2023 - 2024 Sacred Heart Spirituality Speaker Series
The 2023-2024 Sacred Heart Spirituality Speaker Series: Part III: “The Eucharist: Call, Inspiration, Our Response,” presented by the Mums of Alums of Villa Duchesne concluded March 1, 2024.
Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart, described her prophetic vision for the Society:
That is it, I said to myself, as I was praying before a lonely tabernacle, we must dedicate ourselves to the education of youth, renew in souls the solid foundations of a living faith in the Blessed Sacrament ... We will raise up a multitude of adorers from all the nations, to the very ends of the earth.
Even in the initial design of the Society’s seal, Sophie expressed this close relationship between the Eucharist and the Society with the placement of the Eucharistic Host, radiant with light, at the center top of the image, above the very hearts of Jesus and Mary.
We see here that the Eucharist lies at the Heart of the Society's foundation and mission. And, we as disciples, are invited to follow in Sophie's wisdom and footsteps as we embrace the journey of the Heart.
Having explored the gift of the Eucharist in the Spirituality Series over the last two years, now this year, we journey further, to discover the fullness of the Paschal Mystery and how to respond whole-heartedly to the call and mystery of the Incarnation and of the Eucharist in ourselves, in the life of the Church, and in all God’s beloved children. Suzanne Cooke, RSCJ; Maureen Glavin, RSCJ; and Sally Rude, RSCJ, share with us how the diverse and various ministries of the Society manifest its mission, discovered in Sophie’s Eucharistic moment and inspired by the Spirit, to reveal the love of God, and so, to transform society.
This final year of a three-year reflection series on the Eucharist and Sacred Heart Spirituality lies in our response to the call and inspiration of the Eucharist. How do I, Christ’s chosen disciple, answer His calling to the Eucharistic Table? How do we, Religious of the Sacred Heart, Associates, alumnae/i, collaborators, as partners-in-mission, respond in the Spirit to articulate and to live the Society’s mission to discover and to reveal God’s love? How do we see Eucharistic calls through the lens of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat's vision and then respond to the imperative of her Eucharistic moment? What does the Spirit compel us to do, "in remembrance of Me … to the ends of the earth?"
Presentation Dates
Friday, November 3, 2023: "Sophie’s Bold Vision of Education, Inspired by Her Understanding of the Eucharist " by Suzanne Cooke, RSCJ
Friday, February 2, 2024: "Eucharist and Revealing God’s Love – Wherever We Are" by Maureen Glavin, RSCJ
Friday, March 1, 2024: "Saying “Yes” to the Spirit Who Abides with Us" by Sally Rude, RSCJ
Saying “Yes” to the Spirit Who Abides with Us | March 1, 2024
At the First Eucharist, Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” (John 15:9) The Risen Christ promised “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:30). His last words before His Ascension were, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Then on Pentecost, Peter, filled with the Spirit, quotes the prophet Joel to the astonished crowd, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh.” (Acts 2:18) Let us look at that Spirit at work in the early Church, as told in the Gospels and the letters of Peter, John, and Paul – witnesses to the presence of God with us. That Spirit continues to call each of us today. What is our response?
Sally Rude, RSCJ, is an alumna of the Sacred Heart Schools in San Francisco. She has served as a teacher and administrator in Sacred Heart schools in El Cajon and Atherton, California; New York City; Grand Coteau, Louisiana; and Chicago. She has taught and worked with newly professed RSCJ in Rome, Uganda, Indonesia, Hungary, France, and Canada. After serving as Community Life Director at Oakwood, an RSCJ Retirement Center in California, she returned to St. Louis where she now lives. She holds a doctorate in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.
Eucharist and Revealing God’s Love – Wherever We Are | February 2, 2024
Maureen Glavin, RSCJ, lives and works in Indonesia. In her presentation, she and some of the Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) with whom she lives share the work of the Society in Indonesia. As in all the Society’s ministries, this work is meant “to reveal/to manifest” God’s love in the world as we have come “to discover” it.
Sister Glavin, entered the Society in 1988, the year of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne's canonization. Prior to entering, Maureen worked in a medical school research lab and taught math and science at the secondary level in Tanzania. In the United States she taught math and science in Hoboken, New Jersey; St. Charles, Missouri; and Houston, Texas. She's also worked in administration and has served as vice-principal at school in Houston, division director at Carrollton in Miami, and as head of school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles. From 2018 - 2021, Maureen served as a member of the Provincial Team of the Society of the Sacred Heart United States – Canada Province. She is currently serving the Society as a member of the Leadership Team of the Society’s District of Indonesia.
Sophie’s Bold Vision of Education, Inspired by Her Understanding of the Eucharist | November 3, 2023
How did this experience of Eucharistic adoration inform Madeleine Sophie Barat's vision of education? Suzanne Cooke, RSCJ, explores how the apostolic aim of Sacred Heart education is inherently a grace-filled endeavor focused on transformation. She speaks to Sophie’s intention “to form adorers” that is to say, her goal was to educate girls so that they could have a transforming influence in society. This bold vision of Madeleine Sophie Barat gave rise to a complete and coherent system of pedagogical thought lived today in the Society of the Sacred Heart across the world.
Sister Cooke currently serves as the Provincial of the Society of the Sacred Heart United States – Canada Province. Prior to this, she served as Head of the Conference of Sacred Heart Education. Sister Cooke has held different leadership positions as an educator including as head of school at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, Washington, and at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami. Having served on several Sacred Heart Network school boards, the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals, and the board of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, Sister. Cooke has spoken often about Saint Madeleine Sophie’s vision of education.
The Sacred Heart Spirituality Series is sponsored by the Mums of Alums at Villa Duchesne for the benefit of the entire Sacred Heart community. This series represents the Mums' effort to participate in the stewardship of the vision of Saint Madeleine Sophie - a second sowing of the Sacred Heart mission by parents who gave to their children the gift of Sacred Heart education, and who continue to cherish Life at the Sacred Heart. All are most welcome!
