http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/RSS/SiteRSSFeed.ashxThe latest news from Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women5 The address given by Sister Mary Aquin at Saint Xavier's Winter Commencement, during which she was awarded an honorary degree, has been published in the current issue of the Saint Xavier University Magazine.  It is now available for our readers, along with two other talks by Sister Mary Aquin:  A Wild Patch of Grace, and Mercy: the Fifth Cardinal Virtue.   http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=4028 2010-09-03 Sr. Carol Rittner, RSM, has launched an E-journal called Mercywords.  The current issue is devoted to the controversy in the USA about whether or not an Islamic Cultural and Community Center should be built in New York City in an area close to Ground Zero.Four writers--Jewish, Christian, and Muslim--have posted short essays on the subject.  You can access them at www.mercywords.com. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=4030 2010-09-03 Our Director, Dr. Diane M. Caplin, has been granted a leave of absence.  Mary Aquin O'Neill, RSM, will administer the Center in the interim.  We ask God's blessing on Diane and her family. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3974 2010-08-23 Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women, in conjunction with the Murphy Initiative for Peace and Justice and the Bon Secours Spiritual Center, will sponsor an annual day of reflection on October 30, 2010, at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriottsville, MD.  This year's theme is Equipping Women and Those in Peril to Deal with Violence Through Non-Violent Strategies.  Simone Campbell, SSS, will be the keynote speaker.The day begins at 9:15AM and ends at 1:00PM.  Lunch will be available following the program.  Cost for the day is $25.00.  Please register by calling 410-442-3142 or visiting www.bonsecoursspiritualcenter.org. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=3976 2010-08-23 It would be a good idea to check out the "Frequently Asked Questions" portion of our "Programs and Events" page before registering for the first time.  The registration page does not automatically hold onto previously entered data and that can be frustrating.  If you follow the directions given there and at the top of the registration page, however, things will go more smoothly.   We look forward to welcoming you to the Center. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=3978 2010-08-23 There is room in the Writing Women group for additional members.  The Writing Women are a small group from Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women who have been writing and meeting monthly for the past 6 years. Beginning as a course offering at the Center in the Fall of 2004, Writing Women has met monthly-- sometimes on site and sometimes off. This Fall we are meeting in the library at Poplar Hill.   Writers come from different backgrounds and write in different styles about different topics. We are joined by our love of writing and by the respect and support we offer each other. During our time together we share what we have written. We try to keep our offerings short enough to allow everyone to have time to share at each meeting. It is not necessary to have something to share each month, but we each try to have something to offer most of the time. Unless specifically requested to do so, participants do not critique each other's work but simply listen and offer support, accompanied by occasional reflections. The only rules for Writing Women are a commitment to writing and a willingness to share what has been written with each other in this small group. Some Writing Women have moved on to publish their work, but most write for the expressive creativity of the process.   If you think you might be interested in joining this group, please email Kathy Kavanagh at kathykavanagh@comcast.net. Kathy will be happy to answer any questions you might have. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3936 2010-08-16 Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women seeks applications for a half-time administrative assistant position.  Applicants must know Microsoft Office (in particular Word, Outlook, and Access).  Familiarity with web site management is a plus.   The Center offers a competitive salary, benefits, free parking, and a beautiful working environment.   For further details and application information, contact maoneill@mountsaintagnes.org. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=3926 2010-08-12 Women in Black, Baltimore has joined with other organizations worldwide to advocate for global peace, justice, and an end to violence.  Join them for their annual “Peace Path” on September 11, 2010 on Charles Street from 4-6PM.  All are welcome.  Wear or carry something that shows your support for peace.  Be creative.  Those seeking more information are encouraged to visit the Women in Black website, www.peacepath911.org, or email info@peacepath911.org. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=3910 2010-08-05 Donna Dannals has written a reflection on The Gifts of Silence.  