When Pope Francis announced the Year of St. Joseph, it befitted our hidden lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people in troubled waters, homeless and separated from their loved ones.
Understanding the poverty of citizens in the Xuan Loc Diocese, Dominican Missionary sisters established a charity clinic in 2002; since then, the clinic has provided free care for those who cannot afford a hospital.
The position of the average Indian woman in family and society often reinforces and legitimizes discrimination against them. Understanding their situation through the lens of learned helplessness made me less judgmental.
It doesn't take a genius or a saint to change the world. It just takes a generous heart and a willingness to be open to the moment. That moment creates itself at unexpected times and in unexpected places.
Living as an American in Ireland has, I pray, made me a better Christian. At the very least, the experience has given me the space and the reason to evaluate my default positions and grow in self-knowledge, empathy, and cultural awareness.
Sr. Yeremiya Steblyna in Ukraine: "People were fleeing with small children, babies and old grandparents. … Looking into their eyes, I saw pain and tears. How could this be happening in the heart of 21st century Europe?"
The mission of a new center in India is to promote a more harmonious living with all of creation in the spirit of coexistence. That will help people experience healing, health and wholeness.
Being able to voice our concerns — and being heard — have a huge impact on how we perceive the church, or any relationship. Sometimes people get clarity just by talking.
Horizons - If you've ever been tasked with cleaning out a family home after the passing of the last of a family's older generation, you have an inkling of the difficult decisions confronting religious communities today.
Medical Mission Sisters provide a variety of programs to educate and support girls and boys in India. Some conditions have improved, but there is a long way to go – especially for young girls to feel secure and safe.
How long must people of color deal with racism and rejection in North America? Those of us who live in daily racial uncertainty must believe that the arc of God's goodness will bend toward fairness, honesty, righteousness and integrity.
Memories of growing up in Romania's underground church: no Bible, priests harassed, prayers in secret, knots on apron strings or beans in pockets instead of rosaries.
Should we be shocked about Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, just another war on a long list of violence and wars around the world? That is exactly why we should be shocked.
One Benedictine Oblate with a camera captures images of her community members' efforts to live the balance St. Benedict outlined more than 1,500 years ago.
The acquittal of Bishop Franco Mulakkal was disappointing to many of us. I feel the need for speaking up in defense of our sisters, and sounding a wake-up call for us as women religious.
I am based in Croatia now, but all my thoughts and prayers are focused on my native Ukraine, where my family lives, as well as a third of the sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great to which I belong.
Contemplate This - As we enter the Lenten season, I felt that a renewed contemplative practice might be just what is needed. Contemplation helps us to "see" in new ways, inviting us to respond out of love and not fear.