The CUSAN-Summer 2022

In This Issue 3 by Dolores Steinberg

75th Anniversary Jubilee 4

Now I Know 6 by Greg Tobin

A Letter to CUSANs 8 by Rev. Jerry Bracken, C.P.

Best Wishes 12

You Are Important 13 by Jane Dippel

Welcome! 14

CUSA—75 Years Later 15 by Anna Marie Sopko

In Memoriam 18

Trees 19 by Shirley Bowling

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering 22 by Carol Velten

Laudato Si’ – Care of Our Common Home 29 by Honora Nolty, OP

You Are Invited

What is CUSA?

The CUSAN is the semi-yearly magazine of CUSA, an apostolate of persons with chronic illness and/or disability.

The scripture passage on page 3 is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover and interior design by Linda L. Eberly

Published and printed by RENEW International

In this issue by Dolores Steinberg | Editor

Did you know that CUSA will soon be celebrating its 75th Anniversary? Yes! How many blessings has our loving God poured upon each of you, and on the world, because of this wonderful apostolate—with still more blessings to come!

Many thanks to our generous authors who have contributed to this issue of The CUSAN. What a full and rich picture of CUSA they give, in its many and varied facets. Anna Marie Sopko tells the story of CUSA’s beginning 75 years ago. Here you will meet Greg Tobin, president of RENEW International, under whose leadership—and that of his colleagues, including Sister Honora Nolty, O.P., who also writes in this issue—CUSA now continues to grow.

Here also Jane Dippel and Carol Ann Velten share what has given them direction and help in their sufferings, offering messages of encouragement and hope. With Shirley Bowling’s story, our eyes are lifted beyond our difficulties to God’s gift of trees. Father Jerry’s letter, reflecting on the recent violence and contention in our country, particularly regarding the life issues, leads us, formed by CUSA, to offer to God our difficulties and prayers for the work of the Church with trust in the Lord, who is gracious and merciful to all.

Happy reading, and may God bless CUSA and each of you with many more fruitful years!

Jubilee!

It has been nearly 75 years since Mrs. Laure Brunner fulfilled her dream of establishing an apostolate in the United States for those who are chronically ill or disabled. Ill for many years with congestive heart failure, Mrs. Brunner found community and comfort in the Catholic Union of the Sick in her native Belgium. After moving to the United States with her husband, Robert, Mrs. Brunner succeeded after several tries in establishing the first CUSA group on December 8, 1947—the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

The 75th anniversary Jubilee will be celebrated on December 8, 2022 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 217 Prospect Street, South Orange, New Jersey. Rev. Jerry Bracken, C.P., the national chaplain of CUSA, will be the celebrant. The Mass will be live streamed so that members and friends of CUSA everywhere can participate. Information about joining us in person or via livestream will be distributed this fall.

“Like St. Paul, let us ‘rejoice with those who rejoice; suffer with those who suffer.’ … Thanks to God for the fine success of our CUSA, for our chaplains and leaders, for all of you! May God grant a long and fruitful life to CUSA”

Laure Brunner, founder of CUSA The CUSAN, December 1952

Now I Know

by Greg Tobin President and Publisher, RENEW International

In June, I was privileged to meet with Anna Marie Sopko, a CUSA member who served the CUSA community for decades as administrator. Along with Mare Ernesto, associate director of pastoral services at RENEW International, and Dolores Steinberg, editor of this magazine and a longtime friend and supporter of CUSA and CUSANs, I visited in the garden of Peace Care St. Ann’s, an assisted-living center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

It was a warm summer afternoon (though the temperatures here in New Jersey and elsewhere across the United States have intensified during these intervening weeks), which started out a bit uncomfortably but was soon tempered by a breeze and a partly cloudy sky. The conversation was amazing and, for me, opened a window into the life and mission of CUSA in a way I had not expected.

At one point in the lively discussion and sharing of experience, Anna Marie said, “God created people to be happy.” She said, further, “I am happy!” The joy was clear in her voice, her face, and her entire being. Anna Marie has been afflicted by chronic conditions for virtually her entire lifetime, which brought her into the CUSA community but which have never hobbled her in any way—as evidenced by her many years of enthusiastic, prayerful service in fostering and supporting CUSA

letter groups. She has participated fully in the ministry that has touched thousands of women and men during CUSA’s seven-plus decades of existence.

