Situated on the Niagara Escarpment, our CSA motherhouse is truly “on the edge.” This 400-million-year-old limestone cliff runs all the way from eastern Wisconsin to Niagara Falls. The phrase “living on the edge” has no single or universal meaning and is often equated with living dangerously.
Oftentimes the Spirit can offer us opportunities to “live on the edge” through a call to discern that unique part of ourselves that hungers to make a difference in the world. Time and again we are challenged to be voices that break through the rock of oppression and marginalization so that “streams” of compassion can bring comfort and courage to all.
Within CSA’s history and ministries, the congregation has also “lived on the edge,” surviving many difficult circumstances over 153 years of existence, including the threat of being disbanded. Many of our members have been willing to take the risk of “moving to the edge” in the fields of health care, education, social services, and specialized ministries in wellness, art, retreats, spirituality, social justice, and prison ministry. Whether protecting newly arrived immigrants at Ellis Island, establishing education and health care facilities where there were none, founding community organizations to assist victims of abuse and addiction, or challenging unjust social systems, the sisters “live on the edge.”
“Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of beginning . . . It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes on.” (Natalie Goldberg)
Reflection in honor of Mother Agnes Hazotte - First Superior General of the Sisters of St. Agnes 1864-1905. Died March 6, 1905 - a woman who truly "lived on the edge."
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