Associate Director Rose Hardwick shared some lessons she learned on pilgrimage to Assisi--and the missioners couldn't resist a little nod to the Beatles on the way!

Welcome to the FMS e-newsletter! Each week, our newsletter will be highlighting what our missioners are learning through their mission preparation at Casa San Salvador, the FMS missioner house. Enjoy these stories from the missioners' eighth week!

The missioners traveled to Baltimore Carmel, a monastery of Carmelite sisters, where they were led on retreat by Meghan Meros. In the beautiful setting of the monastic grounds, the missioners had an opportunity to spend extended time alone with God in prayer.

My favorite day this week was a visit to the Baltimore Carmelite Monastery. We spent much of the day in contemplative prayer. I found a spot on a large rock and sat in silence, breathing in the cool air and taking in the beauty that surrounded me. The skies were cloudy, but every few minutes the sun broke through and I imagined God embracing me. I lost track of time and felt as if I was in a light sleep. I felt drawn to the chapel and there I sat in contemplation of Jesus present in the blessed sacrament. This was such a precious and privileged time for me to draw closer to God and embrace his will for me.

-Susan Sarkissian

Implicit Bias Training

The missioners were joined by Dr. Crystal Taylor-Dietz, Psy.D., who led them in a session on Implicit Bias, "the attitudes and beliefs that affect our behavior in an unconscious manner, [which] can impact our ability to successfully manage intercultural interactions and diverse ministry environments." In a conversation which drew on individual experience in a trusting space, Dr. Taylor-Dietz and the missioners explored the way our personal histories and identities impact the development of implicit bias, allowing the missioners a greater self-awareness as they continue to prepare for ministry.

"I enjoyed learning from Dr. Crystal and taking time to examine where biases come from and how they work in our brains. I know I may encounter my own biases coming up for me when I am doing mission work and I do not want my biases to prevent me from being present for the people I meet. Dr. Crystal gave us a tool for encountering and holding our biases as well as working to decrease their impact on us. I learned so much from her that I feel will be so helpful on mission and in life after mission."

-Kim Wagner

Meghan and the missioners enjoyed some beautiful sights and sounds as they paddled down the Anacostia River on a day trip recently. They landed at the National Arboretum and enjoyed a well deserved picnic lunch under the transplanted White House columns.

Each week the missioners will learn about different styles of prayer as part of their faith formation. We encourage you to enter into this journey; hopefully it can assist in your own spiritual life as well.

"Our prayer focus this week was contemplative prayer. This is a perfect way to round out all the forms of prayer we have been studying from Imaginative Ignatian Prayer and Taize Prayer to Examen and Devotional Prayer. In contemplative prayer, I find a place of solitude where I truly engage in a personal fellowship with God. Sometimes my mind wanders through other forms of prayer during this time, but mostly I land in silence, soaking in the love and peace that God sends me. I've never felt anything like it, and if weren't for earthly responsibilities, I might never want to leave."

-Susan Sarkissian

St Teresa of Avila, contemplative and reformer of the Carmelite order

The Franciscan tradition is brimming with Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables included in the Roman Canon. Each week, we will highlight a different Franciscan who lived a notable life of holiness.

St. Agnes was born the younger sister of St. Clare of Assisi in 1197. Much like her older sister, Agnes left her wealthy family to follow St. Francis only two weeks after Clare did, and the family did not take kindly to the sisters' choice to live in simplicity. In fact, Agnes's family tried to have her forcefully dragged from the monastery at San Damiano, but by some miracle, the knights were not able to physically move her. She remained rooted to the spot, insistent on living by the Franciscan rule. St. Francis himself was very fond of her, and although she was born with the name Caterina, he gave her the name Agnes because her humble, gentle demeanor reminded him of a lamb. St. Agnes became the abbess of a monastery of Poor Ladies in Monticelli and remained close to her sister and spiritual family in San Damiano for her whole life. St. Agnes was with St. Clare when she died in 1253, and followed her in death three months later.

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