How can I bring healing to wounded people? How could I help restore the damage to our Mother Earth? How could I animate more people to join me in this advocacy?
Upon baptism, each Christian becomes eligible to replace the apostles. Many dedicated Christians have gone before us, and we are standing on their shoulders.
Let us look for evidence of God's grace in the midst of predator attacks, storms, disasters, upheaval, polarities and the shifting landscapes of religion. Let us search for grace in the uncertainty.
Young people in Aruba, whose generation had no actual experience with the sisters there, took the initiative to restore and use the former chapel the Dominican Sisters of Bethany, who ministered there from 1952 to 1995.
In every Indian culture the birth of a son is preferred. The son is considered the preserver of the family name and heritage, and he is accorded preferential treatment. This also applies to the priest in the church.
Relics of the two murdered sisters from South Sudan have been brought to the Basilica of St. Bartolomeo in Rome, so the church and the world can honor their lives.
Weeks ago, I was listening to a podcast, and a meditation at the end caught my attention. The meditation presented an alternative value for the way we write our life story – the service of our hands.
Horizons – In the Diocese of Can Tho, Sisters of the Lovers of the Cross help those in poverty, such as older adults and children who cannot afford school. They provide gifts and have opened a free children's class.
Women religious under 50 yearn to live joyfully amid the myriad complexities of our suffering yet beautiful world. We are called to imagine possible futures that will be sustainable and life-giving for all creation.
As sisters, we are called to hold the pain, grief and joy of the world in our hands and to unite ourselves with our siblings around the world. This prophetic call wasn't far from my mind as I headed to the airport.
Contemplate This - Too often, we get used to what we see and hear, and we forget that there is so much more to look at or know that can give us a new perspective. I think I need that additional perspective right now.
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."