She also said, “CUSA is a part of me.” And in the anecdotes, memories, and information she shared with us, Anna Marie demonstrated what she meant. Sometimes I strained a bit to understand exactly her spoken words (since she has been affected by strokes in recent years). But that was nothing to bother. It only drew me in closer to see and hear and understand. To receive her blessing.

Now I know what I did not know before. Now I know, by reading the correspondence of CUSA groups who have invited me to join them, by praying with and being the beneficiary of prayers by my CUSA friends. Now I know. As if I needed to be taught yet again (i.e., another “whack upside the head” type of spiritual experience). CUSA links us to God’s grace in a powerful way; CUSA unlocks the healing connection with our Creator. CUSA works. Because, as Anna Marie would say, “God works.”

God has created us to be children of joy. Whatever physical, mental, and emotional afflictions I may suffer— or my family or those around me or those far away—I am a part of a healing, loving whole. It is available to me. God is available to me. You are available to me.

I wish to fulfill the divine plan in my own small way by being available to you and to those close to me. Through the grace of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

A Letter to CUSANs

Rev. Jerry Bracken, C.P. CUSA National Chaplain

Dear CUSANs,

In thinking about my letter for this issue of The CUSAN, what came to mind was the homily I gave Sunday, May 15, just after the two events of May 14. I offer it to you because I think you as CUSANs are particularly apt to respond to what I preached.

Unusual for me, I based my homily on the psalm response—Psalm 145. I began saying: There are a lot of things going on in our times that can affect us deeply. Two of them happened yesterday. There was the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and there were the abortion-rights protests.

Of the mass shooting, CBS reported the following: “The 18-year-old suspect was arraigned within hours of the shooting. He faces first-degree murder charges and has pleaded not guilty. Police said he was motivated by hate.” CBS’s Kevin Rincon reported, “Investigators are looking through a hate-filled manifesto that’s laced with racist language.”

Of the abortion-rights protests, CBS reported, “Supporters of abortion rights took to the streets across America on Saturday to voice their anger over a leaked majority draft opinion by the Supreme Court that could overturn Roe v. Wade. Cries of ‘My body,

my choice’ rang out [from] activists committed to fighting for what they called reproductive freedom.”

What are we to make of this?

The Buffalo shooting is obviously a murderous killing of innocent people done out of hate, and against black people, as 11 of the 13 shot were black, 10 of whom died. As for the abortion-rights’ protests, many have seen a possible change of the Supreme Court’s decision about Roe vs. Wade as an attack on a woman’s body and her freedom of choice. Back-alley abortions have indeed been attacks on a woman’s body, but what about abortion itself? What should we think? What should our attitude be?

I think that Psalm 145 gives us guidance in both what to think and what our attitude should be. Take these verses: “Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you.” What are all the works of God? Everything he created from the stars in the heaven shining at night to the baby in the womb invisible to our sight.

I went to the Internet to find out about the baby in the womb. This is what I read:

The first of the four main stages of pregnancy occurs from the first to the sixth week. In this stage, the head starts to differentiate, the eyes appear distinctly. In the sixth week the heart can be seen and heard pulsating using Ultrasound.

The second stage starts from the beginning of the seventh week and goes until the end of the twelfth week. In this stage, the facial features can be distinguished, the genital organs start to develop, and there is the appearance of digits in the limbs.

The third stage starts from the beginning of the thirteenth week and goes until the end of the twentysecond week. In this stage, the bones start to develop, as well as the circulatory system; the sex of the embryo can be distinguished, and the mother can feel the movement of her fetus due to the strength of the embryo’s muscles.

The fourth stage starts from the beginning of the twenty-third week until the delivery and birth of the baby. In this stage, the development of all body systems is completed; the embryo can move its hands and feet.

Before the delivery, the embryo’s position changes gradually until its head is directed towards the cervix and vagina of the mother. The baby can be born in the twenty-eighth week, with all systems completely developed.

Knowing this, what should be our attitude both toward those who protest to prevent an attack on a woman’s body and her freedom of choice and those who see abortion as an attack on the baby in the womb and its freedom of choice?

