Christmas, Veritas, and Competition

Growing up, one of my favorite days of the year was the day after Thanksgiving.  For many, the day after Thanksgiving is exciting because they love to shop ‘till they drop on Black Friday.  Now, despite not being a big shopper, I did always look forward to getting out of the house to see what was in the stores and always hoped we would see some family members while out and about.  The main reason I always looked forward to the day after Thanksgiving, however, was because my mom, aunt, cousin (and sometimes others) would often go to a small, outdoor zoo that always debuts their Christmas lights display the day after Thanksgiving.  And, what can be more fun than hot chocolate and colorful lights (in sync with music of course) breaking through the early darkness that comes with winter nights in Wisconsin?  

A picture from the zoo lights display I took in 2012.

This year, as I am in conversation with others about what it means to be a Dominican, I can’t help but notice the similarity between Christmas lights and the Dominican Cross.  The Dominican Cross is meant to symbolize the light of truth penetrating the darkness of this world.  For me, Christmas lights easily tie into this because the Christmas lights shining in the darkness remind me how God came to us as a baby to be the perfect light in the darkness of this world.

One of my Sisters gave this Dominican cross necklace to me
on the Feast of All Dominican Saints when I was a candidate.

Now, what does this have to do with competition?  You see, among the many things Dominicans are known for, two of them are Veritas (Truth) and Disputatio (a medieval practice where, when in debate with others, one focuses more on seeking the truth the other speaks than on proving the other person wrong).  What I appreciate about Disputatio is that it encourages those debating each other to set their ego aside for the sake of learning from those they are in conversation with.  For me, this practice is an excellent reminder that I am not the source of truth (Veritas); God, who is in all things, is. In a world that encourages an unhealthy level of competition (do kids really need to be competing for starting positions at such an early age in sports?) what a great opportunity Dominicans have, through Disputatio, to show the world it is always better to set aside one’s pride for the sake of truly listening, and being present, to those before us.  

A friendly game of Crokinole is the most
common way our competitive side comes out.

What an inspiring orange!

My juicy orange

As I sat enjoying my juicy orange the other day I was reminded the familiar taste many years ago, the sweet taste of homegrown oranges. When I was growing up in the countryside of the Rift Valley in Kenya, we grew oranges, pineapples, and avocados on our farm. As a child, it was easy for me to pick and peel oranges without any help, and that is how I ended up eating loads of them and became familiar with their sweet taste.  

The awakening of that sweet orange taste in my mouth got me reflecting on what taste really means. I saw taste can also be a way in which the presence of the divine becomes a reality through my experiences. The occasions in which I have tasted this love of God through my encounter with others flooded my mind. It became so real that the experience of belonging while I was growing up was a taste of the Spirit of God. As I continue to connect, honor, and listen to others, currently more through zoom, it gives me the most intimate experience of tasting the ever-present Divine in my life.

We read in Psalms 119:103 “How sweet to my tongue is your promise, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”  I see God inviting me not to just know about Him in my mind, but also to taste God's goodness and faithfulness in my heart through the everyday events and encounters.

A self-made card sent to me
by Sr. Marion Puszcz after 
the inspiration of the Holy
Trinity during her prayers. 

Life at CDN has its different flavors as well. I chose to focus on the flavor experienced through the care, and generosity of my Maryknoll and Dominican Sisters who take their time to send emails and cards reassuring of their prayerful support to the entire CDN community. I appreciate all the Christmas gifts that have been sent to us by various communities and individuals. It is through them that I continue to taste the flavor of God’s love and goodness which awakens gratitude within me.

This advent season invites me to reflect on how my life spices up the quality of lives of those I encounter.  Aware that I offer mixed flavors, I allow God to come and straighten the paths in my life and in my heart as I prepare for his coming.

 I am grateful for having this sense of taste and the ability to use it every day of my life. Sometimes I take the ability to taste, for granted. I can only imagine the experience of losing one of the senses especially through an illness like Covid 19. This moves me to prayers for those experiencing the loss of smell and taste through this pandemic.

