I didn't feel adequately prepared to serve the poor. I didn't think I had the training. Worst of all, I didn't want to serve the poor. Nevertheless, I proceeded to find out what I could do to help them.
What can I do for you? Many people of kind heart have asked Ukrainians this over the last few months. For the first time in many centuries, this question gave a voice to Ukraine that was not muted by Russian propaganda.
As mining sites grew, people in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, began to realize that not only their rights were being exploited, but the whole ecosystem, with its rich forest and rivers, is under threat.
There is no joy in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 innocents were slaughtered, and two teachers who cared for them. Nor in Buffalo. Even in the face of hate, the love notes continue, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Horizons - How can we as the church listen better, disagree better, and quite honestly, give a more credible witness in a hurting world? As I ponder this question and others, two moments rise to the top of my memory.
I wish for the pope, the church and the world to acknowledge and address the primary victims in South Sudan — the women who carry so much of the life-giving force of this young country and suffer much violence.
In our society the cohort between birth and age 15 is sometimes ignored — yet those are the formative years that give society its future adults. What we pass on to children today is what they will give back to our society.
Can you build a house with 1,000 rupees at a time? Last Christmas we mobilized people to join together and begin construction of a house for a daily laborer. Many people contributed; by May, the house was a reality.
Teaching at a medium security prison has led to my own cannonball moment. As I listened to the prisoners' cannonball moments, I was exposed to such trauma, such chaos. I heard how we as a society have failed these men.
Horizons - Telling the truth and sharing sacred stories is the only way we can start to repair and redress the pain caused by slavery, and our country's inability to truly repent for systemic racism. Where do we begin?
For Mother Thecla Merlo, the Daughters of St. Paul's first mother general, taking up new communication technologies was part of her dream project to spend all her energy on whatever was good for the spread of the Gospel.
A religious may have to live various roles in her lifetime — in her own country or foreign countries — to fulfil God's plan. But if we take the credit, we miss the point that God is the author of our lives.
I have learned many things during these years, but one is very important: to understand that I do not understand, or to know that I do not know, and this applies to all people, but especially to our Indigenous people.
Horizons - The year after I graduated, I completed a year of service. I worked in a Catholic grade school in Uvalde, Texas, a place I could never forget. Unfortunately, after last month, no one will ever forget Uvalde.
Despite mixed reviews, "The Help" is even more relevant today than 10 years ago. When seen with the eyes of faith, it is a parable: a story of the Eucharist hidden in the bread and wine of friendship and hospitality.
If humans, as limited as we are, can go to the extent of taking addicted and reckless sons to rehabilitation, in an attempt to change them, what about God our Father — the Creator of us all?
Contemplate This - If those of us who are aging can resist surrendering to weariness and continue to fan our passion for justice, perhaps those younger will experience a renewed energy and courage.
My grandma was almost full of grace. But somewhere inside of her was a pocket of sadness. I rarely saw it but it was always there. What I knew and loved was her grace. She never lost her sadness but grace prevailed.