http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3872 2010-07-22 Sara Maitland, the author of A Book of Silence, led the Mount Saint Agnes Reading Women on a somewhat circuitous journey. It was a journey away from a noise- riddled world to her settled life of solitude. As one of the readers, I wondered how a whole book could be written about this topic. Now I know there is much to be said and learned about  silence and its impact on one’s life. At the beginning of her book, Maitland acknowledged, “I learned quickly that it is extremely difficult to talk about silence” (p.25). Nevertheless, she set out to hunt silence. We followed her lead.The author compiled a varied collection of sources to support her research. She chose selections from the Bible and ancient Greek writers as well as Christian authors who have influenced religious thought--St.Augustine, Hildegard of Bingen, St. Catherine of Siena, to name a few. She learned about silence from the cloistered lives of Benedictines, Carmelites, and Trappists. She drew from those who wrote about nature: Henry Thoreau and Thomas Merton, for example. They found the quiet woodlands necessary for their self expression. Writers and poets such as Coleridge, Bronte, Wordsworth, and Dillard encouraged her to expand her search. She studied the human body, aspects of the psyche, and the negative effects of silence. She was intrigued by lone sailors and explorers who dared the silence and loneliness of remote places for long periods of time. All of these Maitland came to know as she searched out, with great persistence, how they found or created their silent places and how they experienced silence. I was astounded by the breadth of her explorations.This author wanted to find her silent place so that she could develop her own methods for creating silence in her life.  She realized early on that there are two kinds of silence. One is a religious silence, the kind practiced by monks and cloistered nuns who live in convents and monasteries and take a vow of silence. The purpose of their silence is to divest themselves of their natural, sometimes selfish, desires so that their energies are directed to a total giving of themselves to God. Thus the ego is to be silent so that the soul, empty of self, will be filled with the presence of God. Among the religious cited, however, even those who took a vow of silence obeyed their superiors when “commanded” to write for the edification of others in their communities. The other type of silence, the kind that writers and poets seek, enables them to write from human experiences as well as from their own experiences. This requires them to dig deeply into their lives, values, dreams, sorrows, failures.  In other words they “open up their egos,” and probe the deepest part of themselves so as to write from the depths of their own being. The ego becomes the source and power of their productive work. Sara Maitland, wanted to experience both kinds of silence, even though each called forth very different processes and goals. She tried forty days in the Sinai Desert; many months on the remote island of Skye where the surrounding sea nourished her; long walks climbing rocky hills and mountains; and treks through endless woody paths, which left her frightened. In the end she finds her silent place and is content and inspired.As someone who already practices silence at different times during a day, I realize that, like Maitland, I can create my own silent space and time. I pray, meditate, write, and read daily. Since I do not aim to be a cloistered nun or a great poet or a published writer, my silence is limited by the life style I’ve chosen. I believe there are many women who lead busy lives and who, while silent, pray and probe their life experiences  in order to write, be it for themselves, a small group, or for publication. It seems to me that  creating a silent atmosphere  is not complicated,  despite the many noises from TV, radio, phones, computers, busy conversations, and family demands. There are times when any of these intrusions can be ignored and blocked out.Sara Maitland lives in her anchorage now, so her silence is well protected. She prays, writes, reads, and allows her quiet surroundings to enhance her awareness of the natural world which has its own messages of silence. Despite some of the risks in such isolation, she finds contentment and relishes her freedom to continue her pursuit. She writes,   “I want to have a long time to do all this, so that silence has a chance to work on me and in me. And then I do not really know what will happen next” (p.286).  Neither do I! http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3732 2010-04-30 Recently, a friend asked me, “What is the opposite of grief?”  My quick response was that I thought it was joy.  Then I added, “Perhaps gratitude.”  The question stayed with me, and now I share my ruminations with you.Grief is obviously an experience of loss to some degree of whatever we hold dear.  What we hold dear usually gives us joy—a lover, a child, grandchild, family, friends, health, natural beauty, etc.—all coupled with our ability to appreciate and lovingly create.  Gratitude, of course, is the experience of a full heart overflowing with the goodness of creation.What happens when grief comes to us?  We feel the hurt, the pain, the devastation, the loss—however deeply we experience the circumstances thereof.  We are fortunate if we have heartfelt support during the time of grief, but it is always a singular, lonely descent into the soul.  