A Lenten Musing

-
The realization that a Pope’s Lenten message found its way to Time magazine raises interesting musings, and I love it! ‘Fast from indifference and make room in our hearts for the concerns of others, so that we can begin to feast on love.’ What preaching!

There is so much global suffering that I sometimes wish I could close off feelings of heartache for a while. Instead, I simply change the channel. My ministry includes providing job counseling to those who are struggling, including women and men currently incarcerated. Their faces and stories live in my heart. In a country that incarcerates more people than any other country in the world and more men of color than any other group, I wonder why more hearts don’t ache from the stories and their concerns.

Mass incarceration is a social justice issue – a human rights issue – that demands our attention, prayer and action. As a society, we cannot afford disillusionment, indifference, or to choose blindness to injustice and suffering.

Can we fast from indifference and make room in our hearts for another Lenten prayer; a prayer of concern for more inclusion in our caring, love… and a future that includes freedom for us all?

Tanya Williams, OP
St. Louis Park, MN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HOME

-
Image
  I am fortunate to have an iPhone and I use the maps feature regularly when I travel to different places. What I like best is that on my return journey all I need to do is hit the HOME button and  no matter where I am it routes me safely home. I’ve been thinking about the significance of HOME lately especially as I and so many of our sisters have recently moved and settled into new spaces.  Can you find yourself at home in the gift of this day? Do you find yourself at home in your heart? I have returned to live at Sinsinawa mound and feel deeply at home. It is the space from which our sisters are sent out on mission and to which they return for their final resting place. I think of all who have been forced or bombed out of their homes. All the millions of displaced people searching for a place to call home, all the unhomed peopled on our own city streets especially veterans and those with mental health problems who have no place to call home. How am I called to respond o...
Read more

Reflecting - Retirement & Moving

-
Image
    When Sisters began composing reflections for the Vocation Blog, those of us who volunteered to write were challenged to tell the story of what is happening in our everyday lives as Sisters.  So, here is what is going on with me now.    On June 30, I retired from my ministry of providing administrative support for the Prioress and Leadership Council.  In addition, sometime in August, I will be moving from my current residence in East Dubuque to be in community with a group of our Sisters at Chapel Garden in Milwaukee.   There have been some gatherings of Sisters and our staff at the Mound to mark the events for which I am very grateful.  However, needless to say, the angst I am feeling in the midst of two rather significant changes in my everyday life is quite daunting. God and I are conversing about this whole scenario, and I’ve also found having dialogues with other Sisters has been very helpful, reassuring, and comforting.  I am so grat...
Read more

A Flat Tire--A Blessing?

-
Image
On the way home from grocery shopping I had a flat tire and had to pull over on the shoulder of a ramp.  Needless to say, this was a scary experience with all the cars whizzing by--a two-lane ramp that was now a one-lane ramp. After calling AAA I got out of the car afraid my car could be hit.  A man stopped and wanted to know if he could help. Another got out of his car and helped me to see where the spare tire should be. (There was no spare tire.)  A woman went by and then came back around to see if I was alright.  A woman with a baby stopped and a man who spoke only Spanish stopped.  One man offered to stay with me until AAA arrived, and there were others, too.  All these responses were from total strangers. How blessed I felt!  I was no longer panicky or traumatized.  I was experiencing goodness and the power of kindness and caring. Doesn't that sound like a blessing? Have you ever had the experience of an unwelcome event that became a blessin...
Read more