Demographics don't matter in a roundabout. Not wealth or race or political party or creed. We're all just cars united in the brief activity of negotiating an intersection.
India's nationwide lockdown forced migrants to attempt a return to their homes. Many ended up stranded mid-journey. I managed to help several migrants by networking with government officials.
Who would dare think of the future when the present is marked with hunger, thirst, homelessness and a global pandemic? There seem to be more questions than answers, but we know that poverty lingers on.
Horizons - Each one of us will have learned lessons and changed during this time. What are the lessons you want to remember and implement into life after the pandemic?
Maria Thao, a Vietnamese laywoman with a paralyzed foot, believes she will be judged by how she serves others. She ministers intensely to those in need, and supports herself by selling her famous dried beef.
Benedictine Sr. Thomas Welder leaves an indelible handprint on the hearts of those lucky enough to have known her of what it means to be a servant, a leader, a person of faith and exemplary human being.
When the first signs of spring appeared outside my window in March, there also appeared a female cardinal in all her ruby-red glory. But she kept deliberately flying into the window.
Horizons - I wrote these words on Tuesday evening, before the polls closed, a love letter to our democracy, our imperfect collective experiment in government for, by and of the people.
I wonder what stories will be told about this time in our history. Years from now, what will be said of the response of the sisters in 2020, who were faced with the disease of COVID-19?
Good sanitation is key to ensuring good health, and COVID-19 reveals the ugly face of inequality in so many ways and in so many countries that lack good, effective and reliable sanitation.
I look back on 60 years of ministry, including working with poor women, I ask: Where do I want to stand, to vote on the issue of abortion? Woman to woman, I seek to listen, to understand, to be compassionate.
Horizons - I have known so many holy people. This time of year, when the veil between the living and the dead becomes even thinner, I can feel their prayers for my vocation, their pushes of encouragement in my journey.
Through a new conversation on the complexity of abortion and other life issues, clergy and laity could build a life-affirming consensus that can ultimately provide grounding for meaningful law in a pluralist society.
The ongoing global pandemic brings struggles but also learnings and maybe surprise blessings. My struggles and learnings during this time are closely related: politics.
Contemplate This: With the breakdown of trust in our democratic processes, it is not clear to me whether there will be enough confidence and willingness to risk that a pluralistic democracy can bring us together.
Horizons - I love wandering around convenience stores. Garage sale signs beckon me. I really enjoy seeing what interesting or oddball items I can find. Choices, diversity and variety are not bad things — even in religion.
The Association of Sisterhoods in Kenya has taken action to help sisters and health workers. They are working with a startup company to provide a new medical data platform to health facilities.
Each moment is eternal. One by one they are offered to us. Some minutes we take hold of, some not. No matter, they all remain. I was awestruck by the beauty in one such moment.
Seeing the unfortunate realities of the poorest of the poor opened my eyes, gave me perspective, raised my consciousness. My encounters with these families made me realize, too, the evangelizing power of the poor.