I think these verses of Psalm 145 tell us: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.”

We must be gracious and merciful towards those who are pro-choice and those who are pro-life. We cannot deny that an attack on a woman’s body and the baby’s body is wrong. But we can be merciful to both the woman and the baby.

So I ended my homily with the last two verses above.

Not too long after I gave the homily, I talked to two friends. Both are Catholic, and both have given birth— one boy and one girl for each. One mother said to me, “I can understand why someone could contemplate abortion. Pregnancy affects you profoundly, not just positively but also negatively.” She was glad to be pregnant, but both times she had morning sickness every day and both times a caesarean. The other mother said that no more than two years after her first child was born, she was pregnant again, but this time her husband left, leaving her without any money. She was afraid, not knowing what to do. Only by God’s grace could she pray for help and resist an abortion. Others helped, and welfare.

They helped me to better understand the need to be kind and merciful. Both the mother and the baby are in serious need—the baby whose physical needs

mean life or death and the mother whose physical and mental needs mean life and death as well.

But what must our actions be? For me, I must lend my support and vote pro-life. But prayer is also needed. That made me think of you who are CUSANs. With your disabilities and the difficulties you have to face each day, it seems you would have a natural capacity to be gracious and merciful not just toward the helpless baby in the womb but also toward the mother carrying her baby. Each day, you offer your disabilities for the apostolic work of the Church. That offering and your prayers could be for the both of them as well.

May I end as I did in the homily. “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.”

Best Wishes

CUSANs congratulate Father Vincent Boney, CP, on the 65th anniversary of his ordination, and Father Anthony Rigoli, OMI, (Postal Group 21) on his 50th anniversary.

Thank you, Fathers Boney and Rigoli, for your service to God’s people. May the Lord bless you.

You Are Important

by Jane Dippel Passive Member

In sharing her thoughts, Jane said she hopes to encourage CUSANs, whether struggling with illness that is physical or mental, so all will know they are important to God and to others in life.

Dear CUSANs,

I’ve been afflicted most of my life. I’ve had well periods, too. And as one of you said in The CUSAN, “We are not our illness. We are much more than that.”

I found Jesus in 1969. It was then, I believe, that I was born again. But one minister said I was always Christian. I did go to church, even before I was born. I was loved and cared for as a child by wonderful parents.

But then, as an adult, I had to take care of myself. God led me to different doctors and hospitals. There was always this sinking feeling that something was wrong within me.

And being in a support group and finding some helpful literature, I did find out what I was doing wrong.

Somehow I thought the world would take care of that little child within me. To my disappointment, it didn’t happen that way. I had to learn to be a “good parent” to my little inner child. And when I did that, I was no longer sick. You see, I was in some pretty sick dependencies.

You Are Important

And I gained strength through twelve-step groups to get out of those dependencies.

Then I knew how to take care of myself and help others. And being sick has taught me to care and be my own best friend.

It’s a difficult world, but don’t let that world destroy your self-esteem. We are important—and that is essential to mental health. And we are important to God. God values us. Don’t let the world destroy you or make you believe otherwise.

We are the Lord’s. God bless, Jane Dippel

CUSANs welcome new members Chelsie Morris and Delinda Fehringer, both in EGL1, and Brian Karman, EGL6.

May the CUSA community bring you comfort and companionship, and may God always bless you.

CUSA—75 Years Later

by Anna Marie Sopko

Administrator of CUSA from 1976 to 2007

It was 1944. World War II was raging in Europe— and I remember, because the husband of one of my cousins was a pilot in the Air Force, and his plane was shot down over western France. His body was never recovered. Just a few years before, in 1939, a couple from Belgium arrived in the United States. They had come to America in the early days of World War II, as the Nazis were ravaging their beloved country of Belgium, and the enemy was looking for the woman’s husband. The woman was Mrs. Laure Brunner. She and her husband, Robert, were strong Catholics and tried to help those who needed it as much as they could. With the war raging near where they lived, they fled to the United States.

While they were safe in their home in New York City, Mrs. Brunner was a bit lonely. She was homebound as a result of poor health and really did not get out. A few years prior, she had joined a writing support group in France, as she spoke fluent French. The group was part of an international organization founded in Switzerland in 1914 by Louis Peyrot; in France it had the name L’Union Catholique des Malades—Catholic Union of the Sick, also known as UCM.

