Eilis McCulloh

This is not the time for us, as women of faith, to stay silent. This is a time for us to go to the margins, to be on the margins, and to truly hear our neighbors. It is time for us to say, "Not on my watch."

Horizons- At the dawn of a new year, I find myself living in dreadful anticipation of the upcoming four years and praying that things will not be as bad as I think they will be. So, how does this year call us to respond?

What I found was disturbingly out of step with the teachings I hold dear, and since all the commentaries on Project 2025 I've seen lack the perspective of nuns, I thought I'd offer a few observations.

"Voting our future means that we must dare to create the future of which we dream," writes Sr. Eilis McCulloh. "We must live in the hope that this future is possible."

Horizons - "Many gave false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree." Doesn't this passage sound like a summary of a current news story and not a Gospel scene that unfolded millennia ago?

Will hope and peace come to inhabit our world once again? I am convinced that this is what the Advent season calls us to.

The news of migrants killed, injured or harassed as they try to enter the United States should horrify us and drive us to action. Their lives matter. The human right to migrate matters. 

As Earth citizens, we are invited to let the Spirit of Truth transform us as we advocate for the common good — and a world where all people are valued. 

Horizons - I found myself seeking out modern-day Mary Magdalenes — people silenced when they try to share the good news, announce the change needed in our world, or dare to claim their role in the Resurrection.

Horizons - Even amid the rampant individualism that threatens to divide us, we all are called to some form of community. In today's world, it might just be the boldest decision to claim the importance of community.

Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us that we are not called to be lone prophets saving the world on our own. Rather, we are called to recognize that each issue or event affects each and every one of us at some level.

In my experience, the most transformational part of a relationship is learning and listening to the other person's story. It gives a window into their lives.

As sisters, we are called to hold the pain, grief and joy of the world in our hands and to unite ourselves with our siblings around the world. This prophetic call wasn't far from my mind as I headed to the airport.

Horizons - Telling the truth and sharing sacred stories is the only way we can start to repair and redress the pain caused by slavery, and our country's inability to truly repent for systemic racism. Where do we begin?

Horizons - We can no longer distance ourselves from the sin of racism that pervades our entire lives. We cannot allow fear to soften our response to the racist ideologies threatening to take over our country.

Should we be shocked about Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, just another war on a long list of violence and wars around the world? That is exactly why we should be shocked.

Horizons - Is signing a petition or donating money enough, or are we called to change the way we live? Are we open to the Spirit who calls us into relationship with individuals affected by systemic injustice?

Horizons: The needs of the times do not wait for us to plan a response. They demand us to respond with the same sense of urgency that they call out to us. We must let go of control and our own desires to respond perfectly.

I needed to let Señora María welcome me into her life and her family. I needed to be fully present to life with her family. I needed to let them be a conduit of Jesus' love to me.