"Do not cause one of these little ones to sin"

Scripture: Luke 17:1-6 - And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, `I repent,' you must forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, `Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

 

 

 

Meditation

What's the driving force in your life? A question that our dear Sister Ann would ask me when I would visit her after I left TAU House located in the French Quarter. Jesus speaks of two forces at work in our lives – the power of temptation to sin and cause harm and the power of faith to overcome obstacles and difficulties that stand in the way of loving God and our neighbor. The Greek word for temptation (scandalon) is the same as the English word scandal. The original meaning of scandal is a trap or a stumbling block which causes one to trip and fall. The scriptures warn us about the snare or enticement to go astray and to do what is evil. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers! (Psalm 141:9) Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling (1 John 2:10). The Jews held that it was an unforgivable sin to teach another to sin. If we teach another to sin, he or she in turn may teach still another, until a train of sin is set in motion with no foreseeable end. Jesus warns his disciples of the terrible responsibility that they must set no stumbling block in the way of another, that is, not give offense or bad example that might lead another to sin. The young in faith are especially vulnerable to the bad example of those who should be passing on the faith. Thinking for these past days with Sister Ann at the head of my thoughts, (I still cant believe she is gone) she would always direct me in the positive way of thinking e.g. Why don't you go out, take a walk, see what happens in your life as you let the day unfold before you. I just loved her way of thinking, it was always filled with wonder and blessing!

While Jesus warns against the danger of giving bad example and causing scandal, he also demonstrates the power of faith for overcoming obstacles and temptation to sin. What did Jesus mean when he said that our faith can move trees and mountains as well (see Matthew 17:20; Mark 11:23)? The term "mountain remover" was used for someone who could solve great problems and difficulties. Don't we often encounter challenges and difficulties which seem beyond our power to handle? What appears impossible to human power is possible to those who believe in God's power. Faith is a gift freely given by God to help us know God personally, to understand his truth, and to live in the power of his love. God expects more from us than we can simply do by ourselves. That is why Jesus gives us the gift and power of the Holy Spirit who helps us to grow strong in  faith, persevere in hope, and endure in love. Faith in God is the key for removing obstacles and difficulties which keep us from doing his will. We belong to God and our lives are no longer our own. Like our dear Sister Ann, our joy and privilege is to follow the Lord Jesus and to serve in the power of his love and goodness. The Lord Jesus is ever ready to work in and through us for his glory. For our faith to be effective it must be linked with trust and with obedience – an  active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever he commands.

 

Reflection question: Do you trust in the grace and strength which God freely gives to help us resist temptation and to overcome obstacles in doing his will?

St. Mary of the Pines retreat house, Chatawa, MS
 

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, you give us victory over the destructive forces of sin and harmful desires that keep us from doing your will. Give me the strength to always choose what is good and to reject what is wrong. May your love rule my heart that I may forgive those who cause me harm and guide those who need your help." Amen.

May our dear Sister Ann rest in peace. May all of us who lived and ministered with  Ann continue to do even more! She was an example of love and compassion for all people!

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

We pray for all TAU House members

We pray for a greater love of God and neighbor

For the TAU House community in New Orleans as they grieve the loss of Sister Ann Roddy, SSND

For vocations to the priesthood, religious life and lay-ministers

For the equality of all people

For our veterans as we remember all those who had served and continue to serve in the military

 

 

 

 

Sister Ann Roddy, SSND

Sister Ann Roddy, SSND

1937-2013

Ann was born in St. Louis, Mo. on June 22, 1937. She was the eldest child of Hugh and Loretta (Nicholson) Roddy. Of her family she wrote, “In succeeding years, I was privileged to have two sisters, Lynn and Miriam, and three brothers, Hugh, William, and Robert.”

Their happy grammar school days were spent in St. Aloysius, taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. It was in the year of both her First Holy Communion and Confirmation that Ann first thought of becoming a religious. Over the next years this thought wavered, but persisted.  The family heard of her hope of becoming an aspirant when she completed the eighth grade. However, Ann adjusted to her parents request for her to finish high school before entering the convent.

Ann enrolled as a freshman at Notre Dame High School in St. Louis. She gave this acount, “With the years at Notre Dame, my desire to enter the convent became more fervent.  After completing the second year, I attended summer school and was able to complete the requirements for graduation in three years. “

“In the late summer of that year, with two other girls from St. Aloysius, Marie Torno (Sister Marie Theodore) and Mary Ann Morley (Sister Edward Maureen) I received the bonnet of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in our parish church.” These candidates and their companions began their spiritual and professional preparation as religious and as teachers at Sancta Maria in Ripa in St. Louis. 

Ann was received into the congregation, donned the habit, and was given the name, Mary Kevin in1955.  She wrote, “After a year spent in preparation for the joyful day of consecration, I professed my vows of poverty, chastity and obedience on August 3, 1956. 

