Lessons We Can Learn from Our Triune God

Blog by Sr. Pat Dual, OP
Blog by Sr. Pat Dual, OP

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Trinity. In thinking about this, I was reminded of a Systemic Theology class that I recently managed to live through. While I love theology classes, I have to admit, I was not excited about taking this particular class. To my surprise, it turned out to be much more engaging than I anticipated. One of the many topics in the course that I developed a deeper appreciation for was the Trinity. The Trinitarian relationship of community and perfect self-giving love has much to teach us about God’s vision for human relationships. Continue reading →

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Everyday Awe

Blog by Sr. Anne Lythgoe, OP
Blog by Sr. Anne Lythgoe, OP

“Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of God.” Psalm 33:8

I visited New Orleans recently and stayed with our sisters at the Bancroft House, which is a large home on Bancroft Drive. The back patio faces Bayou St. John, a waterway that is an offshoot of the Mississippi River and flows into Lake Pontchartrain.

It was so lovely to sit outside with my morning coffee and look across the bayou watching bikers and joggers speed along the path on the other side. While I was quietly contemplating the water, suddenly a fish jumped up out of the water and dove back down, then up again, and again.  I never saw fish jump before. The only live fish I ever saw were in my brother’s tank: guppies and goldfish. This was amazing. I was in awe at this phenomenon, which the sisters in the house seemed to take in stride. “Oh yes, they do it all the time,” Noel said. It reminded me of the musical Porgy and Bess –  “Summertime and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high.” So that’s where the idea came from. WOW.
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The Personal Side of Land Residence

Blog by Sr. Roberta Miller, OP
Blog by Sr. Roberta Miller, OP

Did you ever reflect about the people who reside on the land? What about the elderly, stooped, weathered man in Meijer’s or Walmart grocery stores whose dress and manner says “farmer?” Was the developer’s offer at his age and in the current development around him just too much to reject? Or, there is the Amish man standing and gazing over his fields alongside 71N with the For Sale sign a few yards away. Must he sell if his children are to continue in farming elsewhere? What about the Blackfeet children out on their Montana reservation whose mountains, river valleys, wetlands and sacred sites may be lost to the Solonex energy company in its plan to develop the oil and gas under their land? Do the children have no rights to unpolluted water and land? To their cultural/religious/history?

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Posted in Peace & Justice Blog

Is It Time for a Just Peace Approach?

Blog by Associate Conni Dubick, OPA
Blog by Associate Conni Dubick, OPA

“In every age, the Holy Spirit graces the Church with the wisdom to respond to the challenges of its time. In response to what is a global epidemic of violence, which Pope Francis has labeled a ‘world war in installments,’ we are being called to invoke, pray over, teach and take decisive action. With our communities and organizations, we look forward to continue collaborating with the Holy See and the global church to advance Gospel nonviolence.”  (An Appeal to the Catholic Church to Re-Commit to the Centrality of Gospel Nonviolence, Rome, April 11-13, 2016)

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Called and Sent To Announce the Good News

Sr. Rachel Sena
Blog by Sr. Rachel Sena, OP

When I reflect on the dawning of a religious vocation, I remember the sequence of steps as if hiking through a traveled path one often sees on the mountainous desert landscape of Arizona. The first step was easily found within the Mexican American and indigenous cultures so embedded in the early seeds of the Catholic faith giving rise to the sacred truth that we are all called and sent to be about the mission of God (missio Dei) as families, elders, young adults, youth, couples, and children. Continue reading →

Posted in News