Pope Francis' way of ensuring inclusivity in the church has endeared him to women religious. For the women religious the world over, the papacy of Pope Francis means a beacon of hope for an all-inclusive church.
Jesus spent his childhood in an era marked by violence, imprisonment, and exile. His childhood was not too different from what we experience today. And in the rubble-filled manger of Nicaragua, Jesus continues to be born.
Pope Francis' strong and clear words highlight the need to continue fighting for the dignity of women religious and the need for respectful, fair and correct cooperation.
So many of our systems allow for, or even incentivize, terrible outcomes, and we are dragged along for the ride. The wounds caused by a sense of complicity can range from cognitive dissonance to personal shame or outrage.
I attended a wedding, and I was moved by the homily. I liked the three short stories I heard there. The stories spoke of the ingredients of everlasting commitment — the commitment in both marriage and religious life.
Feminism is a movement toward political, economic and social equality of every being, including the environment. If you're a feminist, you are a breath of fresh air, the very vibrancy of life, and part of the solution.
How has this experience in Congo transformed me? My first response is silence, a silence full of lives, names, stories; a silence that is a stubborn hope that does not allow death and war to win in the heart.
What if our uniquely human virtuosity lies in looking, learning, seeking to conspire with this gratuitous flow of beauty and goodness — praising as we go?
Horizons - Lent is an opportunity for us to have a close relationship with those living in poverty, to understand their difficulties and be willing to share with them — because they are the special image of God.
Let us provide the warmth that consecrated life invites and requires. It is the difference that Jesus indicates to us in Luke's Gospel, between Simon's fidelity to the law and the defiance of the woman's kisses.
While the war in Ukraine is still going on, it is important to stay alive, not to succumb to the temptation of an easy and false peace. To remain human, we need to be open to the pain of others and our own.
Realizing it had been a year since the Ukraine-Russia war broke out, I intensified my prayers for its end. I also researched the war's global impact: I was surprised how much the war has affected so many people in India.
Soon after the sounds of the first bombings, we went to the basement to set up a bomb shelter. The Institute of Theological Sciences of the Immaculate Virgin Mary began welcoming people displaced in the war.
The invisible traces of war are imprinted on souls. How can we live after what has happened to us? And these words come to mind: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Even though a year has passed since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war has not stopped for a single day, not for a single hour. A Ukrainian Basilian sister tells her story.
When the Holy Union Sisters arrived in Ndop, we noticed that the most challenging health issues were malnutrition and anemia. A blood bank, health education and a mothers' gardening cooperative have since come to life.
As part of a delegation on a trip to El Salvador and Honduras, I listened, witnessed and prayed the Beatitudes as I recognized that the people were having to form nonviolent communities to defend their land.
My experiences and images of God change. Sometimes I need a listening ear, sometimes a kick in the butt to get me moving, sometimes reassurance, and sometimes I have no clue what I need.
