November 2024: Hope, Remembrance, and Thanksgiving
Dear NACN-USA Members,
November is a month when American Catholics are called to immerse themselves in hope, remembrance, and thanksgiving. Join me for a moment and reflect on these elements. Briefly, consider hope, acts of remembrance, and finally our American celebration of Thanksgiving.
HOPE: We have all recited the Apostle’s Creed which attests to the “Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting”. These are promises of Christ. These promises are the source of the virtue of hope. The only true and lasting hope is bestowed upon believers by God through the power of the Holy Spirit. The color green is symbolic of hope. The color of vestments worn by priests is also symbolic. Thus,from November 1, 2024, until the start of Advent December 1, 2024, priest vestments worn will be green.
REMEMBRANCE: On All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2) the promises pertaining to the “Communion of Saints” are before us. Especially on these two holy days, we are instructed to participate in the “spiritual solidarity” binding the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven. We pray for our families, friends, those loved ones who have gone before us and the saints in heaven. Our prayers for those in purgatory are particularly needed. Recall, those who are in purgatory cannot pray for their own purification to enter heaven. We on earth can offer prayers to hasten purification of those in purgatory. As we pray, our prayers, the prayers of the departed, and prayers of saints together bring us closer to the mystical body of Christ each day. Your prayers count!
THANKSGIVING: Thursday, November 27, 2024, Americans of all faiths and beliefs gather with those they love to give thanks for their many blessings. The first Thanksgiving celebration was November 28, 1621, when our Pilgrim founders came to America and shared an autumn harvest feast with the Native American Wampanoag people. The Pilgrims came to our country seeking freedom of religion and to establish new lives away from religious tyranny.
Today, American Catholics can openly practice their faith. The nation’s document entitled The Preamble to the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776) states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. This statement recognizes God as our creator. Furthermore, that rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness cannot be taken away. Finally, the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights places the right to religious freedom as number one: our country’s founding principle.
God Bless each member of NACN-USA and their families this holiday season. And let us exercise our freedom to pray, give Catholic witness, and actions of care in keeping with the teaching of the Catholic Church throughout the United States of America.
Yours in Christ,
Patricia Sayers, DNP, RN
President, National Association of Catholic Nurses, USA
Archives
Congratulations!
The 2024 NACN-USA Bylaws were overwhelmingly approved.
- With the approved 2024 Bylaws, NACN-USA can better facilitate opportunities for:
- Parish-based, School-based, and Healthcare Agency-based Councils
- Member engagement and leadership
- CEU webinars starting the 2024-2025 Academic Year
- And more …
“Moving Forward”
Please frequently check the NACN-USA Website over the next 90 days. Initiatives with leading Catholic Universities, College Schools of Nursing, and Catholic Healthcare Systems are about to be actualized. In addition, a schedule of “Watch Party” videos will be announced to begin this fall.
Volunteers are always welcome and sought.
Thank you for your vote.
Sincerely,
Patricia Sayers
Dr. Patricia Sayers, DNP, RN
President, National Association of Catholic Nurses, USA
July 5, 2024
Greetings to Our NACN-USA Members,
Over the past few months, we have been reviewing and revising the NACN-USA Bylaws, with consultation from a professional registered parliamentarian. The Bylaws Committee in conjunction with the parliamentarian discovered we were not following the election cycle in accordance with current bylaws. We are required to follow the bylaws as written. The next election cycle starts January 2025. We invite you to get involved on the many committees available.
On behalf of the NACN-USA Board, thank you for all you do to support NACN-USA so that we can support you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Patricia Sayers, DNP, RN
President
National Association of Catholic Nurses, USA
May 12, 2021
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February 24, 2019
Welcome and thank you for joining the National Association of Catholic Nurses, U.S.A.
You are a member of an association with a proud legacy. Catholic nurses associations in the United States began meeting in 1909 with the establishment of the “Guild of St. Radegone for Nurses” in Boston, Massachusetts. This was followed by the formation of the International Guild of Nurses (ICGN) founded in 1924 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin under the spiritual direction of Fr. Edward J. Garesche, S.J. Nurses from across the world met at international congresses that were held in Lourdes (1933), Rome (1935) and London (1937) forming the International Committee of Catholic Nurses and Medico Social Assistants (CICIAMS). (Note MedicoSocial Assistants is the title for Advance Practice Nurses in Asia.)