Watching for Everyday Miracles

Advent has begun, and we are on the watch. In her preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Cathy asked, “What are you hoping to see this Advent as you keep watch?” For me, the novitiate year sometimes feels like an extended Advent season, as I wait for signs that this time of formation is bearing fruit in personal growth and deeper communion with God, myself, and others. Remembering that even small gestures can offer confirmation, I attend to the day’s events, routine yet full of potential significance. I hope for greater freedom to love the world as God does. Watching for small signs of transformation requires patience, certainly, as well as hope.

Advent wreath before the altar in our House Chapel

 

Keeping watch reminds me of my morning runs along the Lakefront Trail. At mile 3, the path wraps around Promontory Point, a park that juts out from the shoreline. Every morning, people arrive there before dawn and sit along the rocky perimeter. Surrounded on three sides by water, they look out over Lake Michigan facing east. Some set up cameras. Quietly, they wait for sunrise. As the golden-red solar disk peeps over the horizon, I visualize the rounded surface of our Earth spinning toward its star. How is it that this daily event can be at once so ordinary and yet unfailingly marvelous? Every day the sun rises, and every day people wake to see its splendor. This consistency touched my heart in a special way the morning after Election Day in the U.S. As the nation waited restlessly for final ballot counts, the sun climbed up into the sky, an eye-dazzling miracle. All of us gathered there at the lake savored the moment together, thirsting for beauty and yearning for “a future full of hope” for our deeply divided society. The sun’s rising that day seemed to me a miraculous sign of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.

 

I cherish these awesome yet ordinary sacraments of God’s presence. In the midst of our broken world, it can be challenging to see God’s hand at work, or even know where to look. Currently I volunteer at Kolbe House Jail Ministry, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s ministry to persons affected by incarceration. Ordinarily, Kolbe House focuses on caring for persons incarcerated in Cook County Jail; however, when COVID restrictions curtailed entry to the jail, the Kolbe House staff shifted their attention to accompanying people on early release. These clients must re-enter a society caught in the grips of pandemic. Upon their release from jail, they have the clothes they are wearing, ten dollars and a bus pass. They are assigned to a transitional housing unit that does not provide meals or bed linens. They have sixty days to obtain a government ID, find a job, and secure permanent housing. On top of these astounding obstacles, many of our clients need support for mental health or substance abuse. Enter Kolbe House. We meet clients’ immediate material need for clothing, food, and transportation and help connect them with resources for healthcare and housing. Above all, Kolbe House is committed to a ministry of presence, accompanying clients as they navigate this extremely challenging transition.

 

The stark need of clients suffering from compound trauma can be overwhelming. In a staff meeting some time ago, one of the directors described a set of particularly complicated situations concerning two clients: one in an untenable living situation, on the verge of homelessness and tempted to end it all; another with no official record or identifying documents, terrified of being returned to prison after having suffered violence inside. In both cases, the odds sounded nigh insurmountable. The staff hardly knew where to begin. Nevertheless, the director asserted that our team would give all we had to bring these individuals through their crises. “We care about every one of our clients, but these two have come to us completely broken human beings. We have to do everything we can to put them back together.” I listened in awe. Here was a true disciple of Jesus, proclaiming to two persons “with their backs against the wall” that they are beloved children of God. The director had total confidence that, even in these direst of circumstances, God would give these clients the strength to choose life. I felt profoundly aware that this is how God acts: making a preferential option for the most vulnerable sisters and brothers among us. As the Kolbe House staff regularly reminds me, we are called to do the same. The grace God provides to accomplish it is nothing short of miraculous.

 

I keep watch this Advent for God’s action here and now in our world. I look to the words and deeds of others around me who “make God’s love visible” – an everyday miracle.

Advent Waiting: What are you hoping to see this Advent?

Photo Ops Take 3

Thanksgiving brought one of many celebrations which have happened this fall.  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.  Have a blessed Advent!

Lorraine's Birthday

Halloween Visits

Cathy's Birthday

Thanksgiving

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Each Sunday, one member of our community preaches during our evening prayer together.  By the grace of the Holy Spirit, this is what I preached about for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary time, Cycle A.  The readings at Mass were: 

1st Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
Psalm: Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 
2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30 

Thanks for following our blog!
-Amanda

In today’s first reading, we heard: “Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize (Prov. 31:11).”  In today’s Gospel, we heard, “‘A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them (Matt. 25:14).”

