Inspired by Scholastica

Sr. Joan Chittister I listened to Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister's conversation with Oprah Winfrey this week on SuperSoul. They discussed Sister Joan's latest book The Time is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage .  I have not read the book, but it decries "the complete collapse and crisis of American values and the lack of civility in our country." She condemned the national self-centeredness and the attitude that if the economy is good and unemployment is low that's all that matters. Sister Joan writes that there is no longer any civility in society and that we are losing our sense of the common good. I resonated with Sister Joan's strong emphasis on the need to regain a "moral consciousness." She believes we have lost half the dimension of Christian spirituality which is prophecy. She reminds us that Jesus was not only a healer but also a prophet. He condemned injustice and those who took advantage of others. In o...

Many of us have misconceptions about immigration. I took a quiz recently on immigrants and was surprised at my failure to answer these questions correctly: I did not know that immigrants contribute more than $400 billion to the U.S. economy every year. I did not know that undocumented immigrants pay more than $300 million in federal taxes. I did not know that immigrants are three times as likely as U.S.-born residents to start small businesses and small businesses account for up to 80% of new jobs in the U.S. I did not know that the U.S. takes in only 1% of the world's immigrants. I did not know that documented and undocumented immigrants are entitled to constitutional rights under the law. Our misconceptions often cause prejudice, resentment, bigotry, and alienation in our society. Some people feel like immigrants are freeloading or taking our jobs or draining our economy. Many are unaware of how much immigrants contribute to our economy and help fill labor shortages i...

Shepherds were familiar figures in Palestine in the time of Christ. They were an apt image for Jesus to use to symbolize his relationship to his people. Good shepherds cared for their flocks, protected them from marauders, and slept with them in caves. They even laid down their lives for their sheep. Sheep are not very common critters in our country. They are considered rather dumb animals. Maybe a better image for us would be a dog. Dog owners tend to develop a relation-ship with their pets and treat them almost like humans. Good dog owners bathe their dogs, take them on walks, feed them well, and often let them sleep in the owner's bed. They take them to a vetinarian when they are sick or need shots and train them to sit, jump, and lie down. Maybe Jesus as a good dog owner doesn't sound quite as biblical or traditional as a good shepherd. Yet people today might relate better to a good dog owner in our part of the world. Although thinking of people as dogs instead of she...

There's a sign that says: "Birthdays are good for you. The more you have the longer you live." A bit tongue in cheek to be sure. In real life, the older you get, the more things can go wrong. One pain seems to lead to another; one illness often evolves into a worse condition. You'd think with all the new medical discoveries and treatments, people's lives would improve not deteriorate. Actually most  people who exercise, eat nutritious foods, and keep learning do remain healthy in their later years. In our religious community we have sisters in their 80's and 90's still helping in our care center, our spirituality center, and our switchboard. They keep praying, reading, playing games, doing jigsaw puzzles, and exercising. Some of them use IPads to watch videos, email family and friends, and keep informed about daily news. One of our elders recently celebrated her 100th birthday and three will celebrate 75 years of religious vows this summer. One...

Maximilian Kolbe Franz Jaeggerstaetter In these times of bullying, terrorism, and hate crimes, it is hard to find moral heroes anymore. In the first few centuries, Christians were willing to endure terrible deaths rather than deny their faith. In the Middle Ages, there were many examples of  people being martyred by cruel governments and enemies. There are still people who face death for their beliefs in other parts of the world, but we do not often hear about them. Two moral heroes who were put to death during World War II were Franz Jaeggerstaetter and Maximilian Kolbe. Jaeggerstaetter, an Austrian farmer, was a conscientious objector who was beheaded in 1943; Kolbe was a Polish priest, who as an Auschwitz prisoner, offered to die in place of a stranger. Many people thought Jaeggerstaetter was insane or stupid for refusing to serve in the German army. His friends and his own pastor tried to talk him out of it. But following his conscience was so important to him he n...