Let love be sincere

By: Sr. Shingai Chigwedere

“Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.  (Romans 12:9-13)

As part of my study this semester I am volunteering with Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants (ICDI). I am learning more about how we are welcoming new arrivals who have been displaced from their home countries. At times, our policies seem to contradict each other. For instance, the mayor has closed five shelters and yet a shelter that is known to be unsafe and potentially toxic is still open and housing new arrivals. It is a messy, flawed, inconsistent, and complex process! The need in Chicago is urgent because it is a sanctuary city.  The sanctuary city ordinance states, that this “means that the City will not ask about one’s immigration status, disclose that information to authorities, or, most importantly, deny one City services based on one’s immigration status. Undocumented individuals will be detained by the Chicago Police Department if they are wanted on a criminal warrant by local or federal authorities, if they have been convicted of a serious crime and remain in the United States illegally, or if they are otherwise a clear threat to public safety or national security.” An often overlooked fact is that those being forcibly bused by the Texas Governor are asylum seekers and are thus not undocumented. 

So even with our imperfect systems we can and are trying to provide a welcoming presence one family at a time. Through ICDI we recently assisted an Indigenous (Quechua) family from Ecuador who spoke Spanish. A group of eleven, three adults and eight children from 6 to 15 years of age. We learned that in Ecuador, the family was impoverished and things had gotten so difficult for them that they could no longer afford to buy milk. The adults are siblings and risked their lives on this treacherous and uncertain journey in hopes of a better life for their families. It took them one month, and when they arrived in Chicago from NY by bus they discovered they didn’t have enough resources to get to their final destination, Minneapolis. They were exhausted, hungry, overwhelmed, and uncertain about what to do next.

Fortunately, we had two Spanish speakers in our volunteer group and we were able to get them connected to resources that allowed them to get food, water, shelter and transportation to Minneapolis. These were the parting words from one of the women, “Thank you for all you do for the poor, WE are the poor.” As I reflected on this day with my novice sisters, I wondered how we know we have done enough? After all, we do not have capacity to spend 3-4 hrs or a whole day helping every single family. Once we have provided the basics, at what point do we have to trust the system and let the families be helped by the system, imperfect as it may be? When is something better than nothing? There is no general answer, each situation will be different and the beauty of community is that we can discern together when to move on while at the same time advocating for changes to improve the infrastructure.

Rule of St. Augustine with guest panelists:

Srs. Dulce Aguilar Rodriguez, OP, Ana Gonzalez, OP, and Mary Ann Nelson, OP 

We Dominicans follow the Rule of St. Augustine. As Adom Zumkeller wrote, “The Rule of St. Augustine was written around the year 400 AD. It is the oldest monastic rule that we have today…In spite of its ancient origin, the Rule of St. Augustine endures because it expresses enduring principles and manifests an understanding of the human condition.” It is a short eight chapters and yet is filled with practical ways to approach living in community. I was grateful to hear the lived experience of three of our Dominican Sisters on our Zoom panel as they discussed the Rule of St. Augustine.

Grounded in Acts 4:32-35. St Augustine describes in the rule that while things in community life may not be distributed equally, they are distributed equitably, in accordance with each one’s need. I appreciate the way one sister explained how she lives this. She said, “I have to trust that my congregation is looking at me in a loving way and respecting me and also looking in the same way at my sister who is very different than I am and has different needs.” In chapter six of the Rule, St. Augustine mentions interpersonal conflict, “You should avoid quarrels altogether or else put an end to them as quickly as possible…” A sister affirmed the need to address conflict. She spoke about the importance of lovingly having difficult conversations and leveraging the Dominican practice of disputatio. The ability to listen to each other even though you disagree. Listening so deeply that you can accurately explain the other person’s argument. Love is at the core of these conversations and this is a skill we can use in every aspect of our lives.

 

In-person panel about the vow of consecrated obedience with:

Srs. Jean Keeley, OP, Joanne Delehanty, OP, and Mary Soher, OP

We also had our first in-person panel about the vow of consecrated obedience. Three sisters graced us with their presence and joined us for evening prayer, dinner and a riveting conversation about the vow of obedience. Again, I was grateful to hear how the sisters navigated living this vow and how it has evolved since Vatican II from legalistic to more about discernment and relationship. Obedience was discussed as a freeing way of entering into mutual discerning dialogue, after all the word obey comes from the Latin ob-audire, which means to listen. As Herbert McCabe, OP wrote, “Obedience for us is not a denial of self but a discovery of self. For- to say it again- obedience is not the suppression of our will in favour of someone else’s, it is learning to live in community, in solidarity, which is simply learning to live.” The sisters were candid that it takes self-awareness, humility, and practice to live into this. It does not negate the opportunity to ask questions or voice your concerns or wonderings. These panels are invaluable. They are an interactive way to gain a deeper understanding of how the vows are practically lived.

In addition to study, we have time built in for celebrations. We celebrated another birthday in March. Sr. Teresa has a deep connection and love of St. Martin de Porres. Our local parish pastor allowed us to borrow a life size statue of St. Martin de Porres so we could surprise her for her birthday. The giggles of surprise and joy, the never ending hugging of St. Martin de Porres and the look of awe on her face was priceless! She is also a fan girl of some theologians whom she quotes often. So we made face masks and they showed up to celebrate her birthday. It was a lot of fun! Sr. Teresa was moved and said, “the fact that you know what makes me happy means a lot to me.” It was a great joy and gift to be part of this communal effort to make our sister feel special on her birthday. 

Friday, March 8 was International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also began the US celebration of Catholic Sisters Week, a time to shine a light on the spirituality, mission, and community building of women religious. Thank you to all the sisters who have said yes to this vocational call. May your steadfast faith, consistent acts for justice, sincere love, and joyful witness continue to inspire generations to come to be a living part of writing and telling HerStory.