When you think about it, trust really is a strange thing.  People say it needs to be earned, yet we often trust people we have never met, based on a piece of paper, to cut our hair; fix our house; and take care of our physical, mental, and spiritual needs.  With trust, there is always some type of unknown.  You wouldn’t need to trust the person cutting your hair if you knew what the final product was going to be before it was done, and you wouldn’t need to trust someone to keep their word if you could look to the future to see if they actually did.  When you think about it, the same is true with God.  If God showed us all of the ways He was going to take care of us and lead us to Heaven, we wouldn’t need to place our trust in Him.  The funny thing about God is He does see the whole picture, including every mistake we’re going to make, yet God trusts us with the unique tasks He has created each of us to carry out.

A Sunday readings podcast called The Lanky Guys, run by a theology professor and priest in Denver, CO, dives deeper into the ways today’s Gospel teaches us about the radical trust we are called to have in God.  In their discussion, they point out how the two servants who were rewarded were not praised for how much they produced, but for their faithfulness to the task entrusted to them.  On the flip side, they talk about how fear is what motivates the servant who is rebuked for burying the talent given to him.  One of my favorite parts of their discussion is when they talked about how a life lived in unhealthy fear is a life half lived, but a life lived in trust of God is a life full of reverence of God and striving to make God proud out of the healthy fear of not wanting to let God down.  People often experience this type of healthy fear if they don’t want to let down a parent, friend, teacher, or mentor.  The two men go on to talk about how, when we live out of the healthy fear of God, everything just falls into place.

Now, as we all know from discernment, trying to figure out what God is inviting us to trust Him with often involves patiently waiting and letting God come to us.  This can feel like a serious dying to self in our modern world full of Google, microwaves, and two-day shipping; we, or at least I, want everything to fall into place NOW!  As we near the end of the liturgical year and approach Advent, what talents, what pieces of your heart, is God inviting you to give to Him?  Or, just as the master entrusted his talents to his servants, what is God asking you to receive so He can entrust it to you? The answer to both of these questions may be hard to hear, but each answer can also be an important step in growing in our understanding of who God is and who He created us to be.  And, as the Gospel today shows us, if we receive what the Lord is inviting us to, we will get to share in our Master’s joy!

The Trees Call Out

“Who is God for you? Who are you in relationship to this God?” Pondering these questions recently, I savored an image of God that has often stirred my heart in prayer. The image now holds new meaning for me in light of our Dominican charism. 

Trees speak to me of who I am in relationship with God. Trees declare God’s glory by simply being. There they stand, majestic and elegant, rooted in the earth, dancing in the breeze. Their growing upright seems to me a miracle: against the universal force of gravity, they sprout upward and extend their branches toward the sky. Soaking in sunlight, they convert that energy into oxygen, which makes life on this planet possible. Birds rest in their branches, and squirrels nest in their trunks. Millions of micro-organisms spawn among their roots. Trees even communicate and share resources with each other through complex social networks. We humans have only begun to learn about their secret processes of growth and regeneration. 

 

I marvel at the beauty of trees. Like the late poet Mary Oliver, “I would almost say that they save me, and daily.” Her poem “When I am Among the Trees” captures their message: 

 

                        Around me the trees stir in their leaves

                        and call out, “Stay awhile.”

                        The light flows from their branches.

 

                        And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,

                        “and you too have come

                        into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

                        with light, and to shine.”

 

Trees remind me to be still and know that I am loved by God, just as I am. They call me to slow down and contemplate beauty. I want to share God’s delight in the goodness of such creation. Trees tell me to reach out for God, the Source of Life, with all my strength and trust that God will provide. I learn from trees how to nurture others: make sure they have food and shelter and clean air to breathe. Trees teach me about the interdependence of all creatures, including humans; only together can we survive and flourish. 

