Our 22nd General Chapter Ends ... Another Chapter Begins

The 22nd General Chapter of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace has come to an end. For the past 10 days, we have been gathered outside of Seattle to break open our Chapter theme, "Deeper and Wider - The Challenge of Peace."

It is both humbling and amazing to realize that this was the 22nd time since our founding in 1884 that the community has come together to discern our future direction and elect new leadership. We certainly stand on the shoulders of incredible women of faith who trusted deeply in God's abiding love and took risks in order to serve God's people in need and meet the needs of the day.

The atmosphere during our gathering was buzzing with energy, love, and passion for our charism of peace through justice and a deep desire to move together, as community for mission, to meet the needs of today. One of my CSJP Sisters often speaks about the "sneaky Holy Spirit," and I think that is a good description for the ways the Spirit was nudging, even disturbing us, to embrace this new moment in our community history.

We celebrated the profession of vows of FOUR Sisters during the early days of our gathering. Sister Dorothy professed perpetual vows, while Sisters Juliana, Katrina, and Sheena professed their first vows as Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace.  This was the first time we have celebrated profession of vows during a congregation Chapter. The joyful hope was palpable.

Our Congregation Leader, Sister Margaret Byrne, invited us to seize this particular moment as a new opportunity to "begin again." She actually used the word "again" 23 times in her address, which was grounded in our rich community history as well as the present call of Pope Francis to move beyond "structures that give us a false sense of security" in order to witness to the Gospel with our lives and reach out to those on the periphery of society.  Fr. Anthony Gittins spoke to us of radial discipleship and Sr. Gail Worcelo reflected on living on the edge during this moment of grace.  We also heard the deep desires of the seven Sisters who have entered during the past decade (myself included) to move forward together as community for mission.

In many ways, it seemed as if the Holy Spirit was weaving together all of these threads in creative ways which culminated in our Chapter Call:

Disturbed by the Spirit, we recommit ourselves to Jesus' way of radical hospitality. 

We are called to a deeper and wider living of community for mission in company with poor and marginalized people. 

Our contemplative discernment pushes us, individually and as Congregation, to action; deeper mutual support enables us to take risks for justice, peace and the integrity of creation.

As disciples of Jesus, we respond anew to the call of Mother Clare to be "brave, noble, large-minded courageous souls."

We will be living into and out of this call during the next 6 years.  And starting in January, I will be living this call in a particular way as I respond to the call of the Chapter to serve in elected leadership as part of our Congregation Leadership Team. This will certainly be a new chapter in my own life!

But first, I am sitting now in the departures lounge at the Seattle Airport getting ready to head back to Chicago where I will spend the next 3 months finishing up my studies.

One benefit of moving into this new leadership role is that as I was saying goodbye to the CSJP Sisters and Associates I have spent the past weeks with, I know that I will have an opportunity to see them all again soon. And that, my friends, is a blessing.

Chapter Moments

We say in our Constitutions that at Chapter, "we celebrate our unity, renew our life and spirit, reflect together on the call of the gospel, and make decisions in fidelity to our charism." At the end of Day 3, we have certainly done the first 4. Decisions will not come until next week.

Celebrating our Unity:  It is such a joy to spend time with Sisters and Associates from all three regions. Some I know very well. Others I am just getting to know. We are having our Chapter at a hotel and the other guests are very curious about this group of joyful people who obviously love one another. Talk about gospel witness!

Renew our life and spirit: Last night we celebrated the first ever profession of vows at a Congregation Chapter, with not one but FOUR professions!  It was such a hope filled moment to witness the first profession of my Sisters Katrina, Juliana and Sheena and the final profession of Dorothy. All I can really say is .... God is very good.

Reflect together on the call of the gospel: We are beginning our Chapter with input to help us reflect on our call as Sisters and Associates of St Joseph of Peace at THIS particular moment. Yesterday, our Congregation Leader, Sister Margaret Byrne, inspired and challenged us: "Here at this Chapter we have an
opportunity – more than that, an obligation – to begin again, to think anew about what the call to go deeper asks of us." And today, Fr. Anthony Gittins invited us to consider discipleship, hope, community/communitas, and the Spirit. He said, "You cannot privatize the good news. If it is good news, you need to put your life on the line."

