Columns

Horizons: When the jury's verdict was announced, finding Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts, you could almost feel the collective exhale. Yes. We should all exhale, and breathe. But we can't stop there.

As we celebrate Earth Day, I am reminded that pastoral care should also involve ecological care, because we are connected to one another through our ecological positioning. Injustice done to nature is injustice done to humanity.

Is the Patagonia region considered a zone to be sacrificed — to mining? For decades, there have been fires in the Argentine Patagonian Andean Mountains, in our beautiful native forests that have such wonderful biodiversity.

Living in Ethiopia has convinced me that we have been called to take part in healing the suffering of Mother Earth and to realize that God is doing something new in our lives, particularly regarding climate.

On retreat in May 2020, our anxiety — COVID-19, unemployment, systemic racism — shifted as we listened to Mary Evelyn Tucker's Laudato Si' Week 2020 presentation hosted by the Global Catholic Climate Movement.

Horizons - Jesus gave us the sacraments in recognition that we do have bodies, and we need to be able to encounter God in a sensual way.

The congregational information for the Little Children of the Blessed Lady is still scattered in the 46 local communities throughout the country. I am working to motivate sisters to know their lives are creating history.

Tension between the Tigray region and the federal government of Ethiopia has been ongoing since I first arrived in Dawhan in 2019.

A pilgrimage is a long, often arduous, journey to a sacred place. It was the afternoon of the second Sunday of Advent in 2020, and I was angry.

I agreed to give the rickshaw driver 1,200 rupees for 10 hours driving. As soon as I got in, I told him, "Even in this pandemic situation, if you or I see any needy person on the street, we will offer them a free lift."

Horizons - Reading the stories of the Resurrection this Easter, I have been struck by the emotions of the disciples. What is so often portrayed as a crystal-clear experience of joy, of pure and precise revelation, is, upon further examination, not nearly as clear as one might hope.

Exactly what we need to hear: News about being — yours and mine. Who are you? Who do you say I am? What's life like for us on this planet?

I have evolved the way I make Rice Krispies Treats and brought the concoctions to new heights. I have made dozens and given them as gifts. There's more behind the marshmallows and cereal.

St. Mary Magdalene's single dedication was to Jesus and his message. Faithful in all circumstances, she is a model of resolve, dedication and compassion. We all continue to celebrate her legacy of faith.

Those of us who ministered in health care during this past year are forever changed. I have felt a continued connection with the deafening silence of Holy Saturday, waiting for word to spring forth that Jesus had risen.

Horizons - Here we sit, on this day of goodness and pain, each of us carrying our own devastating losses of the past year; each of us holding the embers of resurrection.

The biggest loss of online Masses for me has been the inability to receive Communion. And while I understand the comfort in the Act of Spiritual Communion, I struggle with some of the words in that prayer.

Maybe it's all the retrospectives happening, or maybe it's the coming Holy Week liturgies, but my prayer has brought this insight: This pandemic time has been a year of vigil.

Dance is a natural gift from God, a "calling," which I can't keep for myself — in responding, I spread the Gospel in storytelling gestures of sacred movement.

The window is mysterious, does not give up its secrets easily. Then one day, unpredictable and unexpected, the figures slowly take shape, clear enough so there's no mistaking who they are.