While she was grateful for the safety and freedom of America, Mrs. Brunner missed her UCM friends.

After the end of the war, when communications from Belgium were again possible, a letter she received from one of her UCM friends suggested that she try to begin a branch of UCM in America. What a great idea! But how could she do that since she did not get out and socialize? “Let’s pray that we find a way,” suggested one of the UCM members. That she did.

Around the same time, a young man, disabled with cerebral palsy, was in France at Lourdes praying for a cure. While our Blessed Mother never granted his request, some UCM members who were also at Lourdes happened to meet the young man, Jerry Filan, and his sister. After getting acquainted and learning about each other, Jerry’s sister gave them their address in New York. The UCM friends sent it to the Brunners, the New Yorkers met, and with work and prayer, group one of the new American branch of the UCM was born on December 8, 1947. It became known as the Catholic Union of the Sick in America— CUSA.

Through word of mouth (and pen or typewriter) groups two and three eventually were born. While World War II created much sadness in America, it also brought us new CUSANs, including Tom Maxwell, a World War II veteran who returned home as a paralytic. Tom did much to strengthen CUSA by his prayers, his writing, his spirituality, and his great humor. Bed sores eventually made it difficult for him

to sit in a wheelchair for any length of time, but he just commented that he was “laying down on the job.”

The physical and spiritual attitude of several CUSANs in the 1950s and ’60s helped CUSA grow to be a strong organization—a strong part of the Body of Christ. Somewhere in the New Testament, St. Paul writes that God chooses those who are weak to do something strong in his Body. Since CUSA is a part of the Body of Christ, he chose Jerry Filan in his weakness, and Mrs. Laure Brunner in hers, to be the inspiration for CUSA, and we now celebrate our 75th Anniversary—December 8, 2022.

One of the poems by Betty O’Brien, a pen-pal of Jerry Filan and one of the first to join CUSA at his invitation, sums up how God used Jerry’s weakness to bring CUSA to the attention of many of the disabled in the United States.

Since Jerry was a little lad

He dreamt of Lourdes; it kept him glad.

He went there twice, for he was sure Our Lady would perform a cure.

Though Jerry never walked or stood, nor did the things he thought he should, He lived, instead, to do God’s will; he did it all by being ill.

Jerry Filan offered up to God his pains and weaknesses, and didn’t let his suffering go to waste. He did what he could for the sake of Christ’s Body. How many other CUSANs have done the same. But what God does, and can do, with these simple gifts is even more—graces poured out on the world beyond our imagining. May we, too, let God use our weakness.

In Memoriam

CUSANs note the passing of two members, Rose Zieja, until recently leader of GL-21, and Peter George Broeckel, passive member.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

Trees by Shirley Bowling EGL 4

When I was a little girl, I used to look up at trees and think they were the closest things to heaven. I felt peaceful when I watched their branches blowing in the wind. And I delighted in watching the birds play tag as they darted in and out between the branches. In the summer the trees looked all dressed up with lots of leaves, gifting us with refreshing shade as we played outside all day every day. The trees provided us with a trunk that we could race around as we played tag, and a sturdy place to hide our eyes as we played hide and seek. Oh, how we loved our trees and the picnics that we enjoyed beneath their shady canopy. The sun inching through the leaves would leave a lacy look on our faces that made us giggle at our splotched patterns.

One of my teachers along the way introduced Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees” to us and had us memorize it. How that poem deepened my love of trees! And when I became a teacher, I assigned it to my fourth grade students to memorize. After reciting it together and acting it out, most of my students said that they now looked at trees with new respect.

Recently there was an article in the newspaper about the value of trees in lifting our spirits and helping to reduce stress in our lives. When we look into the branches of a tree, something healing and soothing happens that provides beauty, tranquility, and stability in the midst of turmoil, confusion, and unrest.

I am sitting here watching a cardinal sway with the breeze as he sits on a thin wisp of a branch, in perfect trust, not worrying about falling off or where his next meal will come from. Now he and a little sparrow playfully skitter off to another branch.

