Inspired by Scholastica

Soon we will commemorate Holy Week, and remember the long, agonizing walk of Jesus to Calvary. With his head still crushed with the crown of thorns and his back still stinging with the whip lashes, he pulls the heavy wooden cross along the path. He sees his mother and the women crying, longing to help him with his burden. Finally Simon comes to assist him. How do we react to this devastating memory, this experience of Jesus enduring such excruciating pain? I'm sure the people of Ukraine are walking with Jesus, begging for relief from their agony and the inhumane treatment by the Russians.  We condemn the Russians and strive to mitigate their evil. But Richard Rohr reminds us, "we are all complicit. We're all cooperative in the stupidity of human history. No one can stand up and say, 'I didn't do anything wrong.' As Paul says so clearly: 'All have sinned,' (Rom.3:2 ) so we all bear the burden of sin." All are called to connect with the Ukrainians in...

A short item in the Kansas City Star caught my attention recently. It was titled: "Hubble detects 'Earendel,' most distant star ever seen." This star was part of a galaxy forming billions of years ago when everything in the world was brand new. This new star burned through space for billions of years before becoming visible through the Hubble Space Telescope. This amazed me, that among the myriads of stars visible at night, a new star could be found. It shown with blue light and astronomers have found that it is 50 to 100 times larger than our sun, and about one million times brighter, with its light traveling 12.9 billion years to become visible to the telescope. I am not a scientific-minded person usually, but this opened my eyes to look at the night sky a little more intently. I know I cannot see Earendel with the naked eye, but just to know it is beaming at us earthlings through so much space and time is comforting. It was a kind of God-moment, a realizatio...

I have no trouble praying to Mary, the mother of God. But, it took me a while to pray to God as she, as feminine. Yet, I knew God as Sophia, feminine for wisdom, God as a mother watching over her little ones. God, of course, has no gender, but definitely displays the virtues or aspects we usually associate with the feminine.   In Genesis, the poetic imagery depicts God hovering over the huge expanse of space and creating the earth and the heavens. God births the sun, moon and stars, plants, animals and humans. The Hebrew poets took the stories of the pagan gods and transformed them into the story of creation. They eradicated the fertility gods and goddesses and portrayed God as birthing a new creation.   Although the feminine in God was transformed into the sphere of the spirit, it was not destroyed. It became portrayed in allegory and metaphor. The Hebrews spoke of Elohim, which became the mother eagle of Deuteronomy (32:11). Later in the Wisdom literature this holy spirit wa...

One of the most challenging gospels in Scripture is Matthew 25. Jesus tells his disciples about the Last Judgment, when he will say to his followers, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me,” etc. When they asked in surprise, ”When   did we see you hungry or thirsty or naked?" He answered, “As long as you did it to these least little ones, you did it to me.” Missionary of Jesus Sister Norma Pimentel lives this gospel every day as she works at the Rio Grande border, helping refugees who are fleeing from extreme poverty or violence. As head of Catholic Charities at the border, she and her helpers provide lifesaving assistance for 80 to 120 refugees a day. They give food, clothing, a hot shower and a mat for sleeping to each one, until families or sponsors send passes allowing these displaced persons to continue on to a new home.    Yet, some conservative groups are criticizing Catholic Charities and other agenc...

In a recent  communication from a community of  Benedictine sisters residing near the capital of Ukraine, they told of living in great fear amid the recent attacks by Russia in their country. They are staying in the basement of their monastery, listening to bombings and explosions overhead. They keep praying the Divine Office through it all, and one monastery has taken in a few refugees who have nowhere to go. Some neighbors and oblates have provided provisions for them, but they do not know what the future will hold.  Our community is keeping them in prayer, but I wonder what they will do if they are forced to flee from their convent. It seems like something similar might have happened during the Nazi regime in World War II. But this is the 21st century, and Europe has been at peace since 1945. There was no aggression on the part of Ukraine, no reason for this horrific attack.  With nuclear weapons and modern cyberware, the dangers ahead are ominous. Although the U....

Do you often wonder why certain people enter your life and leave an imprint? I remember my high school English teacher, who encouraged my writing. I wrote stories out of the blue and had no idea that they had any value.   She recognized an undeveloped talent that I was not aware of at the time. I eventually became a journalist, thanks to her encouragement. I also had a religious sister in college, who was very kind and compassionate. When I needed help, she was there to answer my questions. She never made me feel stupid or that my inquiries were not worth her time. I wanted to be a teacher, just like her. These women were “life shapers” for me, something I only realized in retrospect.   People who have a positive influence on one’s life help us to become who we are meant to be.   Of course, those who have a negative influence could pull us away from our true destination. Life shapers are important as one is growing up and may not know what direction to go.   Th...

  Not to look back with regret, nursing the slights, pondering   what ifs, wallowing in the failures, nor to look forward with dread, projecting the worst to happen. Just to be present to the now with all its undefined borders, its humdrum activities, its ordinary scraps of conversation that make up most of our lives. It is enough to be aware of the tidbits that fill our days, an insight, a song, a quote, a kindness, a smile,  a sinking sun – precious things we take for granted yet worth the trouble to notice, to delight in, to be grateful for.