Blog by Associate Mary Ellen George, OPA[/caption]
Every Sunday, I look forward to receiving an e-newsletter from Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper in my email account. I enjoy these weekly positive perspectives and reflections on life. Maria’s messages focus on providing “hope for the path ahead” and features news stories about individuals who are doing their part to make a difference in people’s lives. I find these stories uplifting, engaging, and sometimes challenging nudges to consider other viewpoints and one story that gave me pause for thought was entitled “This Is the Time to Rethink What We Know.”
In this reflection, Maria challenges her readers “to rethink how we are working, how we are learning, how we are consuming our food, our energy, and our time. It’s a great time to rethink our lives and how we are living.” As Dominicans, we value taking time “to contemplate the truth and to share the fruits of this contemplation with others.” It’s always good to step back from any life moment to look anew at where we are so we can gain new insights and perspectives on what to do in any given circumstance. As Dominican Sisters of Peace and Associates, we are committed to being “radically open to ongoing conversion into the peace of Christ,” and to making changes in ourselves and in our world in many ways, three of which are stated in the congregation’s Chapter commitments:
- Create environments of peace by promoting non-violence, unity in diversity, and reconciliation among ourselves, in the Church and throughout the world.
- Promote justice through solidarity with those who are marginalized, especially women and children, and work with others to identify and transform oppressive systems.
- Foster God’s web of life personally, communally and ministerially by advocating and supporting just policies and decisions to reduce the impact of global climate change.