We miss so terribly whatever it was that gave us such great joy; but is grief only, simply, certainly the absence of joy?I’m not sure.When we are forced down into a sea of misery, into the dark depths of our own spirit, we certainly feel the precipitous plunge, the abysmal fall.  In the broad, crying suffering, however, there can occur a change in perception.  We learn there are dimensions of ourselves which we never know we possessed.  This perception can take an opposite direction in the most unexpected ways.  From the wild bottomless sea, we seem to turn toward a thimbleful of new fresh water.  We see with new eyes, hear with new responsiveness, speak with new feeling.  We find ourselves creating anew at the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Now, we see the exquisiteness of a snowflake; we see the glint in a sparrow’s eye; we marvel at an ant carrying a crumb; we feel the soreness in another’s plaint.  Yes, we experienced these things before, but now they are mighty in their tiny detail.The grief of loss is always diminishing but having embraced that grief and brought it to our consciousness, we find that we are more sensitive to the mighty in the tiny and, yes, we are filled with gratitude for the loving gift of this new way of creating our being.These are just a few thoughts that have pushed their way through my cranium since my friend asked her question.  I’m at this point reminded of Charlie Brown who, after an experience of consternation, exasperation, disappointment or even surprise many times exclaims, “Good Grief!”  GOOD, grief?  Is he onto something—a truth, perhaps, that is part of who we are and who we could become? http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3734 2010-04-29 On Friday evening, January 22, 2010, an audience of 47 women and men was held in wrapped attention by Sr. Helen Marie Burns' presentation on the Vatican Visitation of Apostolic Women Religious in the United States. Unusually high advance registrations made it necessary to move this event to a small amphitheatre at Johns Hopkins' Mount Washington Conference Center.  On short notice, the gracious staff there made special arrangements for both classroom space and technical support for MSA. After some powerful formal remarks, Sr. Helen Marie opened the floor to a 45 minute question /discussion period that revealed not only the depth of her insight, but also her innate trust of her own wide experience as a church leader.  It was clear by the end of the night that there is a passionate interest in this historic Church event among lay Catholics and an interest in finding what needs to be done in response.  We offer sincere gratitude to Sr. Helen Marie Burns, who also serves on the MSA Board of Trustees, for sharing her gifts with Mount Saint Agnes in such a creative way. Johns Hopkins' Mount Washington Conference Center is located on the grounds of what once was the Mount Saint Agnes Motherhouse, longtime home to Sisters of Mercy, Baltimore Regional Community.  Hopkins and the Sisters of Mercy are also connected by a collaboration that is much on our minds in the wake of the Haitian Earthquake:  Sr. Karen Schneider, RSM, a pediatrician at Hopkins, often takes delegations of interns to Central and South America to staff much-needed medical missions to underserved populations of children.  Last Friday evening, as we enjoyed  a superb presentation in first-class facilities, Sr. Karen and her delegation were on the ground in Haiti, themselves hungry, thirsty and tired, helping a broken people face this latest devastation visited upon their families, their homes, their country and not least, their hopes. MSA wanted to help.  We visited the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas to learn about various ways to get our aid into the hands of people we knew and who were already on the ground serving.  What better way to show our support than to announce a collection specifically to support Sr. Karen’s work in Haiti?  She had by then issued a call for transportation funds to move the sick and injured from congested areas to less populated outposts better equipped to serve their needs. That was how the 47 men and women of Mount Saint Agnes, who had likely already sent donations to Haiti via other vehicles, generously offered up $800 last Friday evening to send in support of Sr. Karen Schneider's medical mission in Haiti.  Those funds have already been transferred to the PayPal account that Sr. Karen had set up for this purpose.  Those not present at this event who would still like to donate to this mission may do so by this PayPal link and entering Sr. Karen’s email address:  karenrsmmd@gmail.com.     http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3548 2010-01-27 Our precious classmate and friend, Kay (Kathryn) Fishman, died on January 17, 2010, while hospitalized for multiple complications following cancer surgery.  Brought to Mount Saint Agnes programs several years ago by her friend, the late Evelyn Lancaster, Kay was an earnest student and generous supporter of this ministry.  Though quiet in nature, Kay's "still waters ran deep" and she enjoyed the intellectual stimulation and challenges found among the women at Mount Saint Agnes.  Kay, who resided with her husband Harold at the Charlestown Retirement Community, was herself an active recruiter for MSA.  Her death is a painful loss for all of us who knew Kay. She will be as sorely missed as a unique and faithful friend can be. This photo of Kay will soon take her place among our saints, the many late great women who have shaped Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women.  