Easter this year is a season of sorrow as well as joy for the Church. We rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ. At the same time we grieve because of the spreading revelations of sexual abuse of children by priests, and of bishops who have covered up the crimes. We nod our heads when we [...]
Category Archive for 'Suffering'
When Sister Elizabeth (who was at that time Lieutenant Elizabeth Hillmann) returned from World War II, her post-traumatic stress disorder did not show up right away. It surfaced after she entered the Cenacle, when she was sent to our retreat house in Middletown, Connecticut. There, in order for the sisters to go from one place [...]
Mystical Core
Posted in Emptiness, Emptying, Giving All, Suffering, Union with God on Nov 21st, 2009
The only thing to be done now, now that the waves of our undoing have begun to strike on us, is to contain ourselves. To keep still, and let the wreckage of ourselves go, let everything go, as the wave smashes us, yet keep still, and hold the tiny grain of something that no wave [...]
Who Is Worthy?
Posted in Acceptance, Gratitude, Justice, Suffering on Oct 9th, 2009
Late one afternoon I rode my bicycle to the city hall gardens, where the fountains are enjoyable, and oftentimes the people as well. This particular day, I happened upon Pat Fitzpatrick, a dedicated advocate for the homeless, who was there with his signs. The captions started me thinking about which human needs can rightfully be [...]
Bottled Tears
Posted in Suffering on Feb 6th, 2008
When I was a small child, our milk was delivered in real glass bottles — a fact which divulges my olden-days’ origins. These bottles were recycled by the dairy, and were useful in many ways. When at the age of four or five I would indulge in a bout of inconsolable weeping – sometimes because [...]