This I Believe

I've got a short piece in the Summer 2008 Giving Voice Newsletter. Giving Voice is an organization of/for younger women religious. I went to a retreat weekend last February for women religious under 40 - you can read my reflections on that weekend here.

You can also read my reflection in the newsletter here - along with some other great articles by younger religious.

This I Believe: Reflections of on Religious Life from a New Member

ON THE MORNING OF THE Feast of the Epiphany this past January, I woke up to the voice of Sister Helen Prejean on National Public Radio. She was sharing her story as part of NPR's "This I Believe" series, where ordinary and not so ordinary folks sum up their belief system in three minutes or less. "I watch what I do to see what I really believe," she said. "I changed from being a nun who only prayed for the suffering world to a nun with my sleeves rolled up, living my prayer."

I was struck by this woman religious, whose story was already made known to the world by the movie Dead Man Walking, sharing what she believes on national radio. It made me think … just what is it that I believe? ...

I believe that religious life isn't going anywhere. It may look different in the years to come, but it is here to stay. While diminishment is a reality, so too is life, energy, love and service. My questions are not about numbers, effectiveness, organizational structures, or vision statements. Rather, they are about how we go about dreaming God's dreams together today, across the miles, across congregations and from a multiplicity of perspectives and backgrounds.(Read the whole article)