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.
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.