At the 1935 International Congress, His Holiness Pope Pius XI encouraged all nurses to belong to Catholic associations of nurses. In 1937 Pope Pius XI, through his spokesperson, G. Cardinal Pizzardo, encouraged the bishops to organize local associations of Catholic nurses according to the needs of their respective diocese and nurses to come together to sustain and fortify each other in their professional and Christian formation.
The purpose of these associations was explained by G. Cardinal Pizzardo addressing the 3rd World Congress in London in 1937 on behalf of His Holiness Pope Pius XI:
Pope Pius XI
1922-1939“…The exercise of the profession of nurses is surely one of those which offer the greatest possibility for the apostolate, but we must not forget that the nurse, in the exercise of the profession, has to employ all sorts of technical means, and lives in a materialistic atmosphere, exposed
to the danger of a limited interior piety only, dissociated from the profession and exterior practices enjoined by the Church. Furthermore, modern theories seek to penetrate the minds of Catholic nurses and to make them become unconsciously strong agents for the propagation of eugenics and neo-Malthusianism [population control]. It is necessary, then, to protect them by means of Catholic Action, which has for one of its duties to sustain and fortify them in their professional and Christian formation.”
By 1940 there were at least 42 local councils in 16 states. From these councils, the National Council of Catholic Nurses (NCCN) was formally organized by Cardinal A. Stritch in Chicago on June 10, 1940. The longest existing local councils have existed in the Diocese of Albany (1946), Chicago (1954), Fall River, Youngstown, and Joliet. In 1993 the NACN-USA was formed under the auspices of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, with the permission and spiritual advisement of Bishop Joseph L. Imesch. NACN-USA is a full voting member of CICIAMS (International Committee of Catholic Nurses and Medico-Social Assistants) (www.ciciams.org). Through CICIAMS, Catholic nursing is represented at the World Health Organization and at the United Nations. In October 1996, NACN-USA was approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for inclusion in the Kenedy Directory, the “Official Catholic Directory.”
Several of the NACN-USA members serve at the international level. One of the NACN-USA members, a past president of both NACN-USA and CICIAMS, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 to serve on the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Assistance of Health Care Workers which she did until it was consolidated within the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (IHD) in 2017. This member continues to attend the Dicastery meetings and was invited by the IHD to coordinate the North American discussion at the November 2018 International Conference on Opioids and Addiction. Four NACN-USA members attended this meeting. Five NACN-USA members, along with the CICIAMS International President from Ireland, represent CICIAMS at the United Nations and have presented statement before the UN Commission on Population and Development in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. See https://nacn-usa.org/news-events/nacn-usa/nurse-delegates/ to read and view testimonies. Three other NACN-USA members serve in positions with CICIAMS (Pan American Representative, Chair of the Ethics Committee and Member of the Committee on the Family). Additional information, including the NACN-USA newsletters, is available at: www.nacn-usa.org.
Forming local and regional councils of Catholic Nurses is an integral initiative of our Association. Interested in starting a local council? Please contact your Regional Director directly or through CatholicNurses@nacn-usa.org.
On this date as the transition to the new president occurs, may we sincerely thank those who have gone before who dedicated many hours to the success of NACN-USA. May nurses of the United States continue to come together to sustain and fortify each other in their professional and Christian formation. May the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the National Association of Catholic Nurses, U.S.A. wrap her mantle around all members and lead and guide us to do her Son’s will. I wish each of you many blessings.
In Jesus’ Holy Name,
Diana Ruzicka, RN, MSN, MA, MA, CNS-BC
(Nursing Administration & Oncology, Strategic Studies, Theology)
President, National Association of Catholic Nurses-USA
C: 256-655-1596 | H: 256-852-5519 | Diana.Ruzicka@gmail.com | catholicnurses@nacn-usa.org