Inspired by Scholastica

On Easter Sunday we celebrated Christ rising victorious from the tomb. When all the hopes and dreams of the disciples seemed doomed, he bursts through the stone enclosure and appears alive and glorified. He appeared first to Mary Magdalen in the garden and then to all the apostles locked in the upper room. It is the same awe-filled story every year yet ever new. We too are called to rise from our tombs of addictions, prejudices, hatred and revenge to become a new creation. Too long have we dwelt behind these enslavements, imprisoned, hampered from being truly free. Jesus invites us to break open the stones of oppression and walk in the newness of life. He not only invites us, but gives us the strength to sever the bonds if we only believe and open our eyes to behold him in his glory. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, our sadness is turned into joy as Jesus reveals the meaning of the scriptures to them. May we along with them recognize him in the breaking of the br...

The tomb opened and lightning blazed forth, shaking the earth with a rush of wind. The guards, blinded by the brilliance, covered their faces, trembling in fear. How would they explain an empty tomb, the discarded wrappings? Who was this man that trampled death, ignored the stone, discarded burial cloths, throbbed with life again? How foolish to think his breath could be stifled, his body bound! His love cannot be shackled, nor his spirit snuffed out. He lives!

Pope Francis on Palm Sunday Elie Wiesel said, "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Those words struck me as all too true. When we distance ourselves from those who are needy, difficult, or unresponsive, we are usually not hateful but indifferent. When we pass by beggars or the homeless asking for money, we are generally indifferent. When we fail to notice the depressed and lonely, we are being indifferent. In his Palm Sunday homily, Pope Francis decried indifference to refugees fleeing violence and persecution. In a sense, indifference is as bad as hate because we show no feeling at all toward fellow human beings. Even when we are busy with duties and obligations, we can still smile at those we pass. Even when we have little ourselves, we can give something. Giving the gift of time is perhaps the best gift we can give to the neglected in care facilities or shut-ins at home. Becoming a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, or soup kitchens, or Catholic Work...

A shrill insistent cry intruded on my morning walk, like an obnoxious telemarketer who keeps interrupting one’s peace and quiet. Hiding in the brilliant foliage, the brash ebullient source of such racket remained invisible. It was an unfamiliar messenger, more insistent than chattering chickadees or murmuring turtledoves. At first annoyed, I soon admired its persistence in alerting danger or seeking attention. Its clarion voice could no more be ignored than a baby shrieking from hunger. Thank you, my friend, for rousing me from my morning stupor to greet the new day.

Maya Angelou Western culture does not generally have high esteem for older women. They are often ignored or discounted as insignificant in our society. Yet in many cultures they are considered wise and in their fullness of power. We have many examples from history. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was considered too old to bear a child, yet God chose to make her the mother of a great nation. Naomi, a widow in a foreign land, found friendship and courage in her later years. Anna, another elderly widow, was able to prophesy about the divine nature of Mary’s baby. Teresa of Avila, 16 th century reformer, started a whole new religious order in her old age. Mother Teresa of Calcutta engendered public acclaim for her work among the destitute as an older woman. Maya Angelou gave lectures and performed well into her 80’s.  In our culture, we tend to prize independence as a sign of maturity.Yet studies of women show a greater reliance on interdependence and relationships as qualities that g...

The Academy Award judges may not have been very broadminded in their film nominations in regard to color, but they certainly got it right in awarding the Best Picture honor to "Spotlight." Although it is hard to view the horrible results of the Catholic Church's cover-up of priest sexual abuse in the Boston archdiocese, it is necessary for people to know the truth. The journalists who investigated the scandal were undaunted when they were attacked and they overcame attempts by powerful men to silence them. As a result of their coverage, Cardinal Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002, and the team was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003. The movie is important for everyone to see and get angry enough to make sure this never happens again, not only in the Catholic Church, but in other institutions, in families, and in other religious groups. Victims and their families deserve to be vindicated by this honest and fearless film. "Spot...

I hide chaos in the closets of my mind, fearing to reveal my inner turmoil, my lack of order, my inability to control the frayed edges of my anxieties. When confusion and turbulence upset the smooth tempo of my life I wear the façade of pseudo peace, unaware of burgeoning new life pushing through worn-out securities. Just as the Universe evolves with both order and turbulence, dark holes, colliding asteroids, and cosmic rays, I too must embrace tsunamic upheavals and developmental stages in my life, knowing they contain unlimited opportunities for transformation.