Leaves Aflame: The gorgeous Japanese maple

 that graces our front yard, filling the chapel window

 

The image of a tree from Scripture provided significant affirmation in my discernment journey. I attended a mission immersion at my congregation’s motherhouse, named St. Mary of the Springs for a freshwater spring on the property. One afternoon, while practicing yoga in my room, I balanced in tree pose: one leg rooting into the earth, the other bent and resting on my standing leg to form a triangle, arms extending upward. As I held the pose, joy and gratitude filled my heart. I sensed that, in this place, I would be blessed “like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruits in season; its leaves never wither” (Ps. 1:3). Planting myself among the Sisters of this community would, I knew, be a life-giving choice.

Holding Tree Pose: This magazine image “chose me” for an exercise 

we did during a day of reflection on art & spirituality

 

Trees also spoke to Catherine of Siena about who we humans are in relationship with God. Catherine introduces the image of the “tree of charity” to explain that a life of virtue and discernment must be grounded in humility and self-knowledge. In the Dialogue, God instructs Catherine:

 

Imagine a circle traced on the ground, and in its center a tree sprouting with a shoot grafted into its side. The tree finds its nourishment in the soil within the expanse of the circle, but uprooted from the soil it would die fruitless. So think of the soul as a tree made for love and living only by love. Indeed, without this divine love, which is true and perfect charity, death would be her fruit instead of life. The circle in which this tree’s root, the soul’s love, must grow is true knowledge of herself, knowledge that is joined to me [God], who like the circle have neither beginning nor end… This knowledge of yourself, and of me within yourself, is grounded in the soil of true humility.[1]

 

Catherine understands that each of us is created by Love and made for love. God encircles me so completely that I cannot come to know myself apart from knowing myself in God and God in me. This is true self-knowledge for Catherine: God is in the soul and the soul is united with God. So planted, the soul-tree blossoms with virtue, bears fruit in grace and blessing, and yields praise to God. God reveals to Catherine, “And so it does what I created it for and comes at last to its goal, to me, everlasting Life.” Catherine sees the Truth of who God is: the Gentle Lover, always already united with us, who draws forth our desire for life.

Preacher of Truth, Female Doctor of the Church: 

A statue in St Catherine’s Casa, Siena (Photo courtesy of Cathy Hilkert, O.P.)

 

Catherine’s beautiful image of the “tree of charity” helps me connect the Dominican charism of Truth with my own experience of who God is for me on this discernment journey.

---

[1] Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, trans. Suzanne Noffke. The Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1980), 41-42.

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY REFLECTION

 As the USA prepares for the coming presidential election, we listen to Donald Trump and Joe Biden share their manifesto with us. What they will do for the people of this nation to improve the economy among many other promises. Could we also go ahead and say today Jesus is sharing with us His manifesto, or perhaps his vision statement?

This vision statement, by name Beatitudes, are statements of grace. To us women and men religious, they are pillars of our vocation.

Moses in the Old Testament received the commands at Mount Sinai and brought them down to the Israelites, they were to be a guide for the Israelites to help them reach the Promised Land. Moses' Law had a negative statement, they were negatively phrased, and they were not affirmative. They started with …."Thou shall not" 

Today we see Jesus as our new Moses who goes to the mountain and speaks to us about the beatitudes/pillars of our vocation. Jesus’ beatitudes are positively phrased. They are declarations of God’s grace. They talk of the present, this kingdom of God is happening now.

These pillars are calling us to be witnesses and hold in prayers those who live in poverty, the innocent victims of shooting and war; the many people mourning lives cut short by the Covid19; those persecuted for their beliefs; those who are facing death penalties; those suffering at the border, etc. We note in today’s Gospel that none of those Jesus names as “blessed” or “happy” are expected or seen as so in the eyes of the world. The poor in spirit, the meek, the persecuted. Jesus' blueprint for happiness reflects little of what the world might call happiness. What the world sees as tragic or empty, Jesus sees as blessed.

Jesus is inviting us to live these pillars as he lived them, for they are the source of true joy, and a vision of where true happiness lies. If we just take a minute to honestly reflect and think about what we term as happiness to us? What gives us fulfillment? What gives us satisfaction?

