World Church - Religious Life

I had the privilege of gathering with 5000 other religious women and men from around the globe at a conference held in Rome for the close of the year of consecrated life, January 28-February 2.
I had traveled to Rome for meetings in the days before the conference, and I stayed with friends just a few blocks from the Vatican, so that made my participation so much easier. I was able to walk to the meetings and come home for lunch breaks. They were also able to get me in "the back way" when we had Mass with the Pope for the closing of the celebration.
The conference began on January 28 with an evening vigil in St. Peter's Basilica. They gave us a 24-page booklet with the prayers, readings and songs. That's a lot of words I thought, but it was really lovely. There were five languages being used, and I could pretty much understand them all ("pretty much" being the operative words). That made participation really rich. There were songs and readings from scripture as well as from founders of various communities. It was lovely and powerful. I saved the booklet to use for my retreat.
Over the days of the conference, we had gatherings for everyone, then smaller gatherings some by type of religious life and some by language. These ranged in quality as you might expect. But there were two presentations that were particularly good. The first was by Nathalie Becquart, a french Xavierian sister. She spoke of the distinctive social realities in which we live and how they impact religious life. In particular, the shift in the relationship of individual and group identities. In the past, more emphasis was placed on conforming to the group identity. Now, there is more emphasis on personal identity and discovering how personal identity fits in the group. For me this is a subtle but important shift in the way we think about vocation and formation. The second presentation that stood out was that of Nicla Spezzati, an ASC sister who works at the Congregation for Religious. She spoke about the present situation of religious life and its challenges. Her analysis was very insightful and I will certainly reflect on it further as I ponder the whole experience.
There were several options for the "Way of Beauty" pilgrimages. I went with the group to the Sistine Chapel. I had never been inside, and it was really impressive. They had sisters giving the tour guide information and it was really quite informative. I also saw a brother from the US with a really nice camera. I asked him to send me his pictures, so I could just enjoy it. The one above is his, not mine. We also had an evening performance by choir, orchestra, ballet dancers and readers. In four movements they traced creation, salvation history, the history of religious life and the present/future of religious life. It was very well done and a powerful experience.
In reflecting on the over-all conference, I think the main thing I take away is the opportunity to share life and prayer with religious women from all over the world. There were men there too, but overwhelmingly, we were women, from every language and nation, people and tongue. The sheer diversity of those giving our one wild wonderful life to this particular path was the greatest gift and the greatest message.
Peace,
Amy

Triad of Communities

There are several intentional community networks forming in my area.
Community - Communities are gathering around the issue of living more simply and sustainably. We share meals, projects, and hopes. We garden. We conserve. We recycle. We share tools and services. We share our hopes and dreams for a more sustainable and equitable society. We also long for justice and tap into the spiritual depths in order to sustain our commitments.
Spirituality - Intentional Christian communities go to the Gospels for the source of our choices. We join together for mutual support in our radical commitment to living the gospel, to prayer and to growing in the love that that was Jesus central message.
Justice - Justice is another focal point. Occupy groups, and justice and peace communities seek to address issues of justice and non-violence in our own community as well as across the globe. We advocate. We hold teach-ins. We occupy. We commit our time, our resources and our lives to making our corner of the globe more just, more peaceful. We also know that part of our commitment to justice is the commitment to live more simply and sustainably, and the commitment to spiritual grounding.


All three groups commit:

• to live in relationship and live lightly on the earth,
• to work for a more just and peaceful society, and
• to live spiritually meaningful lives.

Some of us come to this triad of values through the door of community and sustainability. Some come through the door of justice and peace. Some come through the door of spirituality. But in reality, all three of these values are interconnected and mutually enriching. My life is so greatly enriched by being in these circles.

For me, as we move forward in religious life, I believe we will find our unique place in this triad of communities, in this triad of values. As religious men and women, we bring unique blessings to these communities, and we will also receive their blessings as we journey together.
--Amy

Carbon Fast

The Australian Religious Conference is promoting a Carbon Fast as a Lenten practice. It invites us to make a practical step toward living more sustainably and reducing our carbon footprint.
They have a calendar with a challenge for each day to increase our awareness to simplify our lives.

