Members of the Stella Maris Province Vocation Promotion Team (VPT) are always seeking opportunities to engage others in conversations about faith and discernment – prayerfully seeking guidance from God on all matters of life.
One such gathering happened this week at The Cottage in Radnor, PA where the MSC Mission Offices are based. VPT member Sr. Patricia Spillane shared Pope Francis’ 10 Secrets to Happiness with a small group of Cabrini College community members, CMC missioners and Mission Office staffers. Sr. Christine Marie Baltas, MSC and Sr. Grace Waters, MSC joined in the conversation.
Sr. Patricia was full of missionary zeal as she spoke about her call to religious life and the many roles she has held throughout her years as a Missionary Sister. She told the group that she has had a wonderful life – some years spent as Superior General and Assistant General of the Missionary Sisters, some years in the Philippines and early years spent on the Cabrini College campus as a student and as the Dean of Students.
Sr. Patricia led a dialogue on the 10 Secrets to Happiness by Pope Francis. Members of the group read each “secret” and a discussion ensued. For each secret, Sr. Patricia offered her own insights and wisdom. All of the participants were fully engaged in the discussion and the interaction was animated and heartfelt. We felt blessed by Sr. Patricia’s presence and so grateful for this opportunity to share these practical aspects of our faith journey.
As Sr. Patricia reminded us, “all of this challenges us to be authentic disciples of Jesus in the 21st Century and to promote true peace and reconciliation wherever we can.”
Pope Francis’ 10 Secrets to Happiness are:
1. Live and let live. – How would your life be happier if you stopped trying to change the lives of others?
2. Be giving of yourself to others. – How have you experienced happiness through reaching out to help others?
3. Proceed calmly. – In what ways can you cultivate peacefulness in your life?
4. Develop a healthy sense of leisure .- How do you balance work and leisure in your life?
5. Make Sunday a holy day. – What kinds of things would you have to change in your life in order to reclaim Sunday as a holy day?
6. Create jobs for young people. – How can you help young people find dignity and happiness through meaningful work or service?
7. Respect and take care of nature. – What is something you can do to become a better steward of God’s creation?
8. Stop being negative. – What steps can you take to eliminate negativity in your life?
9. Respect others’ beliefs. How do you respect others’ beliefs and at the same time witness to your own.
10 Work for peace. – In what ways do you work and pray for peace?