Events

Mark your calendars to learn more about the life of our St. Philippine Duchesne at the Spirituality Speaker Series.

November 7, 2020 - Heart Response Team of the Sacred Heart
February 5, 2021 - Lyn Osiek, rscj
March 5, 2021 - Shirley Miller, rscj

PRAYER AND REFLECTION

Prayer, adoration, reflection, and contemplation are at the heart of Saint Madeleine Sophie's vision for
the Society of the Sacred Heart. In the 1815 Abridged Plan for the Institute, she affirmed: the Spirit
of the Society is essentially based on prayer and the interior life....

Years later, Madeleine Sophie recollected her epiphany at the foundation:
That is it, I said to myself, as I was praying before a lonely tabernacle: we must dedicate ourselves to the education of young people; 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.

So, it is in this spiritual, almost mystical, experience of the adoration of the Heart of Jesus, that the Society was called to both contemplative prayer and apostolic life, thus establishing from its foundation the intrinsic relationship of prayer and mission. At the very inception of the Society, Madeleine Sophie's vision was to create and to build a community around the Eucharist, nourished by contemplative prayer and adoration. The purpose of the Society of the Sacred Heart - to discover and to reveal the love of Christ - is achieved through the unitive approach of both the internal work of prayer, as well as the external work of education.

The 2020 - 2021 Sacred Heart Spirituality Speakers' Series, scheduled for First Fridays November 6, February 5, and March 5, will explore themes, methods, modes, and Sacred Heart resources for Prayer and Reflection. Please note that at least the November 6 presentation will be held virtually via Zoom. Locations and specific details for February 5 and March 5 to be determined and communicated at a later date.

Please join us for the following presentations this year as we follow in Saint Madeleine Sophie's footsteps and join her mission of Prayer and Reflection to better know, to serve, to reveal, and to love the Heart of Jesus:

• November 6, 2020 - Prayer and Reflection in the Digital Age: the HEART Response Team. Presented by Members of the HEART Response Team, Society of the Sacred Heart, via Zoom at 10:00 a.m. central time

Madeleine Sophie Barat left us with her wisdom "Times change and we must change with them." While the deepest values of our contemplation is the guiding force in each member of the Sacred Heart Kinship, into each generation falls the challenge of using the elements of culture, experience, and global reality to make the mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart accessible.

During these months of the pandemics we have experienced, the United States - Canada Province has found new ways to share the experience, strength, and hope we have discovered with the entire global Sacred Heart community. The HEART Response Team came together at the invitation of the Provincial Team to create a community that could provide resources and experiences with all those with whom our digital communication reaches.

This group worked together virtually to create new ways of discovering our calls to contemplation, courage, and compassion. With weekly reflections featuring images, prayers, videos, and music provided by a wide array of artists and authors, the HEART Response Team worked together to provide new ways of listening to the Spirit in this time of so much challenge.

Members of the HEART Response Team will join you on November 6 to invite you to pray with us, to listen to the voice of the Spirit in our midst, and to tell the story of our experience that we might strengthen one another for the journey ahead.

• February 5, 2021 ~ Lyn Osiek, RSCJ - Prayer and Reflection on the Word: A Study of Saint Madeleine Sophie's Prayer with Scripture

Lyn Osiek, RSCJ is Provincial Archivist of the Society of the Sacred Heart and is co-editor of the complete writings of Philippine entitled Philippine Duchesne, pionnière à la frontière américane OEuvres complètes (1769 - 1852), and collaborator with Fran Gimber, RSCJ, on the English translation of these writings. She is also author of Saint Rose Philippne Duchesne: A Heart on Fire across Frontiers (2017) and Louise Callan, RSCJ: Historian and Biographer of Philippine Duchesne (2015).

An alumna of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Saint Charles, Sister Osiek has taught at the Sacred Heart schools at Grand Coteau, LA, Newton Country Day Academy, Newton, MA, and Villa Duchesne. In addition, she has served on the boards of trustees at many Sacred Heart schools and colleges, most recently the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Saint Charles, Duchesne Academy, Omaha, and the University of San Diego.

• March 5, 2021 - Shirley Miller, RSCJ - Pay Attention, Be Astonished, Tell About It: Images and Reflections on the Spiritual Journey

A Religious of the Sacred Heart for 55 years and an alumna of Duchesne College in Omaha, NE, Sister Miller's service to Sacred Heart education has been wide-ranging and varied. Having taught Religious Studies and English for ten years in a number Sacred Heart schools, Sister Miller then served for 25 years as: Principal at Duchesne Academy, Omaha (1978 - 1989), Headmistress at the Rosary in New Orleans (1989 - 2003), and Director of Mission Advancement for the Province (2004 - 2019). Currently semi-retired, she is working on a book, serving on the Board of Trustees at Duchesne Academy, and making occasional presentations.

The Sacred Heart Spirituality Speakers Series is sponsored three times annually by the Mums of Alums at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School for the benefit of the entire Sacred Heart family. It represents the Alum Mothers’ effort to participate in the stewardship of the vision of Saint Madeleine Sophie and endeavors of Saint Philippine Duchesne – 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!

The Villa Duchesne-City House Alumnae Association invites you to join us for our Alum Day of Service as we live out our Sacred Heart Goal 3 - social awareness which impels to action. As we had to redesign our events for the year, this was the perfect opportunity to serve those in need in our community through a donation drive.

Nurses for Newborns and The Little Bit Foundation are charities helping the needs of St. Louis babies, toddlers, and youth. While we cannot physically volunteer at these organizations, they have items they need to serve the community. Please visit the Amazon Wish Lists that we have created and bring your items to campus starting at 8 am on Wednesday, November 18 through 4 pm on Friday, November 20, 2020. Bins will be available to drop-off items off the main drive at the Gueck Family Pavilion, adjacent to Condie Field.

Visit the wish list for Nurses for Newborns

Visit the wish list for The Little Bit Foundation

If you have any questions, email Rachel Drone Gehm '88, Manager of Alumni Relations at rgehm@vdoh.org.

If you are out of town, you may order your items through Amazon and have them delivered to:

Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School
Attn: Rachel Gehm
801 S Spoede Rd
St. Louis, MO 63131