Daughters of Divine Charity

Together We Live in the Legacy that is the Daughters of the Divine Charity

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Advent

Advent

Week 1
Week 1

AN ADVENT CHALLENGE

The first Sunday of Advent marks the end of the liturgical season of ordinary time, and we begin a new liturgical year. In this season of Advent 2023, I propose a challenge.

1. Celebrate Christmas and the Incarnation of Christ with joy; and

2. Reflect on the end of time; and ask if you will be ready when He returns.

Advent is a season of preparation and waiting. Mother Church reminds us during Advent to prepare for Christ's second coming, and to examine our own lives and ask, "Am I ready for my own death? Am I ready for judgment when Christ comes again?"

"Are we laboring to make our lives conform to His?" Thomas A. Kempsis, Page 15, Imitation of Christ.

Bishop Barron explains, "Christianity in a certain sense is a religion of fulfillment. The Lord has come, the Incarnation and the Resurrection have taken place. It's happened already. But in another sense, Christianity is permanently a religion of waiting, because we wait in joyful hope for the second coming of the Lord. That's why there is a permanent Advent quality to the Christian life."

There are 106 references in the Bible to waiting. Most of us, and society at large, does not like to wait. Life is faster than ever, and a sense of immediacy infects every aspect of our lives. Reflect on today's readings, does anything resonate with you?

Isaiah 63:17, "Return for the sake of your servants."

Psalm 80:8, "Give us new life."

First Corinthians 1:6-7, "As the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord, Jesus Christ."

Mark 13:33, "Jesus said to his disciples, 'Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.'"

In His word, we are reminded to be aware of God's presence and to continue in love and faith until he comes again. That is the true meaning of preparing for and celebrating Christmas.

Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Thanksgiving Message

Thanksgiving Message

Dear Associates, Benefactors and Friends of the Daughters of Divine Charity,

On behalf of the Daughters of Divine Charity I wish to extend our sincerest thanks for your loving support, prayers and generous donations throughout the years.  We send our love and heartfelt wishes for Thanksgiving Day shared with family and friends filled with new memories and many blessings especially good health and happiness. 

May this season of gratitude be felt in each of your homes as we take a moment in silent prayer to thank the Almighty for His countless blessings.  A prayer of gratitude for the loving hands that will prepare the meal that we will gather to share around a table of plenty and for those loved ones who have gone before us but have etched on our hearts their love and cherished memories. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord show you His kindness and have mercy on you.
May the Lord watch over you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26

Remembering you and your intentions in our
Eucharistic Celebration on Thanksgiving Day 2023.
God Bless you and your families.  

With a grateful heart, our love, and prayers,
Sister Mary and Sisters

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Thanksgiving-Message-2

Celebrating 155 years

Remembering our Founding Day November 21st is also attached if you wish to use the flier and the feast of the Presentation of our Blessed Mother.

Thanks and may you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving.

May 2023 Appeal

                                                                                                                                                Spring 2023

Dear Friends,

The message of the Risen Lord “Do not be afraid for I am with you always” Isaiah 41:10 reminds us that we need to come to Jesus, no matter what the challenges and struggles that might be in our daily lives. Jesus is truly alive in our hearts and souls for He comes to us in LOVE, in the Eucharist, promising to bring us peace as we trust in His divine mercy. Saint Pope John Paul II coined this phrase “Be Not Afraid” often during his papacy and stated that “In the Redemption we find the most profound basis for the words “Be not afraid!”, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” John 3:16.   The resurrection of Jesus proclaims to the world a new hope, renewal, and a strengthening of our spiritual life.

Each year springtime bursts forth the beauty of nature. There is no alarm clock or electrical switch that turns on the vibrant colors of trees, bushes, and flowers that blossom automatically, bringing new life and smiles to our faces as we capture God’s creation being renewed.  This feeling of rebirth penetrates our physical surroundings as we clean, update, reorganize, buy new furnishings, and appliances for our homes.

Sisters at St. Joseph Hill Convent are grateful to all who responded to the digital appeal for new dining room chairs and recliners. Thanks to YOU and your incredible support, I am happy to inform you that the recliners have arrived, with the new dining room chairs on their way.

The St. Mary’s Convent in Akron, Ohio built in 1993 has had minor improvements over the past 30 years. This spring the Sisters will see a major make-over to their community room and kitchen. This project will include:

  • ceiling repairs
  • replacing carpeting with hardwood floors
  • updating radiators and air-conditioning units that will be more energy efficient.

With your generosity, you will be making things new for them by keeping our most senior Sisters with limited accessibility comfortable by accommodating their needs at home with their community with access to a beautiful chapel, allowing them to continue being active in the ministry. 

It is a tremendous responsibility and challenge to meet the changing needs of our Sisters. For those of you caring for a loved one, you know firsthand the importance of maintaining safe, accessible, and comfortable living conditions for our loved ones.

