A Prophetic Voice

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 order to get out of the "swamp" we are in, Sister Joan calls us to move beyond the low-level anxiety and passivity that leads to silence. Her challenge is to insist that our country was built on a concern for the common good and that this become our national conversation.

At 82, I did not expect Sister Joan to be so passionate about the moral decay in our country. After writing over 50 books, one would think she would rest of her laurels. But Sister Joan is a woman of "uncommon courage" who cannot be silent in the midst of  the chaos we are facing. I just hope more people will be willing to join her in this call to speak the truth with courage.