Some years ago I read and re-read a delightful book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which really introduced me to the importance of a tree in a child’s life. We live on a street lined with trees fifty years old. I took them for granted until I started looking up into their branches and finding God in their serene beauty. Again, Joyce Kilmer’s poem came to mind. I see a prayer every time I look at the outspread, uplifted arms of God’s wondrous gift of nature to us. And recall the poem, “Trees:”

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

Who can improve on Joyce Kilmer’s prayerful reflection? Not I.

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

by Carol Ann Velten GL 8

With gratitude we share with you this article by Carol Ann, as timely today as when it was first published in the June 1972 edition of The Annals of St. Anne de Beaupré, Ontario, Canada. Reprinted with permission.

I read with interest Father McKeon’s article on “Opportunities Unlimited,” [published earlier in The Annals of St. Anne de Beaupré] and his article gave me an idea to share with your readers my insights on the meaning of suffering. I am seizing the opportunity … to help people who, like me, have asked the question, “How did I get so lucky?” “Why me? An incurable illness.” Like Job, one wonders, at first, what he or she ever did to deserve such a fate.

At first, I found myself running from the truth, thinking to myself, “What a horrible thing to tell someone—that she has to live with pain for the rest of her life, especially when she is only 28 years old.” At the time, I thought a death sentence would have been easier to accept. I have a painful muscular condition in the form of arthritis. During the first year, I tried all sorts of medication and ran from one doctor to another looking for a cure; and I really hoped to get well. But, after the first year of running, I realized that the first doctor spoke the truth. Then, I came to St.

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

When I returned from St. Anne’s, a priest had sent me a book, Jesus, Joy of the Suffering, by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D. The first page said, “There are two ways of looking at pain. I can either see it with purpose or see it without purpose. Calvary teaches me the difference. The thief on Jesus’ left suffered just as much as the thief on the right. One cursed his pain, while the other asked to be taken up to the Lord. Pain itself is not unbearable; rather, the failure to understand its meaning is unbearable.”

Then, I read from Little Foxes That Spoil the Vines by W.B.J. Martin, “Did you experience so many things in vain? For the tragedy in many a life is not the suffering, but the suffering that yields no meaning . . . ‘We have had the experience, but we have missed the meaning.’”

These words were telling me to accept the challenge of suffering. It does not have to be a hopeless, empty experience. It does not have to sour or embitter a person towards life—Why such rotten luck?

“There was given to me a thorn in the flesh,” said St. Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7). In Charles L. Allen’s book, All Things Are Possible through Prayer, I read, “Three times he prayed that it might be removed; but, if he had to live with it, then live with it he would and get on with the main business of his life.” Instead of removing the

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

thorn in his flesh, God gave him strength to bear it. God can give us a quality of character that overcomes our self-pity, despair, or complaining, and makes us know that life can still be a triumphant experience.” And, finally, Paul tells us that in spite of our limited and handicapped selves, we can make a contribution to the world.

As you can see, my answers have come from various sources; and I believe these answers can help calm the anguished cries of all the Jobs in our world who are asked to suffer with our Lord. It has taken me three years to find meaning in suffering—“Ask and you shall receive; seek and you will find; knock and it shall be opened to you” (Luke 11, 9)—and I want to share that meaning with fellow sufferers.

Then … I received a letter from a close friend who wrote, “Never seek to avoid suffering. God will lead you into misery only so far as He knows you can endure the experience. Trust in His ‘Intelligence.’” My friend wrote, “Turn every experience in life into a learning experience so that you will be more able to aid others in their evolution. True empathy and sincere compassion come, at least, in their greatest depths, only from the traumas of one’s own existence.”

If one learns to surrender to God’s will, there are many lessons suffering can teach the sufferer. “Suffering cannot be an end in itself; it would serve no useful purpose if it did not teach the suffering individual a lesson useful to him in the future.”

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

First, suffering has taught me patience, to learn to live one day at a time. I am still hoping for a cure; but, for the time being, God has said, “Wait.” He is saying, “I want to teach you something first from the experience I have given you.” And, sometimes, the “waiting” is the hardest to bear. I am learning to give Him a chance. Again, Charles L. Allen, in his book, The Touch of The Master’s Hand, says, “Sometimes, He lifts the burden; at other times, He gives us added strength to bear the burden. Sometimes, He changes the circumstances of our lives closing some doors while opening others; at other times, He gives us the wisdom to use those circumstances for our good. Sometimes, He makes different the situation we face; at other times, He makes different the person in the situation.” Whatever He decides for each of us, He has decided it wisely; and is giving us an opportunity to grow spiritually.