Wow. The Spirit is moving. We have been each day with a period of silent contemplative prayer. Our conversations have been rich and challenging, as we encourage and inspire each other to live out this line from the Chapter prayer we have been praying for many months: "St Joseph, dreamer and practical one, help us live our dreams into reality."  Amen. So be it. Amen.

Margaret Anna Fridays - Chapter Edition

It's a tradition on this blog to share some words of wisdom and inspiration on Fridays from the founder of my religious community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace.  Known in religion as Mother Francis Clare, Margaret Anna Cusack was a prolific writer in her day. 150 CSJP Sisters and Associates are gathering outside Seattle, Washington today for our Congregation Chapter. Over the next week and a half we will be pondering our future and making decisions that take us deeper and wider in response to the challenge of peace. Given that, I thought these words were more than appropriate!

Let us begin to-day, let us begin now. We may expect many failures, we shall meet with many difficulties; but our failures will not become less by waiting nor our difficulties less by delay.

No doubt Mother Francis Clare and all our Sisters who have gone before us will be cheering us on from heaven during these days of Chapter. 

Please keep us in your prayers as well.

Sacred Community Space

I have been spending these days at St. Mary-on-the-lake in the company of my CSJP Sisters. It is always a joy to just BE with them/us. 

In these days before Chapter, there are other Sisters from across the Congregation here who have come a bit early to be with us.

Our dining room here has circular tables, so there is always room to "squeeze in one more" at breakfast or lunch or as we just sit and have a cup of tea.  The conversation and presence,  just being with one another, is sustaining and energizing. The love we share for God and each other is palpable.

Our coming together is truly sacred space.

Tomorrow I head to the hotel where we'll have chapter to help set up and welcome Sisters and Associates coming from near and wide for our Congregation Chapter. Please hold us in your prayers!

End of summer adventures

I woke up this morning and realized that I only have one more sleep in my own bed before heading out on a 3 1/2 week adventure in the Pacific Northwest as summer comes to a close.

First up is an opportunity to send a few days with our "newer" members--those Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace who have entered in the last 10 years. This will be the first time we've ever all been together! We have been invited to gather with some Sisters in leadership and formation to share our hopes for the congregation and religious life and to dream together.

The group of women I entered with

Me visiting our 3 novices in London last summmer

 I am sure it will be a wonderful gathering. And we can get a photo of all 7 of us at last!

Then I have a few days to visit friends over Labor Day weekend before I head back to Seattle and ..... CHAPTER!  Chapters only happen every 6 years. They are a time to listen to the heartbeat of the congregation. To celebrate and pray and laugh and discern where God is calling us together. Or, as our Constitutions say:

The Congregation Chapter is the highest
decision-making body in the congregation.
In this event we celebrate our unity,
renew our life and spirit,
reflect together on the call of the gospel,
and make decisions in fidelity to our charism.

Exciting things on the horizon. And hopefully, comfy-ish beds for yours truly so I have energy to enjoy and soak it all in.

I'll try to post from my adventures .... stay tuned!

Bizarre Yet Beautiful ... Reprise

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a prayer poem on the blog titled "Bizarre Yet Beautiful."  Yesterday, after a very powerful (and well timed) session with my spiritual director where I reflected on the bizarre and beautiful movement of the Spirit in my life these days, I took the time to check out the Rene Magritte exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.  The title of the traveling exhibit is Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary. As a surrealist, Magritte was deeply in touch, I think, with the bizarre yet beautiful aspects of life. Thankfully for us, he was able to capture this aspect of the human experience on canvas. I bought a small version of the painting at the right, depicted on a button (the kind you can pin to your clothing). The painting itself is called "L'homme au chapeau melon." 

I was really touched by the painting, because you see part of my ongoing discernment process has been recognizing and befriending my own limitations. This has been especially true during the past few months. As I mentioned a while back on the blog, I have been invited to discern my willingness to serve in elected leadership for my congregation (both bizarre, given my time in community, and beautiful, given my love of my community and belief in our future).  

