What Women Want

I just read an article in our home town newspaper about the uptick in young women choosing religious life. It spoke of a couple of communities of religious women in the United States who are adding considerably to their numbers. One of these communities has a sister who does a blog about her daily life. The article spoke of the popularity of the blog saying that she shares the details of day to day living of a sister including going to bars to enjoy a beer.
Is this what women are really looking for today? There was a time in the not so very distant past that I think young women wanted to see religious life as a more "normal" existence. I'm not sure that is true today. In any case I read such reports and sigh. This is not my life as a sister. I'm not really sure what young women of today are looking for. What I do know is that I found what I was looking for when I came to religious life some 30 years ago. My circumstances were not those of today exactly, but some constants remain. I was looking for a relationship with God that was more than piety. I was looking for a life of faith and dedication I could share. I was looking for a life of meaningful service. I was looking for challenge and peace. I've found it all. If that is what young women of today want, then maybe they should inquire within communities like our Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. I can't presume to know what others out there want. I do know what we have and what we treasure!

Cocoons Can Be Comfortable

The Lord's rising takes many forms doesn't it? I have been taking care of my 94 year old aunt and she fell and broke her hip so I spent Easter beside her bed in the hospital. Times like this allow for lots of reflection and as I listened to the sounds of the hospital on this day of rejoicing I couldn't help but think about the change in life that Jesus experienced and how changes come to us in the most unexpected ways too at times. Jesus' new life was a wonder-full one and it surely is a challenge to see much wonder in the changes we experience in some phases of life, but there is resurrection happening around us. As I leave behind some known qualities and quantities of my life I enter in the newness of another phase of life. Allowing God to lead me into those new phases requires much faith and I watch my aunt knowing that there will be many changes for her that she may not like. I don't always like the changes I face either, but how can I come to know newness without letting go of the old. With her, in hope I say He is risen, alleluia!

Holy Week=Busy Week?

Here we are at Holy Week once again. I love the liturgies of this week--their symbolism and their quality of remembrance. However, I also find myself making this a busy week what with preparations large and small for Easter. There's food to prepare and of course house cleaning. Then there are all the liturgies of the week and preparations for each of them. I'm trying to keep in mind a sentence I heard in a radio interview this past week. A doctor was discussing the time limitations our health care system puts on doctors and he recalled what one of his mentors had said in an emergency room setting. "Don't just do something, stand there!" That is such a good thought for me. I often find myself frantically DOING and not really thinking about what is, or should be behind the doing. I hope that during these holy days I can have the presence of mind to just stand there and ponder what Jesus has done, what Jesus continues to do and what Jesus dreams of doing in our time, in our world, in me!