Contemplate This - The cathedrals represented the space where God became present — mediated by the clergy through the sacraments. The clergy were the teachers of the faith, using stained glass windows and other iconography to tell salvation history. The architecture made order and geometric design a priority as well as conveying a sense of stability and permanence.
by The Life Panelists
The panelists shared a variety of approaches that help bring them into union with God: eucharistic adoration, poetry, Scripture, yoga, dancing, drawing, and centering prayer. But all approaches ultimately involve a personal encounter of love, a contemplative experience with the Divine. They described unique individual encounters with God as they responded to this question: "What is your favorite type of prayer? Why?"
Mary Ellen Brody is a member of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas living in Dallas, Pennsylvania. In addition to formal studies, her learning has come through involvement with vulnerable populations: abused and neglected children, homeless men, women and children, immigrants, and people in physical, emotional, mental or spiritual pain. Her extensive ministry opportunities have been in Pennsylvania, San Francisco, St. Louis, McAllen and Laredo, Texas, and Guyana and Honduras.
by Maxine Kollasch
Contributor
From A Nun's Life podcasts - In this Random Nun Clip, Sister Maxine and her guests talk about how faith helps us in the ups and downs of life.
by Susan Rose Francois
NCR Contributor
Horizons - I always love the Scripture readings during the first week of Easter, when the church prays with the appearance stories of the resurrected Jesus. What I especially appreciate is the human reality.
Members of the Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean Religious see this moment in the church as a celebration brought to a halt by a crisis, calling women to assume leadership and pave the way for a transformation. The Commission for the Protection of Minors, which first met in November in Bogotá, Colombia, established protocols for responding to victims who come forward that each member country's religious conference can adapt to their own local civil laws.
by Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Mumbai, India - With the help of volunteers from Our Lady of Health Parish, Minor Carmelites of Charity sisters manage the Marian House of Charity, which serves 29 residents with mental and physical disabilities in the suburb of Versova. "Our children are abandoned by relatives who found it difficult to take care of them. We give them a home and treat them as part of our family."
by Samantha Wirth
Notes from the Field - As full-time volunteers, we are going to struggle to define what we need, what success or failure looks like, to define when we are overindulging in self-care.
From Where I Stand: No doubt about it: The seventh degree of humility in the Rule of Benedict was meant for us. It's impossible, of course, to lead the world in everything. But tell any lie long enough and people are prone to believe it. And claim it. And assume it. And we do.
by Margaret Gonsalves
Contributor
As I enjoyed Kalyani Nagar Joggers Park, there was a wonderful interplay of words of prayer like Rabindranath Tagore's poem and reading from the primordial sacred book called nature.
