Community in Dialogue
Topics to blog about were aplenty this month: leaving the
Collaborative Dominican Novitiate in St. Louis, good-byes there and here at the
Mound, hellos, transitions, attending a preaching conference, etc. Then last night (July 1) happened.
We were all asked to listen to and discuss a talk given
by our Prioress, which centered on basic assumptions we hold surrounding our
lives here and on mission. My local
community and I met and had a wonderful, lively discussion that
lasted well over 3 hours! This was on
the heels of lively table discussion earlier that day at lunch with a different
group of Sisters.
I am thrilled for this opportunity and specific
invitation to enter into the very Dominican tradition of dialogue and disputatio, a tradition and practice
that doesn’t end with the close of a day.
Make no mistake, it doesn’t necessarily mean agreement. The dialogue is open-ended, continuing, and
requires a willingness to deeply listen to each other in order to move
forward.
While I am new to religious life, I am not new to
life. I left one that was very good to
me. Last night’s experience, however,
was a reminder of how much community means to me; how much I missed sharing a
life and a common mission with a group of like-minded people. I’m looking forward to moving forward together,
in conversation and in dialogue with each other!
Sr. Kathy Flynn
Sinsinawa, WI
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