Nancy Sylvester

In gratitude for Pope Francis' life and leadership, let us recommit to become who we are meant to be and embrace the new life that is ours this spring.

A good reflection for our Lenten journey would be to take a few critical social justice teachings from recent papal encyclicals and pause to see how they speak to us today in light of the political choices we must make.

Living out of love, the magnetic center of our being, is Jesus’ Good News to us. The world needs this more than ever. What will it look like in today’s world?

Perhaps we need to withdraw from the "noise" all around us to enter the cave of silence and contemplation so as to listen to the stirrings of our heart preparing us to come back out and respond in new ways to each other and the issues that divide us. 

What might it look like if kindness and truth met, and justice and peace kissed in our lives and in our world?

"I'm sensing that sitting in contemplation with the noise will be my situation for quite a while," writes Sr. Nancy Sylvester. "I'm challenged to create space within myself even in the midst of the cacophony of deconstruction."

My contemplative and dialogical self is challenged in this difficult time. The U.S. election is important, and equally important is how I and we will respond to each other in the coming days, weeks, months and years.

The 2024 elections will be an intervention into our current divisive way of seeing. It intervenes, and whether it is successful in removing what has been blocking the clarity of our vision is still unknown.

The qualities of the fruit of the Spirit "name attributes that help describe a leadership style that is needed in a time of great complexity and uncertainty," writes Sr. Nancy Sylvester.

Be kind to each other. Sounds simple, but it might be a good way to enter into these couple of months before things get intense, in order to prepare to engage the election from our most authentic selves.

It has been difficult to spread the word about who religious are and what they are involved in. There were always sporadic articles, newspaper stories, but nothing consistent until Global Sisters Report became a reality.

Sometimes it's hard to gain perspective. But wisdom is all around me if only I take that long, loving look at the real. Take time during spring, whenever it arrives where you live, to watch the emergence of life.

In the desert Jesus awakened to who he was and his new way of seeing the people around him and the time he was in. Lent invites us to take the time needed to become more aware of who we are and to see others in a new way.

Bursts of joy are short, intense eruptions that awaken us to another aspect of life in the midst of all the sadness and loss around us. 

This Advent and Christmas season, take some time to ponder both the gifts of the Incarnation and the second coming through the insights and words of our ancestors in faith.

Sometimes I wish I was more like my mammalian relatives who go into hibernation and just let life go on. Where can I find hope? Then three recent experiences offered me a new perspective, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Violence has not brought about peace for over 200,000 years of the existence of the human species. Why do we think it will work today? And yet we continue to choose it, over and over again. 

Pope Francis challenges all people of good faith, deeply religious, Christian or Catholic, to be multi-issue advocates, supporting political positions that foster the common good and address the needs of the many over the wants of the few. 

Contemplate This - Rethinking what we assume about our differences as a nation and what behaviors keep us from engaging in dialogue with those who think differently is critical to our future as the United States.

Contemplate This - I led the day retreat and opening prayers for the 2023 meeting of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests. And in the priests' dialogue with laywomen, I saw the spirit of synodality prevail.