Christians in various contexts have begun to adapt the tradition of fasting during Lent to help people be more mindful of their impact on creation. Suggested practices include saying "no" to plastic or recycling responsibly, relevant today in view of the recent report that warned there would be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.
As Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, the 10th of February, here are some carbon fast calendars to encourage mindfulness and reflection.
Pope Francis has implored us to prepare for Easter by practicing the works of mercy. These Lenten resources can guide us in pondering and acting with mercy to people and the planet in caring for God’s creation.

Download the calendar here, and begin your Lenten journey to sustainability.

Contemplating the Mystery of Mercy–Giving Voice Retreat, 2016

Over Martin Luther King weekend, fourteen sisters in our 20s and 30s gathered, as a group of us does every year, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in Phoenix, Arizona for a peer led retreat.  Giving Voice, a national organization for sisters under 50, invited us to come together as we contemplated and celebrated Pope Francis’ call to mercy.
Read Sarah Heger's reflection on the experience...

Small Scale Organic Farming is the Answer

A UN report has stated that small scale organic farming is central to the solution to feeding the world's popultion. Read more here....
It strikes me that the same can be said for vocation / formation work. As we move deeper into the 21st Century, we will need small-scale organic vocation formation work.
I often ask myself what will my community look like when my province of 300 sisters becomes a province of 12 sisters. We won't have so many people to be vocation director, ministry coordinator, public relations, etc. We will act more like a family in reaching out to those who may wish to join us. Inviting them into our life will not be a matter of formation houses and formation programs. It will be a matter of inviting them to share our life and to reflect deeply on that experience. Over time, the life itself will be our formation program. We will share prayer, community and ministry. Those who join us will have the opportunity to grow into our life. The formation director will be a companion sister who helps the newcomer to reflect on her experience and to discern her place in community. I look forward to small-scale organic formation.

Re-Imagining Vocation Ministry

The Spirit is very much alive an well in the St. Louis Province as we are in the process of re-imagining vocation ministry. The titles of our various gatherings give an idea of what is happening:

1. Seeding the Future
2. Vocation Dreaming Weekend
3. Brainstorming Vocation / Formation
4. Expanding Circles of Engagement
5. Re-imagining Vocation Ministry

These names give the flavor of the journey we are on. They are all action words and the main actor is the Spirit! The photo at the left shows us at then end of the meeting. One sister remarked "I feel more energized at the end of this meeting than at the beginning - that's a good sign!" We all agreed.

We are at the point of beginning to give form to our Seeding, Dreaming, Brainstorming, Expanding and Re-Imagining. Stay tuned as we continue the journey, and send a prayer our way as we too pray for all those who surround and support in us in this sacred space.

Peace,

Amy

Life on Another Level

I just read the article Life on Another Level from a recent issue of America Magazine. The article described the experience of a person sharing life in a mid-western Cistercian monastery. The writer later shared his experience with his students in a religion class in the high-school where he teaches:

The students see the monks as “hardcore,” not just believing the Gospel but living it. True, the students quickly add that the Gospel can be fully lived in the “regular” world, but they concede that monks take the Gospel to “another level.” Hence “hardcore.” When I tell my students about Brother at the monastery in Iowa they listen. They nod their heads in affirmation. “That’s real,” says one.

This is my experience of religious life today. The key draw of religious life for me to day, and the key thing I want to share with others is an experience of living the gospel in an authentic, "hardcore" way. It gives me the opportunity to share life with others who make this radical choice of evangelical simplicity, celibate chastity and community discernment. We do many things during the day, we pray together. We share meals. We share tasks around the house and we go out for ministry. In some ways we are much like every other committed Christian. But we have the opportunity to share this adventure with others who make the same radical commitment, for a life time.

We have been celebrating a Year of Consecrated Life. For me this has been a year of thanksgiving and of re-commitment. I have the opportunity of participating in the closing of this special year in Rome at the end of January, and into February. There, I will join with hundreds of religious from around the globe to say Amen! Alleluia!

Peace,
Amy