Jesus, in words and action, lived these virtues of humility, mourning, gentleness, peacefulness name them, and He is encouraging us to live in this spirit of beatitude since it is a life of integrity and honesty, and it is indeed a blessed life.  All who live according to his way of life are – and will be – richly blessed. As we live with difficulties, let us think of the affirmation that Jesus gives to what is fragile, weak, and overlooked in the eyes of the world. May we hear him say, 'We are blessed' to us, because of how we live and respond in His spirit.

These beatitudes are also the “how-to” of sainthood. I believe the Feast Day of All Saints, is intended by the church to honor not only those the church has declared as saints but also to honor the memory of countless unknown and uncanonized Saints who have no feast days. These are our brothers and sisters, our parents, our neighbors and Sisters in our communities that the higher church hierarchy didn’t recognize.

As we celebrate All Saints Day, the church reminds us that the Saints are our role models. They teach us by their lives that Christ’s holy life of love, mercy, and unconditional forgiveness can, with the grace of God and prayer, be lived by ordinary people of all walks of life and at all times.

St. Teresa of Avila says to us, “Recharge your spiritual batteries every day by prayer, namely, listening to God and talking to Him”

May we strive to align ourselves with the pillars of our vocation/beatitudes and whenever we find them difficult, just remember what Matthew says to us today, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” In other words, it’s all worth it in the end.

Photo Ops Take 2

In this months photo ops, we have pictures from when we carved pumpkins and of the "modifications" the squirrels decided to make for us.  Enjoy!

The Before Photos

And after......

Caught in the act!

 What has been cooking in the CDN?   

The last few weeks have seen us celebrate and keep some of the Maryknoll sisters’ festivities. We celebrated Mother Mary Joseph’s anniversary on the 9th of October.

Mother Mary Joseph, the foundress of Maryknoll Sisters was born on October 27, 1882, in Roxbury, Massachusetts as the fourth child in a family of eight siblings. She founded the congregation in1912. As Sister Camilla Kennedy, MM writes in her book, "They were the first American community of women religious devoted exclusively to the worldwide mission of the Catholic Church." 

Mother Mary Joseph died on October 9, 1955, at the age of 73. Her anniversary is celebrated by her sisters wherever they are, thanking God for the woman who shaped them…. It’s because of her that we are! These celebrations were extended to the CDN community this year. Annie Killian did a lovely dessert and I read my favorite stories of Mary Joseph as told by sisters who lived with her. The stories were compiled by Sister Jennie Natividad, MM.

 

                     Community warming up for dessert                        sharing Mother Mary Joseph story

On the feast of St Teresa, we kept the famous tradition of having Ice-Cream Sodas. We at the CDN celebrated with Coke or Gingerale with either chocolate or mint ice-creams. This tradition was first introduced by Mollie when the sisters moved from Hawthorne to Ossining Maryknoll. 

Theresa Baldini, MM, and Madeline McHugh MM write in their book, Mollie's Legacy of Love’, "On October 15, 1915, Mother Mary Joseph started a Maryknoll tradition by celebrating St. Teresa’s Feast Day with ice cream sodas. She secretly set up a soda fountain and booths in the garden, but Margaret Shea, unaccustomed to handling such a large bottle of soda, managed to spray it all over the kitchen before the party started, and another had to be purchased. The soda fountain offered such tempting concoctions as Ningpo Sundae and Chop Suey, with Mary Joseph (a.k.a Mollie by then) and Margaret serving as soda jerks. In what also became a Maryknoll custom, the party was followed by three-legged sack races and dancing. There were birthday parties, plays, picnics, and outings to Rye Beach, where the women went swimming in the tank suits of the time!" 

What a perfect example of service and love for others from Mother Mary Joseph! She reminds me that Joy is found in serving others in the ordinary. It is not how much I give, but how much love I put into giving.

 

The Vows and Exodus

Recently, between class at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) and other formation events, a lot of talk has been happening about the vows (poverty, celibate chastity, obedience).  I am also in an introductory class on the Old Testament at CTU.  The invitation of this year is not simply to gain brain knowledge about what we study, but to develop the life long skill of reflecting on what stands out to us, what challenges us, how topics are related, etc.  As I reflect on dinner table and class discussions, and about the readings from this week, it is the connection between the vows and Exodus that I’m currently reflecting on.

