Sisters and friends of the Sisters of IHM share their spiritual reflection.
Truthfully, we are vulnerable at every stage of life, especially during often lonely periods of significant personal losses. What a gift and a need it is to cultivate adult friends whose thoughtful presence shapes our wellbeing, and uplifts our spirits. Trusted companions keep delight in our lives and soften the hurt in our hearts.
Courage is the ability to come through something that has frighted us, and out of that pain and grief, to discover a strength we never realized we have.
Vulnerability is not reserved for the leader. It is a mutual condition that is embraced if lifting the group toward wholeness is the goal.
As pioneer members of the new intercongregational collaborative mission, these sisters are fulfilling a dream shared by each of the three IHM Congregations.
The questions remain: How will we move forward now, living lives of compassion and peace and inclusion? How will we create with our lives a field of healing presence for our beautiful yet wounded world?
We can access this great experience of God’s love through faithfulness to simple practices, ever ancient, ever new: silence, prayer, meditation, contemplation, adoration.
Let this be the time to cross the thresholds before us.
It is my conviction that as the future of religious life emerges, we, sisters cannot cease from witnessing to the Reign of God with imagination, fresh thinking and hope, aware that “any attempt to practice the same spirituality as Jesus would entail learning to speak out boldly as he did—and face the consequences.”
How do we express our anger in
healthy ways, and most importantly, how
do we allow others to express their anger
without feeling intimidated or personally
attacked?
“When I think of Jesus flipping the
tables in the temple, I imagine the chaos that ensued, people furious at him for upsetting the status quo. Yet throughout the gospels, Jesus taught things that made people uncomfortable.”