I received my invitations to enter into this discernment process just before I spent 3 weeks at vocation director summer school, where we learned about psycho-sexual integration and behavioral assessment. While the focus was on assessing and screening potential candidates, there was also a bit of introspection and inner work involved.  As a result, I came to the discernment weekend having befriended (again) many of my own limitations and "prickly points" within the context of my discernment process. They are very real ... I, like most if not all people,  carry my life experiences, baggage, and personal challenges with me along this journey we call life. Hopefully as we become more self aware and engage fully in the work of life and relationships, our rough edges become softer and those prickly aspects of our personalities cause less and less damage to ourselves and others. Nevertheless, through much of this time of leadership discernment, my limitations have been front and center. Replace the dove in the picture with a prickly cactus and you'd get the idea!! It's hard to see the forest for the cactus, if you catch my drift.

One very real blessing of the weekend retreat I spent with the other Sisters discerning openness to serve in leadership, and the days since, has been a real experience of the promise of peace. We are all better than our worst selves, and community helps us to grow together in truth and love into our best selves. As our CSJP Constitutions say: "As we live our vows each day we trust that Christ's blessing promised to peacemakers will sustain us, knowing that God working in us will accomplish more than we can ask or imagine."

This painting by Magritte, with a dove blocking the man's face (instead of a prickly cactus!) is a reminder to me of the promise of peace.

Please join me in praying for the ten women, including myself, who decided after the discernment weekend to leave our names in the mix of nominees for elected leadership. Our General Chapter takes place September 5-16 in Seattle, with the elections taking place in a spirit of discernment and prayer towards the end of that time.  As one CSJP friend mentioned in an email, it says wonders for our community that we have such a powerful and prayerful group of women open to congregation leadership at this crucial time in our history. No matter which women will make up the final mix of leaders, leadership of our community will be in good hands, good minds, and good hearts. God is so very good ... mischievous and surprising at times, but very good.

In the words of our Chapter prayer:

Come Holy Spirit,
refresh and renew us,
draw us deeply into your love,
soften our hearts,
rouse our spirits,
open us to all that the 
Congregation Chapter may entail.
St. Joseph, dreamer
and practical one,
help us live our dreams into reality.
May the whole of creation
rejoice in God's justice
and live in God's peace.
We pray with confidence
and faith.
Amen.

Deeper and Wider

The theme of my community's General Chapter, which will take place in September, is "Deeper and Wider - The Challenge of Peace." Here is a prayer poem I wrote this morning,  inspired by the theme.

God's gift of peace
calls us deeper into the very
heart of God.

Christ's blessing,
promised to peacemakers,
challenges us ...
to stretch out
our hearts,
our minds,
our hands,
ever wider,
embracing all God's children,
embracing all God's creation.

Deeper and wider,
we are one,
immersed in the immensity
of God's love
for each and every one of us,
and in a particular way,
for those called least.

The challenge
it seems
is to focus our energies,
our resources,
and our very being,
in solidarity and justice
with those
Christ loved so well.

That is our challenge.
That is our call.
That is the promise
and gift
of peace.

Resisting Evil ... Forging Hope

The liturgical readings for this Saturday seem tailor made for our present news cycle.

From the prophet Micah, we hear:

Woe to those who plan iniquity,and work out evil on their couches; In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance.

The Psalmist writes:

Why, O LORD, do you stand aloof? Why hide in times of distress? Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived. 
For the wicked man glories in his greed, and the covetous blasphemes, sets the LORD at nought.The wicked man boasts, “He will not avenge it”;“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts. 

And then in Matthew's Gospel: 

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesusto put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known.

Our present news cycle is filled with the consequences of evil planned on couches. Peoples are plotting against other peoples or closing their hearts and doors to compassion and our common humanity. There are good news stories to be sure as well, but those do not get the air time. Instead, we are submerged in woe.

Jesus could have been submerged in woe. People were literally planning his death. And what does he do? He withdraws from the place ... he was a man of deep prayer. Yet when people followed him, he did not ignore them or push them away, but ministered to them.

At our last CSJP Congregation Chapter, we wrote these words in our Chapter Act: "We live in a society marked strongly by the violence of war, violence to people through poverty and a sense of powerlessness and alienation, violence to earth, sea, and sky--violence that is truly cosmic."  Those words would also fit our present news cycle! As a community pursuing justice and seeking God's peace, how did we respond in our Chapter Act? "In response we commit ourselves to grow more deeply toward a nonviolent way of being and acting as peacemakers." Like Jesus, our call is to withdraw (resist) and to respond in hope.

