Results

Just when we thought things were going well for Mother Theodore “Back Home in Indiana,” things turn sour again with the bishop. I cannot imagine living with that tense and volatile relationship day after day. It must have been disheartening to say the least!

So here we are today with no ashes for our foreheads. Yet it does feel like we are holding a handful of ashes from this past year. We are holding what is left of our lives from this transformation by a pandemic fire. So, I’d like to have us take a moment of quiet to hold in our imaginations these ashes … the experiences of loss, of change, of challenge, of purification, whatever this year has been for you.

“Let us spend some time this week in thinking about how we can more quickly and effectively walk away from situations that present that temptation.”

I usually don’t mind the Lenten season; it’s just that I feel as if we’ve been “doing Lent” for the past year! Sigh!

You are the branches …

With the cold and snowy weather now upon us, raise your cup for all the farmers and workers who brave the elements this winter.

I learned some possible signs of persons who might be in danger: living with the employer, poor living conditions, multiple people in cramped spaces, inability to speak to the individual alone, answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed, the employer is holding identity documents, signs of physical abuse, being unpaid or paid very little.

“Explore a new Lenten tradition that calls to your heart.”

Mother Theodore finally arrives at her beloved Saint Mary-of-the-Woods after being separated for nearly a year.

“Once you learn this information you cannot un-know it.” Both sisters have a better understanding of systemic racism. Both are motivated to pay better attention to the injustice in our legal and prison system. This experience compels them to acknowledge their own racism and what their part is in contributing to racism.

“This week, let us all catch ourselves as we notice a need. Instead of responding in duty, let us freely choose to respond in love.”