Inspired by Scholastica

Churchwomen martyred in El Salvador in 1980 We usually think of martyrs as saints from long ago who were burned at the stake or beheaded. A number of holy people were martyred in the 20th and 21st century in modern gruesome ways. Surprisingly, a number of them were women and a priest from the United States. Ohio-born Sister Dorothy Stang was a missionary in the Amazon Basin of Brazil for four decades. She fought for the rights of the landless poor and was shot by assassins hired by illegal loggers and ranchers. She lay in the forest in the rain for a whole day because the farmers were afraid to remove her body. In 1992, five women religious were killed in Liberia by soldiers in the army of warlord Charles Taylor during a civil war that left thousands dead. Sisters Barbara Ann Muttra, Mary Joel Kolmer, Kathleen McGuire, Agnes Mueller, and Shirley Kolmer were Adorers of the Blood of Christ from Ruma, Ill. They too ministered to the people who were being persecuted. Ursuline...

As we grow older we forget many experiences of our childhood, but often we remember the unhappy stuff. Like spilling ink on a red, white and blue dress and hiding it in a drawer so my mother wouldn't see it. When she found it she was furious with me for not showing it to her right away.  I also recall getting my mother a white orchid for Mother's Day with my own money. She didn't like it because she thought white flowers were for dead people. I felt so hurt and unappreciated. How does our mind pick and choose what to remember? I wish I could remember more of the good things like winning a speech contest or making my First Communion or meeting my half sister for the first time but those memories have faded. I have very few pictures of my childhood since Mom didn't have a camera and besides she was too busy working. But I do have one of my brother and I in a wagon with my mother pointing to the camera. I guess our minds get so crowded they just can't find room f...

Benedictines take a vow of stability, of being rooted in one place instead of always looking for greener pastures. St. Benedict condemned monks who were gyravagi, always moving from one monastery to another. He believed that monks should have everything they needed inside the monastery walls with no need to seek sustenance or attractions outside. Nowadays, of course, Benedictines often travel for renewal, retreats, and refreshment. We live in a different culture and age than sixth century monastics. Yet we still have an identity with our “home” monastery.  It is where we are nourished, attached, and acclimated to become who we are called to be.  Those looking for the perfect monastery will certainly be disappointed. Most monasteries are pretty  ordinary, full of ordinary people. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, an important voice in the new monastic movement, writes in his book The Wisdom of Stability , “Stay put and pay attention – learn to trust God in the place...

I forgive you. I'm reading a book entitled The Four Things that Matter Most by Dr. Ira Byock. It contains wisdom that everyone needs to know to live a happy life. The four things that we need to say are: "Please forgive me. I forgive you. Thank you. I love you." Byock is a physician that has cared for seriously ill people for over 40 years He shares stories of patients near the end of their lives who are able to improve their relationships before they die. But he recommends that all of us can do this even if death is not imminent. These four statements embody what matters most in life. All parents and children have done things they regret and need to ask forgiveness and to forgive. Everyone has things to be thankful for, but sometimes we take them for granted and don't express it. And all of us need to tell family members we love them for their sake as well as ours. The stories emphasized how hard it is to forgive parents who have abandoned or mistreated t...

Last week in my religious community we chose a new leader after much prayer and deliberation. I was just thinking how much different it is in the political realm. We had no campaigning, no advertising, no cronyism, no vast expenditures of money to make sure a certain candidate won. If political campaigns could be conducted with the same transparency and care, we would more likely elect leaders we could trust and respect. What would it take to change our election system? Certainly getting rid of the electoral vote and letting the voters choose the candidate. Also putting limits on the amount one person could contribute to a candidate running for president. And a large dose of prayer could open our eyes to see more clearly to vote for one who would promote the common good. Of course, monastic leaders are not the same as political leaders. They are chosen from among their own community and are usually well known by the members. They share the common goals and values of their own s...

I have them under cover, hidden beneath facades so no one will notice, no one will be aware of my blunders. Yet upon closer inspection my failures become more evident unravelling the edges, sticking out for all to see, hard to ignore. Why do I think I have to hide, or exclude these scars of my humanity? Do I want to be like stone, stiff and stolid? Or malleable and stretching, ready for reshaping and repairing, each day starting over again more flexible, more permeable? Yes, Lord, remold my clay over and over.

This Sunday Christians around the world celebrate Pentecost, the day the early church received the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended into heaven he told his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit who would give them the power to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:3-8) This was the beginning of the Christian church. On this day, we commemorate the gift of the Holy Spirit which gives us “God’s very life, breath and energy.” Just as the disciples were fearful after Jesus’ death, we also often lack courage to proclaim the Good News. Jesus reminded them and he reminds us that we are co-heirs with him and that we are baptized by one Spirit into one body, and that the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead lives inside us (Romans 8:9-11). At that first Pentecost St. Paul relates that there were people from many different countries speaking in their own language yet everybody understood one another. That was a shock to those present and they thought the disciples ...