A few months ago I read something by the great liberation theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez regarding hope. I'd like to end this Saturday morning reflection with his words:

Hope is, in the first place, a gift from God. Accepting this gift opens followers of Jesus to the future and to trust … God’s gift is not an easy hope. But as fragile as it may seem, it is capable of planting roots in the world of social insignificance, in the world of the poor, and of breaking out and remaining creative and alive even in the midst of difficult situations. Nonetheless, hope is not waiting; rather it should lead us actively to resolve to forge reasons for hope.

No matter what the news, let us resolve to forge reasons for hope.

Tree Blessing

We have two new community members here at Grace House ... of the arboreal variety. We decided to plant two Japanese Maples both to beautify our not very beautiful parking strip, and as a concrete way of living out our CSJP commitment to care for creation.

After our house meeting this afternoon--during which we calculated our carbon footprint and talked about ways to reduce our footprint--we went outside for a simple tree blessing.

May these Japanese Maple trees
be trees of life to all the earth.
May their leaves breathe forth
the life-breath of oxygen.
May they give to all who look upon them
the gift of life-renewing beauty.
May these trees be a reminder to us
of our commitment to be peacemakers
and support the integrity of creation.

God of all creation, we give you thanks for the gift of Earth, our home. Bless our efforts to cherish and protect your creation. We ask this in the name of Jesus our brother and the Spirit who gives us life. Amen.

Carbon Footprint Continued

Here's part two of the CSJP Carbon Footprint video:

Carbon Footprint Video

Two summers ago (hard to believe it's been that long!) our CSJP Sisters and Associates gathered for our general chapter to decide our focus for the next 6 years. One of our Chapter Acts is Care of Creation and Climate Change. In response to that Chapter Act, we are working on identifying and reducing our carbon footprints. Here is part one of a video that I helped make with another member of our Care of Creation Core Group. Sisters and Associates are watching the video in small groups this month as part of our commitment to pray, study and act in response to our Chapter Act.

Seeds of Peace

I've been in New Jersey for the past few days for our CSJP Care for Creation Core Group meeting. I have the privilege of giving my time and talent to this committee which is seeking to engage our Congregation in our Seeds of Peace Care for Creation and Climate Change Chapter Act. It's good work, intense, but good. I'm excited about what we have planned for the coming months!

In one of our prayer times (I love participating in meetings that are grounded in contemplative experiences!) we reflected on this reading from one of our founding sisters, Mother Evangelista:

Read the first chapter of Genesis: the numbers and varieties of creatures God has made in the mineral, the vegetable and animal creation. And these were made to help me to praise, reverence and serve God. … All have been created by God for my benefit to remind me of their and my Creator and for His praise, reverence and service – this is my end and grand destiny.

She wrote those words in her 1901 retreat notes. It's amazing to see how Mother Evangelista, in her own time, was able to look beyond the common understanding of dominating/using creation for our material benefit. She seems to make the connection between the gifts of creation and our reverence/awareness of God. Beautiful words to pray with!

Tomorrow morning I'm headed back to Seattle. But first, I get to spend an evening in our Novitiate and visit with our Novice Sukyi and my former novice director. We've been so busy with our meetings, I haven't had much time yet to connect.

Seeds of Peace - The Committment

Since I’m here in New Jersey exploring our CSJP Chapter Act Seeds of Peace: Care of Creation & Climate Change, I thought I’d share the text of the act with my bloggy friends. Wednesday I shared the opening quotes from Mother Clare. Friday I shared the Context. Today we get to our Commitment:

We commit ourselves, personally and communally to:

-deepen our spirituality of peace regarding care of creation

-identify and reduce our carbon footprint in our communities, ministries and institutions

-pray, study and act to promote a sustainable lifestyle

-participate in legislative efforts to support the integrity of creation

-stand in solidarity and act in justice with marginalized people whose lives are already affected by the devastation of Earth

-collaborate with others, including interfaith and civic groups, who are addressing climate change

Practical guides for study, prayer and action will be developed and shared throughout the Congregation

Did you catch that last bit? That’s what we’ve been working on this week as a Core Team … how to dig into and explore this Chapter Act—and what it means in terms of our lives together. Turns out the practical guides don't develop themselves! :)

It’s a great experience being part of our Care of Creation Core Team, with women from all geographical areas of our Congregation. The work has just begun!

