Horizons - Even celebrations last year like Easter and Christmas had elements of purification and leaning into God's mercy. A stripping away of excesses. A stripping away of control, really. And for me, a stripping away of false notions about hope.
Each day of Lent, as I meditate on the stories of Noah, Job, the Israelites, the Roman official, the prodigal father, the lost coin, the Pharisee and publican — the story of the lime plant flashes through my mind.
The Dominican family in the United States has stood in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Iraq since 1999 when the first group of U.S. Dominicans visited in response to a plea from the Dominican sisters in Iraq.
Contemplate This - The stark realization that we are all connected is uncomfortable and challenging, but when our structures fail us — as we are experiencing today — then they must be repaired.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - Despite the unknowns, the loss of loved ones and the ongoing complexity of the situation, we have begun to see, with the eyes of faith, the possibilities of a new hope emerging.
Horizons – People are despairing. Is it because of heightened, more visible racism? The effects of the pandemic? Are these feelings a result of last year, or the sum total of our lifetimes finally boiling over?
Coronavirus: One Year Later - Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of Suwon hope that lessons from the pandemic will inform our discernment. COVID-19 forced some changes that may become more permanent aspects of religious life.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - Sisters in Poland responded to the coronavirus pandemic by volunteering in hospitals, education and other care-related fields to help replace workers who were at home in quarantine or other reasons. They also found connections between congregations growing stronger.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - The pandemic has magnified our understanding of interconnectedness and interconnectedness with our sisters and brothers worldwide. Our compassion and prayers extend way beyond the borders of our own congregation.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - Sisters in the Philippines adapted by supporting frontline workers with meals and personal protective equipment, bringing food to those who were out of work due to the pandemic, sharing hospital space, and shifting to using social communications to do ministry.
It has been well over a month that we have been protesting and demanding the return of our country leader and president and elected leaders. Women religious have joined the people in peaceful protest against the military coup of Feb. 2.
Horizons - I am beginning to imagine my life after the pandemic as a merging of both worlds, of some things from before and some things different. Do any of us really want to go back to our frenzied busy lives without time and space to just be?
Coronavirus: One Year Later - The pandemic was a call for us to slow down, to stop, to reflect, to interpret reality from God's point of view. In India, the pandemic has impelled a new way of living and coping with the crisis.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - Leaders from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas and Servants of Mary (Servite Sisters) of Ladysmith, Wisconsin, reflect on how COVID-19 affected their communities.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - Congregations in Croatia describe the impact of the pandemic on their pastoral ministries and communities, in parishes, educational institutions and in health and social-charitable institutions.
Coronavirus: One Year Later - While protecting themselves, sisters in the region were encouraged to come up with innovative ways of addressing issues emerging from the coronavirus pandemic.
Horizons - I honor my parents' work to confront structural racism. I also must acknowledge that I grew up in an all-white neighborhood because of structural racism that directly benefitted my family.
In more recent decades, Lent's focus has shifted from giving up bad habits to doing good works, stepping outside one's comfort zone to do good deeds, or praying more. Still, the chocolate hangs over my head.
I caught the look of a migrant who was stranded in a Mumbai slum due to the lockdown. His eyes seemed to express resignation, perhaps to his plight as well as the complacency of the society around him.
More than eight months have passed since our first community member tested positive for the novel coronavirus. All of us are changed by our experience. I have grown in appreciation of my dependence on God and in gratitude for the people who support me in my daily life.
