Search Results for label/Human Rights Day
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Giving thanks to the ash trees on Arbor Day
National Arbor Day, always set for the last Friday in April, is meant to celebrate the importance of trees! As I walk around Saint Mary-of-the-Woods these days amid the limbs and trunks of more than 60 ash trees that have been cut down because of the advance of the Emerald Ash Borer, I feel a need to say thanks, to find a way to acknowledge their importance. Given that the life expectancy of an ash tree ranges from 120 years...
Reflecting on a Palm Sunday tradition
The official name the Church gives to Palm Sunday is “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.” It’s for obvious reasons: We distribute palms in commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and we hear the Passion story read in the Gospel. Growing up, it marked the beginning of several days of church-going … to services that seemed to last a very long time. I liked the procession with the palms, especially when, in California, they were huge fronds that had...
Sister Ann Renee Maxwell
...of humor; she loved to tell jokes, and did you ever hear her cry like a baby? She could also imitate a train sound. We are aware of Sister Ann Renee’s love for bingo and all games of chance, her collection of jewelry of all kinds, her perfectly manicured fingernails — all these very human aspects of her life. But, let us consider how she lived out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in her apostolic life of teaching...
Sister Rose Louise Schafer
Sister Rose Louise Schafer “Who shall find a Providence woman? She is far more precious than jewels.” (Adapted from Proverbs 31:10 by Sister Myra Rodgers, CDP) “Sister Rose Louise was a woman of nobility, the definition of which is human excellence, that which is illustrious, admirable, lofty and distinguished in values, conduct and bearing. As we saw and experienced Sister Rose Louise’s goodness, the dignity in her resonated with our respect and admiration,” said Sister Nancy Reynolds in her commentary...
Thanksgiving: Generosity with justice
...generous justice would include an approach to immigration based on the human dignity of all persons and not built on fear, stereotypes or greed. The list goes on and on … . In other words, we could use this observance of the Thanksgiving holiday to remind ourselves that generosity without justice may not be what Jesus calls us to live. Generosity with justice, it seems to me, connects us to the heart of the message of Jesus. Let us pray...
O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? – Easter 2009
Whenever I stumble upon this passage from 1 Corinthians 15, I have the same knee-jerk reaction: I can go with the victory part; but death does sting. When a loved one dies, sensations of loneliness, loss, grief — sometimes even anger — sting us. Watching the news these past several days, who hasn’t felt the sting of senselessness and helplessness at the slayings of the immigrants of Binghamton, N.Y., and the suicide of the perpetrator? Violence rages across Earth. It...
Sister Joan (Ruth Cecile) Klega
Sister Joan Klega “The winter solstice occurs once a year, when the tilt of Earth’s axis is oriented directly away from the sun, causing the sun to appear to reach its northern-most extreme. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) because at the solstice, the sun stands in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.” (quote by Sister Jan Craven) “A passage happened last Friday evening of...
Sister Frances Finnegan
Sister Frances Finnegan “Consider, I entreat you, that death sports with human calculations. … Let us always have in hand our lamps burning, that we may not be surprised.” (Saint Mother Theodore Guerin) “I can imagine Sister Frances hearing these words with great peace and saying, ‘I am ready.’ She was deeply prayerful, totally committed to her life as a religious, seeking and willing always to do what God wanted her to do,” said Sister Jeanne Knoerle in her commentary...
Easter Transformation in the Christian Life
A reflection by Sister Ruth Eileen Dwyer As the natural world begins to show the first signs of transformation to new life in spring beauty, the followers of Jesus celebrate another transforming event in human history. We move through Lent to the days of Holy Week with their powerful accounts of the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, whose spirit transforms us in our call to witness to Jesus’ ongoing presence in the world. We move from there to...
Sister Mary Helen Neff
...indeed we all do – that perfection – fully developed humanity – is not achieved by our own power. Sister Mary Helen gradually [came] to the realization that perfection was not a matter of her own striving,” shared Sister Alexa. The Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Mary Helen was celebrated April 1, with the Rev. Daniel Hopcus presiding. She is survived by two sisters, Bertha Neff, Indianapolis, and Sister Carolyn Louise Neff, OLVM, Huntington, Ind., and one brother, Anthony....
Many SPs sign Declaration of Life
...evoked by this particular case,” Sister Joan Slobig said. “There are many approaches to the issue, but as people of faith, our position flows out of our belief in the sanctity of human life. With this case, it’s hard to come to terms with the enormity of the violence. To be able to hold to your conviction that killing in any circumstance is wrong challenges our faith at the deepest levels. Yet you know when you sign the Declaration of...
Sister Denise reflection: 2008 Rite of Commitment
General Superior Sister Denise Wilkinson receives the commitments of the new Providence Associates. On Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, 32 candidate-associates made their first commitment as Providence Associates during the Rite of Commitment in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. During the Eucharistic Liturgy, 43 Providence Associates renewed their commitments. The following reflection was given by General Superior Sister Denise Wilkinson. I remember when Sister Mary Alice Zander and the Providence Associate Advisory Group were in the beginning stages of planning...