Inspired by Scholastica

The Standing Rock Indians are protesting an oil pipeline near their reservation on  the Missouri River in North Dakota. They are peacefully resisting the  pipeline because it encroaches on sacred lands and burial grounds and would likely pollute the Missouri River which provides the tribe's drinking water. These "water protectors" have been joined by over 200 tribes, and thousands of religious leaders and representatives who have endured water hoses in freezing temperatures and rubber bullets. The Sioux Indian Nation has filed a lawsuit againt the Army Corps of Engineers and also pleaded with President Obama to intervene for them. In spite of the huge show of support, the media has largely ignored these protests which have gone on for months. Actually, if oil leaks into the Missouri River it will affect not only the Sioux Indians, but all those who depend on this river for their water supply from North Dakota to Louisiana. This oil fracking could also cause earthq...

  We ought to be thankful every day, but a special day of thanks is a good reminder that everything we have is a gift from a loving God who never tires of giving. We are called to be imitators of God’s generosity to all whom we encounter and those we hold in our hearts. Gratitude should be an essential part of our lives. We need to be grateful for the air we breathe, the clean water at our disposal, the food most of us have in abundance, the health care we receive, families and friends who love us, employment that provides for our needs and contributes to the community. An attitude of gratitude is also good for your health. Recent research shows it can "improve sleep and self-esteem, reduce pain, alleviate anxiety and depression, and increase your overall satisfaction with life." ( Prevention , Nov. 2016)  We often take our freedoms and blessings for granted. We have never had to experience war on  our soil. Most of us have never gone hungry, homeless, o...

While I was walking outside the other day, I saw a dead leaf hanging by a thread from a branch twirling in the breeze.  It was attached by such a fragile filament, yet dancing around and around as if it were not ready to die just yet. It reminded me of our current situation in the U.S. Some of us are like that leaf, holding on for dear life after the recent election. We may not feel like dancing, but the winds of change around us are putting us in motion. We are not ready to give up yet. We are praying, resisting, signing petitions, speaking out against injustices, especially against Trump’s immigration decree. His decision to deport about three million  undocumented immigrants, to split up families, to oust students from their schools, is deplorable. These are not just numbers, these are human beings, many of whom have fled violence, drug lords, and extreme poverty to seek freedom. They could not wait years before they would be eligible to be admitted.   The...

"The source of spiritual wisdom is to hold questions and contradictions patiently, much more than to find quick certitudes, to rush to closure or judgment, as the ego and dualistic mind want to do."                                                                                                                       —  Richard Rohr After this 2016 election, I was full of questions and contradictions. I was ...

Last night I saw the movie "Iron-Jawed Angels" which portrayed the women's suffragist movement in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. I was inspired by these women who protested for their right to vote in front of the White House and were jailed for obstructing traffic.They suffered police brutality, imprisonment and hunger strikes to demand justice. They were willing to die for their belief in equal rights. The 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote was passed on August 18, 1920. Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony was one of the women who fought for this right. When she voted illegally in 1876, she  was imprisoned. She did not live to see the 19th Amendment passed. This month some women are putting "I voted" stickers on her tombstone to pay tribute to her. I wonder if people today appreciate how long and hard these women fought for that right. We take it for granted and many will not vote for one reason or another. We ough...

Whenever I see clothes hanging outdoors, I think of my mother. She loved laundry days and the smell of fresh sheets and towels. She also admired other people’s laundry on clotheslines. You don’t see wash on clotheslines much anymore now that most people have driers. My mom didn’t like to have clothes battered around in a machine because to her wash was a living thing that required gentle care. I know that sounds silly to today’s busy homemakers, who have no time to spend a whole day drying clothes outside. Yet it’s true our linens and clothes lasted a lot longer with her tender loving care. She also mended clothes at their first sign of wear.  She would never hold things together with safety pins or let her children wear anything with holes. Her example edified me, but did not carry over to her offspring.  I enjoy the convenience of driers  and would much prefer to use my time on other things like reading, games, exercise, or TV.  I am not as frugal ...

My mom My mother rarely sat at the dinner table. Instead she waited on us, dishing out  food onto our plates, relishing our compliments, encouraging us to have more, often eating what we left behind. She always had fresh-baked cake or cookies or pie for dessert,  never store-bought always made from scratch.    I never realized how lucky we were to have a mother that loved to cook and lavish us with delicious meals, serving us tirelessly as if she had not spent hours peeling potatoes, cooking vegetables, mixing ingredients. I think she learned to be a servant when she worked for a Jewish family in Germany. Always in an apron   working in the kitchen, never taking time for her own needs or resting, never even expecting a tip.