Soul Seeing: Pope Francis' letters are like the soothing hand of a friend who has reached out to heal my wounds and lead me out of a long and barren wasteland.
The spiritual idea of a more perfect union is in jeopardy. How we respond to our nation's brokenness is our challenge, and faith leaders are among those most equipped to take up the call to engagement and healing.
Joan Chittister: The seventh beatitude is all about motives, with the real reason for what I do, which, however good it makes me look on the outside, may indeed be poisonous on the inside.
Joan Chittister: Under the aegis of "defense," we have come to exalt the kind of violence that undermines every layer of our society. But now, one U.S. bishop is waking us up to what the Beatitudes are really all about.
Christine Schenk: If we are to ever emerge from Catholic polarization, it will be through dialogue, respect for differences, and the kind of nonviolent love practiced by New Ways Ministry and so many LGBTQ+ Catholics
Joan Chittister: "Blessed are the merciful," the fifth beatitude contends, "for they shall receive mercy." Jesus says that the kind of mercy we give will be the kind of mercy we get when we need it. Mercy is not an event; it is a way of being in the world.
Christine Schenk: What could better witness the power of an unpredictable God than to raise up a long-awaited Messiah from the least powerful of humans — a child born of an unwed mother? What better witness than a son with no apparent biological father, and therefore no claim to patriarchal privilege?
Joan Chittister: We must allow ourselves to face, to mourn, what is happening to our lives, to our country, to our church. And the Beatitudes are clear: What we ourselves do will be what will "comfort" our mourning.
Months ago, a Catholic women’s group invited me to speak at their luncheon about my work with the Haitian people. My presentation was later canceled. The following is what I had planned to share, as spoken in words that Jesus might have used.
Commentary: Sr. Christine Schenk's review of major U.S. dioceses' websites presents a heartening (though inconclusive) picture of synod events planned by church leaders of both "liberal" and "conservative" persuasions.
Joan Chittister: Without poverty of spirit, simplicity of desire, or contentment with enoughness, there can be no awareness of the riches that come with simply being alive, of being loved and loving earth and all in return.
Book Review: In a new book, theologians reflect on the prophetic work of Carmelite Sr. Constance FitzGerald. They address the connections of her writing on impasse and the dark night of the soul with our current crises, including white supremacy and climate change.
Joan Chittister: In a world of warring tribes and ever larger bombs and the displacement of thousands, how could "blessed are the meek" possibly have real meaning for us in this day and age? I'll tell you.
Commentary: I had the opportunity to join the 20th anniversary memorial of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a victim of a hate crime killing after Sept. 11. It was at the memorial that I learned of the Sikh commitment to revolutionary love.
Simply Spirit: More than 420 Catholics from all over the world gathered in an online event to celebrate Ludmila Javorova, who courageously served the underground church in communist Czechoslovakia as an ordained priest.
The renewal of the United States depends, Jesus' declaration of the Beatitudes implies, on us, on our own integration of these values in life — regardless of the system we see being bent out of shape or the toxic individualism that is poisoning it.
Simply Spirit: As one who often cannot find herself in the masculine pronouns of today's liturgical offerings, I am profoundly grateful for Wil Gafney's rendition of texts I have loved since childhood.
From Where I Stand: In 2020, common good, the general welfare, collapsed in the United States. Many lost their rights to life while others crowed their freedom to do whatever they pleased in the name of "Americanism."
Simply Spirit: On her feast day, I want to reflect on something St. Mary of Magdala might find puzzling: What is the big deal about recognizing women's leadership in today's Catholic faith communities?
From Where I Stand: Benedictinism is about the essence of the Rule of St. Benedict and its place in the culture and in the soul of humanity, now. That's what Patrick Henry preserves for us in his upcoming book on Benedictinism.
