Sisters Street

At the end of a heart filling and hope lifting weekend in Chicago. First a few days with my sister Monica and her husband and adorable 4 1/2 month old boy. Then off to a weekend planning retreat with other Sisters (as in nuns) of my generation. A small group of us met to start the conversations that will result in a gathering of about 150 Sisters, most of them under 50, next July in Chicago.

As I was going for a walk this evening after the end of our retreat time together, I looked up and saw this sign on the property here. It made me start humming:

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet


Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sisters' Street

Silly yes, but also full of deep meaning for me. I've been in religious life for five years or so. But even before I took the leap, I discovered the existence of Giving Voice - the voices of younger women religious. I've blogged before about the moment of discovery. To sum it up, let's just say that knowing there were enough sisters under the age of 50 to form an organization and have a website gave me the permission to discern this wonderfully crazy life.

In my first year of the novitiate, I went to my first Giving Voice gathering of Sisters in their 20s & 30s. Since then, deep bonds have been forged across Congregational lines. Just as my CSJP Sisters are my sisters, these are also my sisters. And they give me such hope not only for the future, but for the present. Together we are walking into the emerging reality of religious life in the 21st Century, answering the call Jesus, guided by the Spirit, following in the footsteps of some amazing women, for the sake of the world and in the heart of God. We may not get together very often, but when we do good things happen. God things happen. And for that, I am indescribably grateful.