I Am

I am

I am layers of being and layers of consciousness. 

I am blood and stars. 

I am knowing and unknowing. 

I am and I am becoming. 

Peace Seeking Mission

If we are going to have a more peaceful world it will be because each of us does peace work...

What is one thing I will do today to change the energy I bring to my interactions with others and with creation?

Our social/political discourse is one place to start. Am I aware of tone and attitude? Does the way I express my opinion  open the door to dialogue and understanding?  Or does it incite--reinforcing aggression, fear, anger...?

Random acts of kindness, affirmation and beauty...

What ideas do you have for ways to help build our path to peace?

Inchworm

This reflection was inspired by my struggle with a particular pose in the Sun Salutation sequence in yoga.  I learned this name "Inchworm" for this posture and have been trying to focus on improving that step (not always successfully--it's still more frequently a flop than a posture).  However I think I am actually stretching, practicing, truly inching into it.

Inchworm 

     Slow, steady progress

     inch by inch

     know your direction intention

     Go slow but go

     Crawling is a humble path

     the way beautiful babies begin

     and humble creatures remain

     Slow, steady progress

     when learning perhaps not an inch

     maybe only half at a time

     learn how

     choose when and where

     go humbly,  faithfully

     inch by inch

     

Retreat Work: "Mindful"

Mindful, holy hope leads the 

way to simple, peaceful

what is unknown, hard, slow

declutter once, try, at least

then joy and purpose

be silent and listen to the

glaciers and the galaxies

and to your sisters

and violent world harder 

Farewell

Just had the wake for Sister Blanche Thiele, whose funeral will take place tomorrow.  Sister Blanche inspired this blog post in 2009.

Exercising Citizenship

Many Maryknollers are on their way to Washington, DC today to participate in one of our Centennial events, Maryknoll on the Hill. 

"For many years, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC) has brought the lived experience of Maryknoll missioners and the people with whom they live and work to the decision-making tables in our nation’s capital. The authentic understanding that Maryknoll brings to discussions of international policy is deeply respected by our colleagues and by lawmakers alike. We hope that a significant presence by the entire Maryknoll family will raise awareness of the critical issues of justice, peace and the integrity of creation, and also will illuminate the work of the MOGC and its efforts on behalf of the Maryknoll community."

I'm not going to Washington, but I am hoping to do my part from home.  During the next few days, I hope to spend some extra time reflecting on my values and legislation that is (or should be) on the table to help bring about justice, peace and the integrity of creation.

In the Maryknoll Sisters family, we treasure a phrase, no two alike. 
We don't do everything the same, or see everything the same. 

However, whatever our differences may be, exercising responsible citizenship is important.  We can all easily see the problems when only big business interests communicate effectively with our legislative decision makers.

Here's one area you could have an opinion on:  violence against women.  Learn more and consider taking action here:  http://www.maryknollogc.org/social/VAWA_2012.html

Maryknollers in Washington will focus on issues that have become important to us because of their signficant impact on the peoples around the world with whom we work. 

What are the issues that are important to you?  "Think global, act local" is a good adage.  Or I like to hope that I am learning to be like Mother Mary Joseph, the founder of the Maryknoll Sisters, a person with a world wide heart.

Where Were You When.....?

Different events in our lives mark us in different ways.

Some people never forget where they were...

...when the war started (which war....)
...when Kennedy was shot
...when Neil Armstrong took that small but giant step on the moon
...when the space shuttle exploded
...when planes were used as weapons of mass destruction on 9/11
...when Katrina struck
...when...
...when...
...when I heard about... and my world changed forever

Some things happen and change the way we remember, change the way we look at ourselves or others, change the way we mark time: before and after

What's your WHEN?

Changed Forever: Remembering the Martyrs of El Salvador

Thirty years ago, a terrible tragedy took place in El Salvador. When four church women were brutally assassinated, it touched our lives in unforgettable ways.

The missioners were killed in December 1980. I became a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in September 1981 (and later a Maryknoll Sister in 1986). Joining Maryknoll at that time was deeply linked with the events in El Salvador that had taken place the year before: the murder of Archbishop Romero, the tragic death in a flashflood of Sister Carla Piette, the abduction, violation and killing of Cleveland Lay Missioner Jean Donovan, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and Maryknollers Maura Clarke and Ita Ford.

Danger and violence in Central America were the symbols of risk in commitment for younger generations of missioners, much the same way that suffering in China symbolized the call to mission for earlier Christians.

I invite you to join with us in remembering the martyrs in El Salvador and allowing their memory to stir your own commitment to service to the Gospel. We have a number of features on our website so that you can learn more about what happened and what it means for us today.

News

Bookmarks

Memorial
Fund

Hear Sisters Carla and Ita sing Lord
of the Road, a song composed by Carla

During the coming week, there will be other news and
features on our home page: www.maryknollsisters.org

Thank you for joining with us in remembering, praying, and pressing
on with the work of our beloved martyrs: making God’s love visible to the
poor, accompanying those who struggle for justice, responding to the urgent
needs of our world.

Living outside the box

I liked this idea. (Thanks to this neat website: http://www.liturgy.co.nz/)

All redeemed in Christ calls us to think beyond boundaries.

What makes something "other" instead of one in the Body of Christ?

What I didn't plan on

I did not plan to spend my morning working on our web page. There were approximately four to five billion other to-do's on my list.

But there was a big earthquake in Chile.
And people are suffering.
And we have Sisters in Chile.

So I went to work doing the only thing I could do to (hopefully) make a difference...

Contact some others to let them know.
Pray.
Ask others to pray.

Because although it was not on my list for the day, it's what my life is meant to be about:
solidarity with the suffering.

So please pray for the people of Chile, especially those affected by the earthquake.