Colleen Gibson

Horizons - Prayer at times can feel intangible. On a long journey, it feels like we need to be more active, like there must be something we can do. The reality is that the best thing we can do is simply show up.

Horizons - On the day "The Embrace" was unveiled, honoring Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta, the thing that was most palpable was a sense of Black joy. Joy isn't something you can fabricate. It rises out of freedom, liberation, fullness.

Horizons - This time of waiting and reflection prepares us for the promise of Christmas. Yet, it might also invite us to reconceive of the way in which we prepare to welcome that new life into our lives and our world.

Horizons - While the oneness we Catholics proclaim may be a hard-forged unity, the national synthesis offers hope that even if it is not a full reality, unity is desired by people on all sides of the ecclesial aisle.

Horizons - How long can this war, this drought, this virus, this suffering, this dissension go on? If we continue at this pace, will we ever make the turn? That is, will we find our direction?

It is our embrace of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that cultivates a hunger for justice and love of God. These gifts are meant to be put into action, used in union, and refined and reimagined each new day.

Amidst the pressing demands of work and the noise of every conceivable need in the world, God was speaking to my heart. I just needed to stop long enough to let myself listen.

Horizons - Martin Luther King Jr. followed the urging of the Spirit into ministry and the pages of history. His clarion call for justice and equity is still ringing out if we unclog the ears of our hearts to hear it.

Horizons - As we reflect on the story of Christmas and prepare ourselves for Christ's coming in that moment, it's a good reminder that, like the shepherds, we are not the main character. We are not the Light. Jesus is.

Horizons - The grace that we name may or may not be the grace we receive. We trust, though, that by entering into prayer with our full being, God will guide us to what we need.

Horizons - When we probe more deeply into the practice of ministry of presence — being actively present to the people in front of us — we discover that what seems to be simple is, in reality, rather complex.

Horizons - Multilevel conversations about the future of religious life will inevitably bear many fruits. Our challenge will be recognizing, balancing and reconciling these fruits of the Spirit: We're making fruit salad.

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.

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.

Horizons - When we feel like giving up, perhaps one of the best things we can give up is the need to control every facet of our lives. Another thing to give up: negative judgment.

Horizons - A tyrant saw a threat to his power. Filled with fear, he brought fright to the whole country. He stoked fear and incited violence. The king could not stand the truth and so he sought to rout it out.

Horizons - What we once thought would be a momentary interruption to everyday life is in fact a cataclysmic shift. Our work now is to discern — as our first sisters once did — where God is calling us.

Horizons - The apostle Paul told the Romans to graciously receive the deacon Phoebe and give her any help she needed. Can't we ask the same, for women to truly share their gifts in ministry in the church?

Horizons – If we remain blind to our actions and intentions, carrying on what is "normal" and thus perpetuating the racism ingrained in our society, we serve only ourselves and impede the work of movements to create change.

Horizons - God provides not because we will it or because we see the world through rose-colored glasses, but because faith allows us to be free, to trust that all will be well and also to know our part in the work of God.