Seeds of Peace - The Context

Since I’m here in New Jersey exploring our CSJP Chapter Act Seeds of Peace: Care of Creation & Climate Change, I thought I’d share the text of the act with my bloggy friends. Yesterday I shared the opening quotes from Mother Clare … today I’ll share the Context:

Earth is a revelation of God and the sustainer of all life. We recognize that the exploitation and destruction of Earth’s air, water, soil and species is a sacrilege. We are committed to a spirituality of peacemaking which compels us to live in right relationship with the entire community of life. In this way, “we engage in the struggle against the reality of evil and continue the work of establishing God’s reign of justice and peace.” (Constitutions 2)

“Our history calls us to a special love of those who are poor.” (Constitutions 21)

In her own time, Margaret Anna Cusack (Mother Clare) made the connection between the devastation of earth and the victims of famine. Failure to care for creation also threatened family life, the wellbeing of women and children and was a cause of emigration. Recognizing the interdependence of all life, we count among those who are poor all Earth’s creatures whose lives are threatened or diminished. We experience a call to live our stance of contemplative, nonviolent peacemaking in regard to creation. It is faithfulness to this charism in our own time that compels us to respond to the crisis of climate change/global warming.

We believe in a sustainable world, yet we see Earth’s life-giving resources weakened by human choices and actions. Climate change, especially global warming, is already affecting peoples and biological systems throughout the world. War and nuclear proliferation pose a particular threat to the integrity of Earth.

Seeds of Peace - A few words from Margaret Anna

Since I’m here in New Jersey exploring our CSJP Chapter Act Seeds of Peace: Care of Creation & Climate Change, I thought I’d share the text of the act with my bloggy friends over the next few days.

The Chapter Act begins with the following quotes from our founder, Margaret Anna Cusack, known in religious as Mother Francis Clare. She was a Poor Clare for 25 year before founding us, so it’s not surprising she had an innate Franciscan concern for Mother Earth—combined with her keen sense of political analysis. But enough of me … here’s the first part of the Chapter Act:

“Each flower in the field of gorse contributes to the beauty of the whole … each has its own beauty which enhances the beauty of the rest.” Mother Clare, The Spouse of Christ

“The ancient forests have been hewn down with little profit to the spoiler and to the injury in many ways of the native … The country which was in ‘God’s keeping’ then has but little improved since it came into the keeping of man.” Mother Care, The History of Ireland

Tomorrow … the context!

Seeds of Peace

I’m here in New Jersey as part of the Core Team looking at one of our Chapter Acts: Seeds of Peace—Care of Creation and Climate Change.

Regular readers may remember that last summer I spent 2 weeks at our Congregation Chapter. Every 6 years or so our community gathers to decided on our direction for the coming years. Where are we being called by the Spirit to focus our energy as a community, to bring our insights and gifts as peacemakers to a troubled world.

Our 2008 Chapter had 3 major decisions. One was to become one Congregation without Provinces, so that we can better pool our resources and energy. Another, which I’ve written about before, was to grow in nonviolence. And the third was the Care of Creation Chapter Act.

Which is why I’m here in New Jersey, visiting with old friends and getting to know my fellow Core Team members better. Over the next few days, we’ll be digging into the Chapter Act and seeing ways we might engage the community on the issues.

Chapter of Elections

Last summer I was able to attend our Congregation Chapter. Every 6 years our Sisters & Associates gather to elect new leadership and decide on our goals and direction for the the next 6 years. You can read about the Chapter here...

We didn't actually elect new leadership at our Chapter, because we decided to become One Congregation "Without Provinces." Right now we've got elected leaders at the Congregation level and then in each of the 3 Provinces. We decided to elect 5 leaders across the whole Congregation. Because this was all new, we then suspended our Chapter and decided to call a Chapter of Elections in January.

