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BY ERIKA ANDERSON
Staff Writer
ATLANTA--Our Lady of Lourdes School and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
celebrated the many blessings they have received throughout the years at a Mass
on March 3 marking the feast day of Blessed Katharine Drexel, foundress of the
congregation and the school.
At the Mass, concelebrated by Our Lady of Lourdes pastor Father Frank Giusta
and assisted by Deacon Tom Zaworski, Archbishop John F. Donoghue reminded
students of the importance of Lent.
"I know that I am going to take a good look at myself and my own life
during this Lent, because I know that when it is over, I will feel better that
I have done something to improve myself and to make God happy," he said.
"And I also know that if you do this, you will feel better about yourself
and better about the world, too."
"So let us all pray together...so that we can trust Him even more--so
that no matter how hard things might be, or how much work we might have to do,
if we ask Him for help, He will send it, so that with His help, we can take
care of everything and make everybody happy, including ourselves."
The students were joined at Mass by Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Loretta
McCarthy and Nancy Auster, who direct the Maisha House of Prayer in the Lourdes
neighborhood.
Sister McCarthy spoke of the order's foundress, who helped to open Our Lady
of Lourdes School in 1912, and the archbishop blessed the new Maisha House of
Prayer following the Mass.
"Mother Katharine was a daughter of the church," Sister McCarthy
said. "She was a very strong believer in Christ's presence in the Catholic
Church."
Sister McCarthy said that Blessed Katharine had a great respect and
admiration for the bishops and leaders of the church and she thanked Archbishop
Donoghue for his dedication.
The sisters presented gifts to the archbishop, to parishioner and seminarian
Ricardo Bailey, calling him a "believer of dreams and a doer of
dreams," and to Our Lady of Lourdes lead teacher Carolyn Meadows, a 1973
graduate of the school who has taught there for 12 years.
"Mother Katharine was a builder--a builder of community and a builder
of families," Sister McCarthy said, presenting a gift to longtime
parishioner Carlene Thomas. "(Thomas) not only built her family but also
helped to build this church."
Sister McCarthy then asked all the children to stand and presented a gift to
six-month-old Markquis Bostick.
"Lastly, Mother Katharine was a woman of hope. She believed that any
person could be the best they could be," she said. "Markquis is the
future...what Mother Katharine hoped for all people."
The Mass ended with four children leading a prayer for the canonization of
Blessed Katharine.
"Ever loving God, You called Blessed Katharine Drexel to share the
message of the Gospel and the life of the Eucharist with the poor and oppressed
among Native and African American peoples," they prayed. "May your
servant Katharine Drexel soon be declared a saint by the Church so that You may
be glorified and we may strive for greater unity, justice and peace."
Sister Auster said that Blessed Katharine would be pleased to see Our Lady
of Lourdes today.
"I think the most beautiful thing to see is Mother Drexel's dream of
uniting all people around the banquet table of the Lord," she said.
"Lourdes is such a diverse parish. I think she would be really happy to
see her dream fulfilled and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."
The sisters also celebrated the opening of the new Maisha House of Prayer at
520 Parkway Drive, about five blocks from the former house they rented on Glen
Iris Drive.
The new building is larger and can accommodate groups of 50, Sister Auster
said. "We hope to have a chapel and a meeting place downstairs."
Sister Auster said the larger house was needed because their ministry is
expanding so rapidly.
"More and more people were beginning to come, asking for overnight
facilities," she said. "We've been really praying for a place to open
up."
The house once belonged to the Hubbard family, former Lourdes parishioners
who moved and sold it to the sisters' lay board of directors, Maisha, Inc., for
$100,000. Furniture and accessories were donated by Lourdes parishioners.
Board member Nancy Jamison said that they were fortunate to get the house
for that price.
"It really was a wonderful gift," she said. "Something for
this size and this area would have cost at least $50,000 to $100,000
more."
"So many people donated so many things," Jamison added. "The
down payment for the house was donated by two people who each gave
$10,000."
Archbishop Donoghue blessed the house of prayer, saying, "Lord, be
close to your servants who move into this home and ask for your blessings. Be
their shelter when they are at home, their companion when they are away and
their welcome guest when they return. And at last receive them into the
dwelling place you have prepared for them in your Father's house, where you
live for ever and ever."
The archbishop then walked throughout the house, sprinkling holy water on
the walls and floors.
"When I think about this house, I think of abundance," Sister
McCarthy said. "More people will be able to come. The fact that we're here
and can open our doors to them is just such a blessing."
The word Maisha means life in Swahili, she said.
"This house is really a true visual and physical representation of
God's gift of abundant life."
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