In a country like India, where women are subjugated, it is urgent to teach young girls to keep their dignity intact and not fall prey to false promises.
Horizons: After turning 50 recently, St. Joseph of Peace Sr. Susan Rose Francois ends her role as a Horizons writer, saying, "It is important to hold this specific column for the voices of younger religious."
What is retirement? Living a sleepy life and relegating oneself to being forever in the background? I think women today and certainly sisters deserve something else and something better.
The event "Benedictine Life: A Vision Unfolding" commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Federation of St. Scholastica, a union of 17 Benedictine women's monasteries. But the focus wasn't so much on the past.
A recent gathering marking the 100th anniversary of the Federation of St. Scholastica was about seeing and thinking differently, both past and present, so that the Benedictine charism is carried into the future in a healthy and life-giving way.
Horizons - How long can this war, this drought, this virus, this suffering, this dissension go on? If we continue at this pace, will we ever make the turn? That is, will we find our direction?
A concerted effort is needed to change the mindset of society, to promote human dignity and respect for girls and women, to break the cycle of patriarchy in families, schools, religious spaces and society.
What makes us holy? After many long years with a Catholic conscience, I admit I am no expert on holy. But I have learned a few things along the way. Perhaps holiness is simply happiness that is filled with "yes."
Pentecost came alive in our remote little mountain village, a time filled with the new life of the Holy Spirit, as manifested by our young people. Their presence challenges us adults to be on fire with the Spirit too.
Perhaps a new paradigm of consecration that is radically creative and relevant could bring a springtime of vocations in every existing and new form of consecrated life.
Contemplate This - Systemic wrongs are coming up to face us at a time when the U.S. is grappling with becoming a pluralistic democracy. The flood has started. But we have work to do if it is to be truly an "upstart Spring."
As parts of the body of Christ, each of us has an important role in keeping our communities in unity and harmony. A perfect example of union in communion is a tree, whose parts are interconnected and interdependent.
The Scripture is clear: Those who practice witchcraft, idolatry and adultery will never see God. This must be the depth of pain of a soul that is meant for salvation yet loses it.
High school students brainstormed what a world lived with a beatitude focus would look like. Among their proposed additions to the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the moody teens" and "Blessed are those who are toxic."
I like to say there is always a Sister of Mercy somewhere causing trouble. By this, I mean that one of us is out there advocating for God's people in some way.
My heart is breaking for what is going on in Tigray, Ethiopia, where I served on a missionary team for the Sisters of St. Louis. The civil war there has killed thousands of people and internally displaced millions.
As religious communities find many of their rooms unoccupied, they should open their doors to the people. After all, the crow soaring on the wind must land sometime, and work together with the other birds to survive.
Prayer has been built into my life for as long as I can remember. Most recently, through my ministry with women and men who experience homelessness, I have learned more than I could ever imagine.