Inspired by Scholastica

  Resilience and Trust “Resilience is the secular word for faith, the ability to trust and let go.”   Richard Rohr I think of resilience as the courage to keep going no matter what happens. So as aging creeps into my body, I am determined to still do all the things that are important to me, like writing, praying with the community, reading good books, conversing with friends, doing physical therapy, enjoying movies, and keeping up on the news. Some are challenging as my energy wanes and my body aches, but I keep pushing myself to continue being as active as possible as long as I can. When I am afraid of becoming seriously ill or getting dementia, I have to dig deep for that trust that God will provide whatever I need. That’s not easy because I think we always want to be in control, to take care of ourselves. But when we can’t, we have to believe that God will send others to care for us.   I have wonderful role models of resilience in my care home. These women are ...

  Dead Battery   I can do without technology I tell myself, plenty of things to do without computers, Internet, Facebook, electronic games, like read, pray, walk, converse with friends, enjoy nature. No need to be glued to a screen.   Yet when my battery died on my I-Pad I felt lost, disconnected from my source of entertainment, my FB friends, Siri,   music, on-line books, news, weather.   How did I live before this phenomenon when life was simple, communication slow, and visiting live people important?   I need to touch base with reality again -- not depend on gadgets, but see and talk to flesh and blood instead of picture images, observe a smile, giggle, enjoy a joke, wipe a tear, hold a hand, feel skin.   I guess that’s an older person’s point of view that youths would not understand.     Barbara Mayer, OSB

  Lighting up the Darkness As I was watching the recent solar eclipse, I had a mental image of Jesus’ resurrection glory. I thought of Jesus spreading his light over a dark world and being like a corona of fire overcoming the darkness. We often talk about Jesus being the light of the world, and an eclipse is not an adequate comparison, but it helped me visualize in some small way how Jesus overcame the pervading evil in the world with his resurrection. When we all lit our small candles from the Easter candle on Holy Saturday, it was as if we were participating in bringing Christ’s light to our sinful world. We are called to be Easter people, carrying the light of the risen Christ to our entire planet. Christ is commissioning us to be his light in all the places where there is war, violence, racism, abuse, crime, and bloodshed. We are also called to be beacons of kindness, caring, mercy, justice, hope and peace. There is still so much need to continue Christ’s mission in the w...

  Unsung Alleluias They will sing no Alleluias in Gaza where 7 humanitarian workers were recently killed while aiding famine-stricken Palestinians and the Israeli attacks continue. They will sing no alleluias in Ukraine where Russia is dropping bombs on Ukrainian hospitals and civilians and encroaching on more and more Ukrainian territory. They will sing no alleluias where immigrants are called vermin and are not welcome even though they are fleeing oppression and violence. They will sing no alleluias in Afghanistan and Iran where girls are deprived of education and women are oppressed by the Taliban. They will sing no alleluias in Mexico where drug wars and competing drug cartels are devastating the country. They will sing no alleluias in Haiti where violent gangs have taken over the country and people live in fear. They will sing no alleluias in Yemen where Saudi Arabian air strikes are causing monumental devastation.   They will sing no alleluias in South Af...