the next 17 years, she was active in volunteer ministry at St. Joseph’s Academy. She moved to Nazareth Living Center in 2019 and carried out her mission of prayer and presence.

Funeral services for Sister Winifred will be held on Wednesday, May 21 at Nazareth Living Center, 2 Nazareth Lane, St. Louis, MO 63129. Visitation begins at 9 a.m., followed by Mass at 10 a.m. 

Memorial contributions may be made to: Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111-2899 or donate online.

Eco-Challenge for Ecological Conversion: As part of our commitment to Earth via our Laudato Si’ Action Plan, we are inviting everyone who shares in our charism to explore the spiritual call to ecological conversion with us.

For many years, up into my mid-sixties, the question that kept haunting me. “What am I supposed to be when I grow up?” Next, I found myself not wanting to read spiritual books, or even The Bible, although I continued reading and reflecting on the Gospels. I felt a need to learn how to think for myself, and reading the thoughts of others was not helpful.

A friend told me about contemplative and centering prayer, which I began practicing. Shortly after, I picked up Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness by Nan Merrill. The word “wholeness” stood out. Yes, I felt myself yearning to be not only whole but holy as well! The translation of the Psalms, the inclusive language, Creation described with such earthiness, spoke to my heart. I felt as though a divine presence was inviting me to know the joy of

Love’s Companioning Presence.
The beginning of a love affair.

The opening of my heart has opened me to a consciousness of the importance of each presence. Seeing with the eyes of the heart, hearing with the ears of the Divine grows more intimate through each moment. Reading the Gospel with the new understanding that I am free to read between the lines, brings Jesus and His ministry more alive and personal.

Could it be the deepening of this “love affair?” I hope so!

I am enamored with these words in our Consensus Statement: “we move always toward profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction.” Through my desire to serve the “Dear Neighbor, there is no thing that is not a sister or a brother. My desire to serve “my dear neighbor,” means that there are no strangers, which includes every thing in this cosmos.

Then the love affairs grew real, happening so often it sometimes took my breath away, brought tears of joy, sadness, fullness or filled my body with fire.

It began with this story.

I was waiting in line at the grocery store and noticed a box of truffles in the person’s basket behind me. I looked at him, pointed to the box and asked, “Ohhhh, you like those truffles?”

“You bet I do!”

 “So do I!”

He gave me a big smile. We introduced ourselves and mentioned how happy we were to meet each other.

Since that moment, I have become a very extroverted introvert. I especially express my gratitude to those who clean the floors or do the re-shelving, telling them that without their presence we would have a big mess and that their work is most important. I introduce myself and ask their name. Yes, how very important is their name.

I chatter with the squirrels who stop to look at me.

I talk…

…with the trees and flowers—even to the roses whose petals are browning, thanking them for gifting this Creation with their beauty.

…to the garden snail, brown and gold spiral shell gleaming in the sunlight, tentacles stretched forward, soft body leaving behind a trail.

…to mockingbirds, unable to protect their nests from invading crows who eat their eggs or fly off with babies to feed their own hatchlings. My heart cries for mockingbirds. This is survival, but still it hurts. Crow babies also need attention.

…to honeybees, humming as they are gathering pollen and nectar from red blossoms of a flaming eucalyptus tree, for their queen and honey we so enjoy.

Discovering the intelligence of trees through threadlike fibers called mycelium (singular), mycelia (plural), that grow underground between trees’ roots allowing them to communicate with each other.

The stories are unending.

Each a love affair.

I witnessed a man, brushing clean the sidewalk with the waving of a blanket. Then he spread it out, sat down and, taking off his shoes, placed them at the top for a pillow. He lay down on the blanket, his head pillowed on the shoes, ready for sleep. I carry his image in my heart…

The Litany of Love Affairs continues.

As you reflect on Sister Celia’s observations, let it inspire you to take action.

• How do you recognize Creation as “the dear neighbor”?
• How can you expand your awareness of nature and find ways to fall more in love with each little thing?
• What sustainable change(s) can you make to show your love for Creation?
• Push yourself to find someone with whom you can share your thoughts about your ecological conversion.