With grateful hearts, we thank you in advance for your support and generosity.  Please know that you are remembered in our daily prayers and Mass intentions.

In Gratitude,

Sister Mary Coffelt, F.D.C.
Provincial Superior

Sister Mary William

Thank you to Pamela Silvestri for the Beautiful Words about Sister William

Sister Mary William passed away peacefully surrounded by her Sisters at St. Joseph Hill convent on Holy Thursday April 6, 2023.

She was born Mary Margaret McGovern in then- Richmond Memorial Hospital on April 16, 1937.  She lived in Great Kills and attended St. Clare School for elementary grades and graduated from St. Joseph Hill Academy High School.

Sister entered the novitiate of the Daughters of Divine Charity on August 15, 1955, taking the name Sister Mary William.  She graduated from Fordham University with both Bachelors and Masters degrees in English.

Her first teaching assignment in 1958 was in St. Joseph Hill Academy High School.  Over the years, she taught French, British Literature, and Advanced Placement English, served as faculty advisor of the school newspaper, the yearbook and Student Council.  In 1966, she was asked to establish a Guidance Department at the Academy and served as its first director.

In 1971 she became the Provincial Secretary of St. Joseph Province, a post she held for six years.  Following that she retuned to St. Joseph Hill Academy where she continued teaching English as well as instituting a course in journalism.

She served on the Provincial Council of the Congregation for eight years, then served as the Provincial.  Over the years she was chosen six times to represent the Sisters at their international General Chapter, held every six years at the Congregation’s Generalate, first in Vienna and then in Rome.

In 1996 after completing her first term as Provincial, she became the co-director of Development for the Province, with the responsibility of raising funds to support the elderly and infirm Sisters.  During this time, she moderated the Daughters of Divine Charity Associate Program in the United States, taking it from a membership of one to being a wide-ranging group in all areas of the country where the Sisters served. In 2008, she was again named Provincial of St. Joseph Province.  In 2012, when St. Joseph Province, based at St. Joseph Hill on Staten Island, joined with two other Provinces of the Congregation – one based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and one in Akron, Ohio-she was chosen to be the first Provincial Superior of the newly formed Holy Family Province, based at St. Joseph Hill convent.

After overseeing the construction of a new convent for the Sisters at St. Joseph Hill, who had been living in a retrofitted school building, she was faced with the challenge of rebuilding the original convent building, which the Sisters had acquired in 1919 and which had been heavily damaged by an arson fire in 2013.  During the course of the renovations, she oversaw the opening of St. Joseph Retreat Center.  When her term as Provincial expired, she became President of St. Joseph Hill Academy.  She served on the board of St. Joseph Hill Academy and continued working in the Development Office of the Daughters of Divine Charity.

She was predeceased by her father, William A. McGovern, her mother, Marie McGovern her brother William A. McGovern, M.D. and her nephew William McGovern.  She is survived by her niece, Laura McGovern Olszewski, her grandniece, Sarah and her grandnephew, Christian, as well as her all her Sisters in Holy Family Province.

Schedule of Services:

Wednesday, April 12th 2 pm – 8 pm
Visitation, St. Joseph Hill Convent

Thursday, April 13th 10 am
Mass of Christian Burial, St. Joseph Hill Convent
Interment, Resurrection Cemetery, Staten Island, NY
Repast, St. Joseph Hill Convent

Easter Message

Easter Message

Dear Friends in Christ,

On behalf of the Sisters of St. Joseph Hill Convent and all the Daughters of Divine Charity I take this opportunity to wish you, the Administration, Staff, Families, Alumnae, Associates and Friends of St. Joseph Hill Academy and of the Daughters of Divine Charity a very blessed Easter.  

Our spiritual relationship with Jesus is strengthened by these Sacred Days of Holy Week as we take time to reflect and pray in silence with Jesus on His journey from Jerusalem to Calvary.   These days offer to us, teachable moments in the life of our Savior that remind us of how much Jesus truly loves us.  

May what you have experienced during these faith-filled days of Holy Week help you to celebrate more fully the fifty days of Easter which then leads us to Pentecost and the promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  

You are remembered in our daily prayers entrusting all to our Blessed Mother, who experienced the suffering, agony and death of her beloved Son for LOVE of us. 

The Sisters and I thank you for your prayers, love, support and generosity.  May all those who have died during this past year rest in eternal peace.  May the blessings of the Lord guide, protect and be with you and your families not just at Easter but every day “making God’s love visible.”    St. Joseph, intercede for us!

Love and Prayers,
Sister Mary Coffelt, F.D.C.
and all the Daughters of Divine Charity

For God so loved the world,
that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not perish,
but have
Eternal life.

John 3:16

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Happy Easter Everyone!
“For the Lord is truly Risen as He has said.”