Well, that's happening right about now! The delegates and nominees are gathering in New Jersey this week for prayer, discussion, discernment and elections. Eight wonderful women have left their names in for leadership - any mix of them would make an amazing team of five to lead us into becoming One Congregation without provinces over the next 6 years, and to help us focus on our Chapter Acts related to growing in non-violence and care of creation.

Please join me this week in praying our Chapter Prayer:

Spirit of God,
you breathed over the waters
and gave light, life and beauty to the earth,
breathe on us now,
drawing us forward to the crossing place,
moving us in hope and trust to that place
where we will encounter you in our Congregation Chapter.
Come with your spirit of wisdom, love and unity;
come with strength and vigour,
with lightness, courage and faith.
Inflame our hearts, enlighten our minds
that our actions, words and decisions
may glorify you and serve your people
with justice and in peace. We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.

Nonviolence - so what does it mean?

Over the past few days, I've been sharing our Chapter Act on Nonviolence - (click here for the beginning of this series). Why? Because it's something I've really been reflecting a lot on since the summer and trying to integrate into my own life.

I firmly believe that peace is possible, peace will come. That belief is hard to have when violence is so prevalent in our world, or when I sit helplessly and observe communities explode into armed conflict and hundreds or thousands of civilians die in their own homes. But yet, Jesus promises us his peace.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you." (John 14:27).

What did he mean? People have been trying to figure that out for 2,000 years. As a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace, I have been trying to figure out what that means for me. What does it mean to be in a community of people seeing peace through justice. What does it mean to wear my peace cross each day, as a public symbol of my commitment to the Peace Jesus promises?

It seems to me that if it means anything, it means a commitment to look at the ways in my own life that I am not of peace. Where is the violence in my own being? How can I grow in nonviolence and be a seed of peace?

That's where I'm at, recognized my own violence as I pray each day for the Prince of Peace to be with me on my/our journey to be people of peace. For the most part, I've just noticed how not non-violent I am, but the desire is there, and that must count for something. The picture says "envision peace." For me, these days, I guess it's more about if/how I/we can "embody peace." It is very cool to be on this journey with my CSJP community ... for the next 6 years. Because we're not going to figure it out over night!

PS - If you - like me - find yourself at a loss about what you can do as a global (or American) citizen about the current violent crisis in Gaza, visit the Pax Christi USA website for resources.

Nonviolence - Our Chapter Act (Part Four)

Over the next few days I will be sharing our CSJP Congregation Chapter Act, "Seeds of Peace: Growing in Nonviolence." Here is the fourth and final installment of the Chapter Act itself (click here for the beginning of this series):

We call ourselves to prayer.
* Congregational weekly peace prayer
* Examination of Consciousness related to non-violence
* Regular reflection on the Beatitudes/Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and Constitutions

We call ourselves to study.
* History and people of non-violence
* Constitutions and writings of Margaret Anna Cusack and community members, read through the lens of non-violence
* Contemporary resources for practice of non-violence

We call ourselves to action.
* Practice non-violence in all relationships, with self, one another, Earth, and Cosmos
* Stand in solidarity with those who are poor and respond to injustice with creativity, passion and non-violence
* Practice non-violence in communication, reconciliation and forgiveness
* Live non-violence in our choices as citizens and consumers
* Practice non-violence in collaboration with others to heal the violence in our world
* As individuals, we will discern if we are called to take a vow of non-violence

Practical guides for prayer, study and action will be developed and shared throughout the Congregation.

Coming up .... what does this mean?

Nonviolence - Our Chapter Act (Part Three)

Over the next few days I will be sharing our CSJP Congregation Chapter Act, "Seeds of Peace: Growing in Nonviolence." Here is part 3 (click here for the beginning of this series):

Sowing the Seeds of Peace
“You will hope, if God blesses your work, to sow the seeds of peace in modern society.” (Bishop Bagshawe at profession of first Sisters of Peace, January 7, 1884).

The lens of non-violence brings new insights and commitments to all aspects of our lives together. We commit to look with eyes of compassion, to relate with openness and hospitality, and to act from a center of contemplative prayer, peace and passion. Our prayer and study lead us to actions which “make our own the concerns of the human family … especially those who are poor and oppressed.” (C 55).

More to come ...