Horizons: Watching multibillionaires spend enormous amounts of money to rocket to space shows the extreme inequality of the global health crisis as many people around the world struggle to access basic needs.
Some might view my simplistic concept as naive or outright ridiculous, but it is a feasible starting point to deal with prejudice in general and, more specifically, systemic racism.
The negatives of COVID-19 feel overwhelming at times but there are positives too. We sisters keep thinking of new ways to work with the people to strengthen their faith.
Missionaries to Africa erred in attempting to separate cultural expressions of faith from Christianity. Instead, it's practices such as songs, dance, drum and incantations that create authentically African ways to grow as Christians.
Horizons - Sometimes my own need for healing is all I can see of myself. What happens when we don't pay attention to our giftedness, when we downplay what is good about who we are?
I read former President Barack Obama's book A Promised Land. He has germinated hope in my heart; and when I feel discouraged, I promise to "try anyway."
It is not easy to live the quote "bloom where you are planted," but there is hope in the gradual practice that leads to "fully blooming" life. My religious experiences helped me to bloom entirely for God.
Although my religious order, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, has put overcoming racism at the heart of our mission, the more I read about, pray about and study it, the more I see my own blind spots.
Horizons - "It's scary to give up what we know, but the abyss is where newness lives." These words jumped out at me as I read Margaret Wheatley's 2002 book Turning to One Another. The words seem like they were made for today.
When a class required me to choose an important issue and then design a teaching project around it, I chose domestic violence. I find women struggling with this issue often in my counseling work because of its great prevalence in Tanzania.
While I enjoy my varied liturgical ministries, being without them has brought new insights. After months of virtual liturgy, I've learned a lot. I am noting what has given me pause for the first time.
As one of the Daughters of St Paul, June is a time of reflection on the life, mission and writings of St Paul, in preparation for his feast day June 29. At this moment of pandemic, I feel the call to change.
The women of Chemen Lavi Miyo in Haiti started with nothing, and today can say, "Now if someone asks me for something, I can give it to them." Their great joy is that now they can give, not just receive.
Horizons - While religious life has always been intergenerational to some extent, this unique generational mix has never happened before. We have a sacred window of opportunity to mix and mingle in community for mission.
Along with Mary, what other women of the Bible could inspire our prayer for so many needs in our world? Think of Rizpah, Queen Esther, Hannah, the mother of Peter and Andrew, the prophetess Anna, and more.
Living in an international community is far from easy, but God's grace makes it possible. It has allowed me to discover similarities and differences of each person and their culture, with our same faith in Jesus Christ.
Congo's Nyiragongo volcano erupted May 22, and nearby communities, including Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, are facing loss of lives and homes, difficulties of evacuation and displacement, and a series of earthquakes.
In Paris and now Madrid, the fight against human trafficking has been my mission, working with women who are being exploited and raising awareness of this hidden reality in Europe.
Horizons - As we celebrate Father's Day in the United States and in places around the world this weekend, I believe St. Joseph offers us an example of a father whose faithfulness is ingrained in each of us.