Now we begin knowing her in a new way.Kay was a very proud graduate of the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, New Jersey.  More details about her life and surviving family members can be found in her death notice in yesterday's Baltimore Sun newspaper. That notice also contains details about wake and funeral arragements.  Mount Saint Agnes has sent lovely flowers on behalf of all of us who mourn her passing and we have assured her family that our prayers for their well-being will continue.Let us pray that Kay is on her way to the loving arms of God and that eternal rest is granted to this humble, faithful servant of all that is good and true. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3492 2010-01-21 It has long been a dream of Diane Caplin's to build on our site a small hermitage so that people could find silence and some solitude right within the city limits.  This picture gives an idea of what she has in mind.  What is more real than a dream? http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3286 2009-11-24 From 1978 until 1988, 21 Roman Catholic and 18 Southern Baptist scholars participated in a theological conversation, and together they wrote three books. Mount Saint Agnes has obtained permission from Dr. Steve Lemke, the provost of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, whose faculty holds the copyright for the book, to publish online the third of these books, now out of print.  It is our hope that this material, under the title, To Understand Each Other, will indeed increase understanding of commonalities and differences in Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic faith and practices. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=3244 2009-11-16 With the permission of the producers, Mount Saint Agnes links our web site to an interview that Sr. Mary Aquin and Diane granted to Claire Hartman in January of 2008.  You will not regret the time you spend listening in on informed conversation among these three women of the church:  Beloved Daughters. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/News/Detail.aspx?id=2996 2009-07-24 Our precious classmate and friend, Kay (Kathryn) Fishman, died on January 17, 2010, while hospitalized for multiple complications following cancer surgery. Brought to Mount Saint Agnes programs several years ago by her friend, the late Evelyn Lancaster, Kay was an earnest student and generous supporter of this ministry. Though quiet in nature, Kay's "still waters ran deep" and she enjoyed the intellectual stimulation and challenges found among the women at Mount Saint Agnes. Kay, who resided with her husband Harold at the Charlestown Retirement Community, was herself an active recruiter for MSA. Her death is a painful loss for all of us who knew Kay. She will be as sorely missed as a unique and faithful friend can be. This photo of Kay will soon take her place among our saints, the many late great women who have shaped Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women. Now we begin knowing her in a new way.Kay was a very proud graduate of the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, New Jersey. More details about her life and surviving family members can be found in her death notice in yesterday's Baltimore Sun newspaper. That notice also contains details about wake and funeral arragements. Mount Saint Agnes has sent lovely flowers on behalf of all of us who mourn her passing and we have assured her family that our prayers for their well-being will continue.Let us pray that Kay is on her way to the loving arms of God and that eternal rest is granted to this humble, faithful servant of all that is good and true. http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=3494 Message from Diane: As my family and I continue to grieve my mother's passing, our hearts are full of gratitude for the literally hundreds of condolence cards, memorial mass cards and monetary gifts that have arrived in honor of my mother, Mary A. Caplin.It is surely true that this passage is like no other.  In these early days since her death right here at Mount Saint Agnes, it is actually difficult to absorb the meaning of it all.  My brother, Bob, who helped me to care for Mom, have actually wondered aloud to one another:  Who are we once the woman who gave us earthly life is gone from our sight?In the sure and certain hope that Mom is liberated from her earthly burdens and resting in the arms of a loving and forgiving God, we want you all to know how very grateful we are for the loving support and prayers of so many.  Fr. Kevin reminded us at Mom's funeral mass in Rhode Island that life, when rooted in the love that my mother knew,  is not ended, only changed.  Those of us who love her remember the timeless words of Gabriel Marcel, paraphrased here:  To love someone is to say [she] will never die.  Mom lives.  So many have helped us to remember that everlasting truth in the wake of this sorrowful time.If you are interested in any of the details of the services, lovingly prepared for us by the staff at Mount Saint Agnes, you may select from among the links below:Know my love and gratitude, DianeMary A. Caplin Obituary Mass of Christian Burial Readings Prayers of the Faithful Memorial Card   http://www.mountsaintagnes.org/Musings/Announcements/Index.aspx?id=2870