HOMECOMING
S. Cynthia Brinkman, SSND
Prisoner of Conscience
Federal Prison Camp, Pekin , IL

October 6, 2004
School Sisters of Notre Dame
Motherhouse, St. Louis
4:30 pm

BELL RINGING
WELCOME, INTRODUCTION and SINGING OF ALLELUIAS:
S. Gen Cassani, SSND

Cynthia,

I welcome you home in the name of all of us assembled here and those who could not be hereto celebrate this event of homecoming. Cynthia, just to say your name and look up and see you standing here in our midst is a cause of our joy and I am sure your joy too. Words break down and all we can do is sing.....Alleluia

You have never really been out of our midst because we carried you in our hearts in prayer throughout the 180 days of your incarceration and we know now a new bonding in the Spirit that transcends walls and bars and gates.

As we welcome you Cynthia, we also offer you our gratitude for giving us a window into a world -- the world of women incarcerated --that we would never have seen and known if it were not through your eyes and the weekly reflections you shared with us. If it were not for the courage of your convictions in calling for and end to the School of the Americas, whose graduates under thetutelage of the US caused so much pain and suffering to the our sisters and brothers of Central and Latin America we would not have an understanding of the need for reform in our penal system in the way we do now.

In your earliest communication to us about why you were considering the action at Fr. Benning you spoke of our Call to Transformation and in the course of events, we saw you open your “entire life to radical transformation for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ, that all may be one in the fullness of God’s love.” In that opening, we were opened as well to the transforming power of your decision along with the many, many people who have been touched and transformed in following you, praying with and for you daily and the women whose stories you so delicately shared during your 180 days at Pekin. Our hearts are grateful...and so we can praise our God by singing ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA…..

PRAYER OF GRATITUDE
S. Frances Padberg, SSND, S. Pat Dooley, SSND,S. Roseanne Mock, SSND-- with singing the many names of God after each reader

A Prayer of Gratitude

We are grateful for eyes that can see and ponder, for taste buds that know the sensuous pleasures of eating and drinking, for hands that hold and touch and feel, for ears that can delight in music and the voice of a friend, for a nose that can smell the aroma of newly mown grass or delicious food, and can also breathe the air that gives us life.

We are grateful for the treasure of loved ones whose hearts of openness and acceptance have encouraged us to be who we are. We are grateful for their faithfulness, for standing by us when our weaknesses stood out glaringly, for being there when we were most in need and for delighting with us in our good days and our joyful seasons.

We are grateful for the eyes of faith, for believing in the presence of God, giving us hope in our darkest days, encouraging us to listen to our spirit’s hunger, and reminding us to trust in the blessings of God’s presence in our most empty days.

We are grateful for the ongoing process of becoming who we are, for the seasons within, for the great adventure of life that challenges and comforts us at one and the same time.

We are grateful for the messengers of God -- people, events, written or spoken words -- that came to us at just the right time and helped us to grow.

We are grateful for God calling us to work with our gifts, grateful that we can be of service and use our talents in a responsible and just way.

We are grateful that we have the basic necessities of life, that we have the means and the ability to hear the cries of the poor and to respond with our abundance.

We are grateful for the miracle of life, for the green of our earth, for the amazing grace of our history; we are grateful that we still have time to decide the fate of the world by our choices and our actions, grateful that we have it within our power to bring a divided world to peace.

Comments by S. Cynthia Brinkman, SSND

Presenté - petitionary prayer and flower ritual: written by S. Shelley Hogan, SSND and prayed by some members of the assembled community

PRESENTE’-PETITIONARY PRAYER AND FLOWER RITUAL
Presente’ is a word that reminds us of our Latin American sisters and brothers. Each week all of us were touched in Cynthia’s letters by her faith and hope, and we also grew in understanding the stories of the women who were incarcerated at Pekin with her. I am going to remind us of some of these people, and you will respond by saying presente’. This salutation means that these women are here with us now, gathered in this sacred space, as we pray for healing and in thanksgiving for the transformation we have been privileged to experience in coming to know them. When we pray these petitions, a rose will be added to the bouquet, reminding us of our oneness and commitment to pray always for those we’ve met through Cynthia’s time in prison.

• For Sylvia, who is being treated for breast cancer with chemo and radiation while in prison
• For those women who have to leave prison to testify at other trials and then return
• For the woman who lost one son in Iraq and one in treatment following surgery
• For Kathy Kelly and all the other members of Voices in the Wilderness and the people of Iraq they have ministered to
• For Mama Logan and all those innocently imprisoned by conspiracies
• For all those women prisoners who are pregnant, as well as those separated from and missing their children
• For Melissa and all those tormented by violence in their sleeping and while awake
• For all those missing their families and friends
• For Cynthia’s and all of our Latin American brothers and sisters who have been harmed by U.S. policies

Message from S. Joanne Hanrahan, SSND Provincial Leader, read by S. Kathy Schmittgens, SSND

As we gather here today Sister Joanne is somewhere over the Polar Cap on her way to the celebration in Japan. She regrets that she cannot be here in person to welcome you home and to bring full circle this “time of God’s favor” in your life. And so I am speaking for her today.

Each sister of our Province and those far beyond our Province have followed closely and listened intently to your words and your experience over the 180 days of incarceration. Through your experience we all have grown in our understanding of what may be required by You Are Sent.

In paragraph 16 we read:

“Fundamentally we stand before God in total emptiness, humbly accepting our humanity. We cling to nothing but the Lord, who gifts us with peace and joy, enables us to be content with what we receive, and sets us free from the selfish desire to possess. Freed and trusting, we are ready to approach others openly in dialogue, to hope against hope, to accept privations and to welcome insecurity…”

None of us knows the way in which we may be called on to live out these words. The honest way you shared the struggles of these past months has indeed been an inspiration.

We are grateful that the time is finished and you have come home safely. We also know that the lasting effects of these past months are not visible and that October 1 was not truly the end of the experience. We promise you our prayers that you may continue to understand what this time means in your life and in our community history.

Conclusion: Presentation of flowers to Cynthia.
Closing Prayer prayed by all.
Faithful God, you have lavished us with love. Keep us ever mindful that you keep your promises. On our difficult days help us to remember that you are a refuge for those who need shelter, a comfort for those who feel empty and poor in spirit. On our joyful days fill us with a deep sense of thanksgiving as we experience your everlasting love. Help us to share our graciousness with all those who need a touch of generous love. AMEN.

Sing Alleluias while processing out of chapel.