In Horizons, younger sisters reflect on their lives, ministries, spirituality and the future of religious life.
I've never been very good at New Year's resolutions, and I know I'm not alone. Like many people, my resolutions tend to be self-serving, fairly unattainable and quickly broken. In an age in which even rest and leisure have become to-do list material, perhaps this is the year to ditch the resolutions.
Horizons - My heart's interest was piqued by the description of the time of Diwali as a celebration of light overcoming darkness, good triumphing over evil, and knowledge usurping ignorance. And now as this new year begins, I can't help but again envision that darkness and light, forces tenderly and tenuously balanced at this time of year: a darkness never dark enough to overtake the light, but also a light that is beyond our knowing.
Horizons - It's impossible to overemphasize the centrality of love in our beautiful tradition. The mystery of love is inexhaustible, present at the beginning when God brought forth all that is, singing in Jesus' incarnation, life, death and resurrection, pulsing through each of us as Spirit, and drawing us to a future where peace and justice will reign forever. This Christmas, I was reminded again what it's really all about: Love.
Horizons: At a glance, most observers might assume that I'm the only free person in the room. That as a visitor and minister, I'm able to enjoy liberty and live as I wish, in ways that align with the Gospel. But in the following days, the Spirit reminds me I'm not free.
Horizons - Recently, I've been avoiding a variety of things for some reason: Christmas card writing, cleaning out the refrigerator, paying bills, even getting a haircut. What's up with the delay, I ask myself?
Horizons - I first became aware of the Monks of Tibhirine, as they are commonly known, in the mid-2000s from a friend who was familiar with their story. Most striking to me was their commitment to building bridges between Christianity and Islam and their commitment to understanding the faith, traditions and lives of their neighbors.
Horizons - This experience of sharing community at the Catholic Worker house with people from different spiritualities, different professions and trades, different races and ages, different gender expressions and personalities: It got under my skin.
Horizons - How do we, as a society, crawl and drag each other out to safety? How do we resist the numbing effect of the never-ending cycle of violence and negative news? How do we wake each other up and remember what really matters?
Most of us carry a longing for belonging. We long to be part of, to create, and to extend something we recognize that far too many in our world lack — authentic community.
Horizons - The last two years, for all the turmoil they have contained, have been clarifying in many ways. While the election results have sure implications for the future, so do the lessons learned during this election season.
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