Antonio M. Peria, SVD, says, “The mystical dimension of the evangelical counsels refers to the profession by consecrated persons of God as their only treasure (poverty), their only love (chastity), and their only freedom (obedience).” [1]  But, what the heck does this have to do with Exodus?  Well, in class, we’ve been learning about how the Book of Exodus answers the question “Who is God?” and the above quote, to me anyway, is a very clear answer to “Who is God for those called to religious life?”

In the lessons on the Book of Exodus, I have learned about a powerful, faithful God who is always there; who is always ready to guide His children to safety; and who will not abandon them, no matter the cost.  These all stem from the central fact that God loves us (God is love after all!) and wants to be in relationship with us.  This reality is true for every single person to ever be born, but what does this look like in my life now that I have entered the formation process and am learning what it means to live out the vows?

Part of our study involves looking at what the constitutions of our individual congregations say about the vows.

Before I entered, I had a relationship with God; now that I am in formation, I still have a relationship with God.  God hasn’t changed, and never will, but my state of life clearly has.  With this new state of life (well, state of life trial package since I am still in discernment), my relationship with God should shift, right?  To those in religious life, please correct me if I’m wrong, but the above quote sure seems like a key understanding to the way I am called to understand God’s love, faithfulness, and protection from the viewpoint of a woman religious.  This shift will not take away from what Exodus teaches us about God, or what my relationship with God is currently like, but if I allow it to this shift will help me experience how God takes care of those called to religious life.  Different state = different needs, right?

What exactly will this care, and this growth in my relationship with God, look like?  Only time will tell, but I’m excited to experience it unfolding one grace at a time.

_____

[1] Antonio M. Pernia, SVD, “Interculturality and Leadership in Consecrated Life,” in Engaging Our Diversity: Interculturality and Consecrated Life Today (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2020), 47–61 (54)

Stewarding Gifts of Creation and the Spirit

For Dominicans, the study of Scripture leads us deeper in relationship with God and helps us perceive God’s grace at work in the world. Through prayerful meditation on the Word, we listen for God’s call impelling us to respond to the needs of our times. Every Thursday at the CDN, we devote evening prayer to lectio divina, or sacred reading. Together we read the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday, each of us listening silently and noticing what catches her attention, then reflecting on how God is speaking to her, sharing any insights with the community, and finally concluding with prayer. Last week, my meditation on the Gospel was illuminated by my two courses of study on the New Testament and the Vowed Life.

St Dominic Reading and Meditating on Scripture 

Detail from fresco by Fra Angelico in the Convento di San Marco, Florence, Italy

 

In the Gospel for last Sunday, the 27^th of Ordinary Time, Jesus told the chief priests and elders a parable: a landowner leases a vineyard to some tenants, expecting them to harvest its fruits. The tenants, however, refuse to hand over the produce. Instead, they kill all the servants sent by the owner, and his son as well, hoping to acquire the vineyard for themselves. Clearly, the murderous tenants are a figure for the chief priests, whom Jesus warns, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit” (Mt 21:43). This parable exemplifies the particular vitriol against the religious leaders of Israel characteristic of the Gospel of Matthew (which I just read for class). Jesus condemns them for failing to produce the fruits of God’s Reign: justice, mercy, humility, and righteousness.

 

This parable speaks to me of stewardship, or how we make use of the gifts God has entrusted to us. For the Vowed Life class, we read Pope Francis’ Homily on the 24^th World Day of Consecrated Life (2020). He writes:

 

This is what the eyes of consecrated men and women behold: the grace of God poured into their hands. The consecrated person is one who every day looks at himself or herself and says: “Everything is gift, all is grace.” Dear brothers and sisters, we did not deserve religious life; it is a gift of love that we have received. 

 

As Pope Francis reminds us, religious life points to the truth that everything is God’s gift. Ultimately, human beings cannot claim ownership of anything. All comes from God, who entrusts to us the gifts of Creation and provides us with spiritual gifts for building up the church, tending the earth, and serving one another, especially people on the margins. If God’s gift of love to me is like the vineyard in Matthew's parable, I am prompted to reflect: Am I stewarding this gift responsibly for the sake of God’s Reign, or chasing my own agenda? Am I living in obedience to God’s will, recognizing my absolute dependence on God’s Providence? How is our society called to good stewardship?

