“Women are searching, seeking, desiring to be in right relationship. They have a desire to be part of a puzzle bigger than themselves. They want to live the Gospel with other persons who are like-minded. They want to make a difference in the world."
The commitment that Sister Dawn signed on behalf of the Providence Community states, among other points, that the Sisters of Providence are willing “To take up the urgent appeal of Laudato Si’ to listen and respond to the lurings of Providence to attend to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor by making it a community priority.”
So, with little knowledge of the language or the culture, Sister Marilyn traveled to Taiwan. “I really had to learn how to lean on Providence as I began teaching in both the English and English as a Second Language programs there. During my 20-some years there, however, I had some of my happiest years in ministry.”
As a student in Sisters of Providence schools, I remember seeing the image in our classrooms.
For many years, Sisters of Providence and friends and Associates have helped lead prayer services with inmates at the Federal Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
It became clear that offering “Come and See” weekends as retreats at Saint Mary-of-the Woods would not work for the time being. So Vocations Director Sister Joni Luna, SP, created “virtual” discernment opportunities.
“We have an obligation to continue to trust our Provident God. It’s a mandate. It’s in our vows. We cannot stay still."
And in the 55 years I have been a Sister of Providence, I have discovered those possibilities have been imaginative and endless.
Even a brief scan of daily headlines describing how immigrants are being treated at the Southern borders of the U.S. can cause a person of faith to cringe and cry out: “What can I do?”
Interculturality – What is it? Why has it become a notion central to many conversations in the Providence community? Why is it key as we continue to evolve as religious in the 21st Century?