by Sister Anne Arabome, SSS

Recently, along with my god-daughter, Sandra Sagbohan, I took time off my hectic schedule at Duquesne University for some quiet moment of prayer and reflection at Humility of Mary Spirituality and Retreat Center. The center is located in the countryside town of Villa Maria near Youngstown on the Ohio border. Sandra is a Duquesne undergrad who will graduate in December. At the center, I met Sr. Joanna Gardner, a delightful Humility sister. She knew who I was as soon as I told her that I belonged to the same congregation as Sr. Simone Campbell. Everybody knows Simone Campbell and the SSS on the East Coast. Gone are the days when it took me a long time to explain and talk about the SSS to people who had never heard about us! 

Holy Family nativity sculptures by Trina Paulus, Photo by Sister Diana Sabia, SSS

Sr. Joanna invited Sandra and I to her choir rehearsal in Borden, Ohio. It sounded far away, but it took less than fifteen minutes in a car to get to Borden. On the way, she told us about this choir called the Seraphim Choir made up of people from all walks of life who just wanted to sing. And sing they did! Not only did their angelic voices fill my mind and heart, they directed my thoughts back to my recent trip to Accra (Ghana) and Nairobi (Kenya). One of the songs the choir was rehearsing was "Away in a manger" mixed with other Christmas carols. I kept hearing the word "asleep" in the songs. The songs fill my soul with peace and stirred up memories of my encounters with people in West and East Africa. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed ... the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay ... began to make sense to me in my relationship to my home continent Africa. Deborah Lorentz, SSS, a member of my community and my sister and mentor, came along with me to Africa and shared in this special moment of embracing

my people.

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Sister Anne and Sister Deborah in Africa,  August 2012.