As newly professed Sister Kevin she was missioned to be art teacher for the children in Holy Angels School in E. St. Louis, Ill.  As she taught she continued her studies earning a B.A. in art from Notre Dame College; an M.A. in Art from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.A. in Theology from St. Mary University in San Antonio.

After five years in her first mission Ann continued her journey in the South.  Now it was secondary youth she taught of God and his Beauty--- Art, and Theology and Mechanical Drawing at Mount Carmel High School in Houston---then it was for the boarders at St. Mary of the Pines in Chatawa, Miss--- now on to Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge, and Immaculata High School in Marrero, La.

Of her years in the classroom she said, “I love art and I really enjoyed teaching it at any level. Each place was so different from the others.  I was enlivened by all my students and was proud of their accomplishments.” This enjoyment was reflected in a Mt. Carmel student’s response on hearing of her death.  “Sister Kevin was my favorite teacher. She always had a smile and a lot of patience with each student.  I have never forgotten her over the past 50 years and she will continue to be in my memories.”

Between her two last assignments she reflected,  “After 20 years in the classroom, I took a sabbatical at Lebh Shomea House of Prayer. Lebh Shomea means listening heart in Hebrew.  I listened and I prayed.”

On return to the classroom in Marrero, she taught for two years until policy determined that the SSNDs would leave that school.  The outlook for finding another teaching position was dim, for the economy crunch was such that the arts had become “unnecessary frills.”

In the interim Sister returned to her baptismal name, Ann.  1979 found her assigned to discern her way as an artist and a member of the Redemptorist High School community in New Orleans.  This was to be a very different path to her education ministry. It wasn’t long before she discovered that in order to sustain herself she would need to do what other New Orleans artists do---load up her cart with easel, canvases, paint, and brushes and head toward the heart of New Orleans, Jackson Square.

Sister Ann described her ministry, “I display some of my work in the Jackson Square area. While there, I paint and draw. I also attempt to share the mystery of God’s presence in our midst in whatever manner seems possible in meetings with people.  At the beginning and ending of most days, I join a group of Christians at Tau House for Lauds and Eucharist, and Vespers.  Additional ministry to members of the community flows from the gift of presence to each other.”

Ann continued, “In the early ‘80s I awakened to the fact that so many of the young men who were so affirming of me as an artist were becoming ill.  Hospital visits and funerals becme too frequent. The HIV/AIDs virus was recognized.”  Tau House sensed a need and extended its ministry into Project Lazarus, a haven, a shelter, a retreat for AIDS sufferers and their care takers. 

Sister Ann worked with the Franciscan founders of Tau House and Project Lazarus during the next two decades.  The virus evolved from a deadly disease into a manageable illness.  And Sister Ann’s ministry evolved.  Still the artist on the Square, she became the Director of Tau House and continued to volunteer in the Project Lazarus ministry.  

Sister Ann was honored in her works of art and she was esteemed for her other works. The community gave her the distinctive Guardian Angel of 2010 award to recognize her contribution to Project Lazarus.  In 2007 she had received Volunteer of  the Year award.

Galleries hosted Ann’s exhibits. Organizations benefited from her sketches and graphics.  Particularly the School Sisters of Notre Dame appreciated her contributions to congregational and provincial brochures, letter heads, and the artistic planning of gatherings. Then she generated the creative ability of other members.

The religious communities in which Sister Ann lived changed as her ministry evolved.  She sought community living with a Franciscan Sister in an apartment in the French Quarter. Then other SSNDs joined her.  From them we learn of her regularly sharing time for prayer and the chores.  She loved to cook, so she did most community meal preparation. Ann’s “loving to cook” must have been an improvement from early days.  Then a couple who lived in an apartment above the Sisters reported, “Sister Ann must be cooking again” on one the days that the burned food aromas filled their apartment.

Consistently Ann was an active participant in SSND faith communities, whether local, regional or provincial.  During the formation of the Central Pacific Province, Sister Ann was very active in the commuting and communication as a member of one Quad Committee that assisted the birthing of this new province.

All activity ceased abruptly in the summer of 2013.  Ann’s mental and physical agility seemed to collapse until total care at St. Mary of the Pines became necessary in early August.  Weeks later emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix changed the pattern of her condition.  Sister Ann was rarely aroused from a coma-like condition after the surgery.   She died peacefully early morning on the Feast of All Souls.

Sister Ann’s parents preceded her in death.  Her two sisters, Lynn Schmitz and Miriam Roddy and her brothers, Hugh, Bill and Robert survive her.  All five of them along with Bill’s wife Cherie were able to come to be with our SSND community, the Franciscan priests and brothers, and her many friends for the morning prayer and the Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013.  Rev. Thomas Potts, SVD was the celebrant.  Burial was in the St. Mary of the Pines Cemetery, in Chatawa.

May our Sister Ann who did not hesitate to spend the best of herself be so rewarded in heaven.

We love you Annie!