 

Perhaps because the Season of Creation ended on Sunday, I then found myself taking the figure of the vineyard more literally. Earth, our common home, belongs to God and produces an abundance. That produce is meant to provide nourishment for all God’s creatures. But throughout humanity’s history of colonial exploitation and imperialism, people have claimed ownership of the land, displacing indigenous peoples and robbing them of their rights. In the Americas, the U.S. government has desecrated tribal land by testing nuclear weapons and leaving behind radioactive waste. Prophetic activists who have advocated for indigenous land rights, like Berta Caceres in Honduras, have been killed by former soldiers trained at the U.S. military’s School of the Americas. Matthew’s parable of the vineyard contains a dangerous message for the murderous tenants in our world today.

“Nuclear Energy” sculpture by Henry Moore, a Chicago landmark commemorating 

the first controlled generation of nuclear power in an experiment by Enrico Fermi and colleagues 

(Photo courtesy of Lorraine Reaume)

 

As we prepare to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day on October 12, I am challenged to reflect on how our church and religious congregations have been complicit in the dispossession and exploitation of tribal lands. As Dominican Sisters committed to preaching God’s Reign of justice and peace, we are called to the work of reconciliation – asking for God’s healing, telling the truth about U.S. colonialism, pursuing justice by making reparations, and envisioning a future in which the land is reverenced and preserved for generations to come. Commissioned to be prophetic preachers, we must denounce any degradation of the earth, and announce the good news that equitable sharing of resources ensures the common good. May we help our world perceive the grace of God, pouring forth abundant life for all.

Every meeting of our Vowed Life class at Catholic Theological Union begins with an acknowledgement 

of Native People and the tribal lands on which the city of Chicago now stands 

 

Photo Ops Take 1

About once a month, instead of a written post, we will be sharing some photos that have been taken throughout the month.  Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to since moving in August 14th.

The yard and library needed some help so we got to work during our first weeks in Chicago.

No longer needing to wear masks in the house = pure joy!

Our first out of the house adventure, after our 2 week quarantine, was to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Spring rolls anyone?

A couple of COVID friendly ways people have welcomed us to the neighborhood.

A papaya, tomato, and cookie car is the only proper way to celebrate Faithmary getting her Illinois drivers license.  We had no doubts but are still proud! 

Labor Day celebrations.

A day of hiking at Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanical Gardens

After a busy week, we thought going out for a picnic was ideal, especially before the cold weather kicks in. We all settled on Lake Katherine. It is located near Palos Height in the suburbs of Chicago. 

Our first stop in the park was at the beautiful human-made waterfall. It looked about 300 feet in length and it joined up with the lake on the east side of the park. The waterfall is a perfect fit with the overall look and flow of the park.

                                                In the background is the human-made waterfall. 

This adventure evoked reflection on how connected we all are; within our inner selves, with each other, Mother Earth and the planet,  awakening of wholeness; that we cannot be separated from the cosmos as much as we cannot be separated from the air we breathe, the ground that we walk on or the food that we eat. How beautiful it would be if we felt this in our hearts and not just understood it at the intellectual level.

Quoting the book ‘Journey of the Universe’ by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, “every time we are drawn to look up into the night sky and reflect on the awesome beauty of the universe, we are actually the universe reflecting on itself, and this changes everything.” We felt blessed to be part of this universe as we looked in awe at the scenic beauty, wildlife, nature trails, and exchanged smiles and hellos from bikers and those whom we shared the same walk trails.

God's touch through the sunrays – perhaps the universe reflecting on itself!

Lake Katherine has a canal that connects to Tomahawk Lake through a lush green forest. However, this canal is not in use since they discovered that Tomahawk Lake is two feet lower than the canal and Lake Katherine. The canal could have been excavated around 1911 to 1922 .….. Very interesting.

The canal connecting Lake Katherine to Tomahawk Lake