Second, I am learning to appreciate our Lord’s Passion more, as I feel His suffering through my body. When the pain has been severe, and it has been on occasion, I have learned to look at the Cross; meditate on the sufferings of our Lord; and know that He died for me. Then, too, I have learned that I have been given an opportunity to unite my sufferings with His for the intentions which He pleads and offers Himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; in reparation for my offenses and the offenses of our world; for the conversion of sinners; for the relief of the poor souls in purgatory; and for the wants of our Church. I have learned to offer up my sufferings for a Missionary.

Praise the Lord Anyway, a very interesting book by Frances Gardner Hunter, has taught me to be thankful no matter what. She says, “You will be amazed at what praising God will do to the things in life that we do not especially enjoy or that we complain about all the time. If you spend your time saying, ‘Praise the Lord’, you won’t have time to complain,” and she says that she never knew anyone who felt better after complaining. Can you say, ‘Praise the Lord’ when things do not go the way you want them to? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Always be thankful no matter what happens, for that is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” And, Romans says, “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans.” Ms. Hunter says, “‘Thank you Lord.

I do not know what for, but thank you anyway,’ can bring fresh consciousness of the reality of God and a fresh dependence upon the power of God.” It is easy to praise the Lord when things are good; but, if you will just try it when things look hopeless, she guarantees you it will do something for your spiritual life. Why not give it a try and find out for yourself?

Once one starts delving into the meaning of suffering, there are thousands of lessons to be learned.

Fourth, I learned that there is an art of accepting as well as giving. From the article by Grace Hensel Davis, “No Thought of Return,” I picked up this thought: “You must learn to accept as well as to give. It is important to be able to do this in order to give pleasure to others, Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

too. Receiving with gratitude is as important as giving, for it is a generous God giving His abundant supply, taking care of our needs.” So, I am learning not to be too independent; and I am learning to give others the pleasure of giving, too, by helping me carry my cross.

Finally, I found myself feeling frustrated and furious one day because I could not do as I had wished—I still have not learned to die to self—and I thought my talents were being wasted. I felt rebellious. For instance, why give me a writing talent when I cannot use it or be able to develop it more fully? I read in The Way (an Opus Dei book), “So your talents, your personality, your qualities are being wasted. So, you are not allowed to take full advantage of them. Meditate well on the words of a spiritual writer: ‘The incense offered to God is not wasted. Our Lord is more honored by the immolation of your talents than by their vain use.’” Then I received a letter from my friend, and he reminded me of this: “Often times, God wishes to remind us that our only job in life is to ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.’ If our job is to develop in ourselves spiritual qualities—purity, honesty, faith, etc., then all else must be relegated to subordinate status.” He says that “our second job in life is to spread God’s Word to others, and that it can be done in many different ways, depending upon God’s desires.’” The words from my first catechism came back to me. My life does have meaning. It has a purpose. To know, love, and serve God—that is the answer.

Insights into the Meaning of Suffering

Well, I have shared with you my kaleidoscope of ideas, all being put together to try to understand this great mystery of suffering. I feel that people need encouragement to carry their cross. And, often, it is just one thought that will be able to lift the person up from a fall into despair. Who can better understand the needs of a sufferer than one who has suffered herself?

2022 Postscript from Carol:

“Insights into the Meaning of Suffering” . . . [contains] insights I had discovered, with the help of the Holy Spirit, through my reading of different books and articles. What I learned helped me over the years. I hope the article will help others too. At 79, I still experience the pain I was struggling with back when I was 28 years old; but the difference, over the years, is [that] the pain became my companion, and not my enemy. The article in The Annals of St. Anne de Beaupré was my invitation to join CUSA. [The editor of The CUSAN at the time,] Kathrin [Taylor,] read the article and invited me to join CUSA. The rest is history. I have been a member of CUSA for 50 years. CUSA became the hidden blessing/gift I received in my struggle back in my late 20s to understand suffering—the pearl inside of the oyster. . . . Thank you, CUSA. Carol

Laudato Si’ – Care of Our Common Home

by Honora Nolty, OP

SisterHonora,spiritualadvisortoRENEWInternational,shareswith CUSANssomethoughtsforreflection,prayer,and—ifpossible— actioninresponsetotheencyclicalandinitiativesbyPopeFrancis.

