“How God Sees Me: Reborn from Within”
Prayer and Reflection Day for Mothers
Ministerio Hispano Ignaciano – San Ignacio School, Bronx, NY
by Zandra Schiemann
Recently, the San Ignacio School of the Bronx, organized by Alec Hufford, SJ, and in collaboration with OIS’s Ministerio Hispano Ignaciano, held a beautiful Day of Prayer and Reflection in which twenty mothers of the school's children participated.
The gathering coincided with the end of the Easter Season and the eve of Pentecost, an ideal moment to renew the inner life and open oneself to the light of the Spirit.
The purpose of the day was to offer mothers a space for prayer, interior rest, and encounter with God, where they could recognize themselves as He sees them: loved, supported, and called to be reborn from within, in the light of Easter and Ignatian spirituality.
Throughout the event, we were blessed with the valuable support of Alicia Ángeles, coordinator of the Hispanic Ignatian Community at St. Aedan (NJ), and Sara Bermúdez, a visual arts student in New York, who collaborated with dedication in each dynamic and in preparing the creative materials.
The mothers began with the dynamic “Between Martha and Mary: To Serve and To Be Loved,” where they reflected on two fundamental ideas: that Jesus not only sees what we do, but who we are, and that we are not only the ones who sustain others, but also those who deserve to be sustained. They then wrote on two cards: Martha’s card, “what I let go,” and Mary’s card, “what I keep.”
Later, they experienced a personal reflection exercise titled “How God Sees Me,” a profound moment using a mirror and a third card on which they wrote, “Today I see myself as…” The prayer guide they received helped them look at themselves with the same love and tenderness with which God looks at us, reminding them that “our wounds do not define us, and the light within each of us does not go out.”
The final dynamic, “The Easter Bag: what I give and what I need to receive,” invited them to recognize that what each mother gives every day is sacred, but that this space was meant for receiving new life. Each decorated a special bag where they placed their four cards: What I let go, What I keep, Today I see myself as…, and the final one they received, “God walks with me.”
The gathering continued with Mass celebrated by Fr. Jack Fagan, SJ. During the homily, the mothers spontaneously shared how meaningful the day had been for them. Many expressed that they had rediscovered the importance of their lives and how deeply God loves them. Several said that, by looking at themselves with sincerity, they realized that their wounds do not weigh more than the gifts God has given them for today and for the future.
The day concluded with a shared lunch with the families, celebrating life, community, and the light that God renews in each one, right on the eve of Pentecost. It was a gathering filled with tenderness, depth, and hope for the mothers, and with gratitude for the Hispanic Ignatian Communities program that has accompanied them on their spiritual journey.