It seems you can’t turn on the news these days without hearing something about the critical state of planet Earth. Unusual winds, blistering temperatures, rising seas, tornadoes, floods, forest fires, and the list goes on. Our home–Earth–is in crisis. Scientists around the globe concur that human use and abuse of the natural world and consumerism run rampant are the primary causes.

In May of 2015, Pope Francis published Laudato Si’, an encyclical letter to the world about the status of the earth. According to theologian Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, this is the most important encyclical in the history of the Catholic Church. The first encyclical on social teaching was Rerum Novarum, issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, and there have been subsequent ones, all important and challenging. However, Laudato Si’ not only analyzes the danger that the ecological crisis poses to all life on the planet, but it also connects this crisis with human

misery of poverty and social injustice. The two are integrally intertwined throughout the encyclical as are suggested ways forward.

What is so new and challenging about Laudato Si’ is that it calls us to a new understanding of who God is and a realization that the human race is not the center of the universe.

In May of 2021, Pope Francis initiated the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. In this initiative, he invites all people of good will to join a seven-year effort to turn climate change around; to make a plan for oneself, one’s family, and one’s community to take action that will impact, for the better, our natural world. He encourages us to make a plan for one year and then update and add to it each year for the next seven years.

As individuals, we are invited to do what we can do given our personal circumstances. No effort is too small. Some may choose to pray for world leaders that they might have the wisdom and courage to pass meaningful legislation to restore and protect the environment and to lead all persons to care for our common home. Others might decide to pray for the success of the groups throughout the world that are working on climate change projects. Some may decide to study and learn more about Laudato Si’.

Recycling more consistently, using re-usable glass containers rather than plastic, turning off lights and computers when they are not in use, not running

Laudato Si’ – Care of Our Common Home

Laudato Si’ is easily accessible online and is worth reading, and more than once.

You can read about what groups are doing around the world at www.laudatosimovement.org.

You are invited water unnecessarily, car-pooling more, combining shopping trips to conserve the use of fuel, are do-able and worthy actions. The challenge for each of us is to do something and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

The CUSAN is your magazine. It is published twice a year with only you in mind. The CUSAN is also an opportunity for you to share your feelings, ideas, and talents with CUSANS everywhere.

If you feel the urge to write, in prose or poetry, or share an artwork or photo in order to inspire, assist, inform, or simply entertain your companions on this journey, please contact the editor, Dolores Steinberg, at 1403 Teresa Drive, Apt 4E, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, or via e-mail at sdolores12n@gmail.com.

Snap a picture, draw a tree, spin a rhyme, tell a tale, review a book. We would all love to hear from you!

What is CUSA?

CUSA is an active apostolate that unites its members in the Cross of Christ so that they find God’s will in their suffering. Physical or mental illness, or disability or chronic pain is the sole requirement for membership.

CUSANs are united through postal and e-mail group-letters which regularly bring news of the other members of the Group, and a message from the Group’s Spiritual Advisor. Each CUSAN adds a message to the group-letter and mails it to the next Group member.

By uniting in CUSA and collectively offering their crosses of suffering to Christ for the benefit of mankind, CUSANs help themselves and each other, spiritually and fraternally.

Members able to do so are asked to make an annual contribution of $20. Checks may be made payable to RENEW International with CUSA in the memo line. Those unable to assist CUSA financially are still welcome and invited to join CUSA.

For further information, please contact: Mare Ernesto CUSA Administrator c/o RENEW International 1232 George Street Plainfield, NJ 07602-1717 e-mail: cusa@renewintl.org

Rev. Jerome Bracken, C.P. CUSA National Chaplain Immaculate Conception Monastery 86-45 178th Street Jamaica, New York 11432

Dolores Steinberg Editor, The CUSAN 1403 Teresa Drive, Apt 4E Fort Lee, NJ 07024

E-mail: sdolores12n@gmail.com