Carla Mae's Blog

We have turned our faces to the future. Our June gathering has set the course, and it will not do for us to try to live in the past. But I am going to suggest a quick glance. It is not by chance, I don’t think, that Sister Mary Hortense named her book “Rooted in Hope.” No, I think she identifies something about our community. Yes, our past shows we are women of faith and women of great courageous charity. But most of all, we have been women of hope. I think it is a distinctive quality in our Dominican communal charism. “Providence has guided us in the past, and will continue to guide us in the future.” (Mother Benedicta) Pope Francis reflected on hope during his audiences back in late 2016 and early 2017. I’m going to listen in to what he had to say, and reflect on how this might shed a bit of light on our future. I will share what I learn with you these next months. I begin by reminding us all of the Word from last month: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thank...

After the celebration of the big feasts…Pentecost, Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart…the liturgy introduced us to fact of “being sent out.” The texts were about missioning, about getting on the road. So what does that mean for us “stay at home Christians” who merely take a trip to Walgreens and back? Being missioned is not about milage. It is about presence. We’re missioned to our families, to our jobs, to our neighbors. We are to be Good News for them. That means we are going to bring a message, intentional or not. We are a word…just being present wherever we go. So we may not consider ourselves a missionary, but we are on mission. The people around us are waiting for a good word. First and foremost, we are a word…like it or not, so maybe we can check out how we ourselves are being “worded.” The first word we bring is ourselves. As worded women and men, we are either good news or bad news. We are either in touch with the Word who has taken up residence deep wi...

As we enter more deeply into this post-Easter time, a scripture has caught my attention and it occurred to me that it was spot on as a way to live out our charism/mission statement and focus as a community. It was so challenging that I will post it here and then comment only of the first imperative it offers.   It is found in the first piece of scripture written, the first letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in every situation, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”   1 Thess. 5: 17-18. Paul, who has had an unforgettable encounter with the risen Jesus, is not kidding. But what are we to do with this scripture? I suggest we keep “tasting” it   - like a piece of hard candy, until we get to the raspberry in the middle. That first imperative, “Rejoice always…” makes me want to say, “But this would mean I can’t be moody…I can’t worry…I can’t fear the future…and I do!” Paul, are you telling me th...

W e are deep into ordinary time ...which really isn’t so ordinary after all.  It’s the time for the Paschal Mystery, the mystery of his and our dying and rising rhythm to get strong roots and put out green growth that shows. So what are we looking for? We’re looking for ways to protect our Easter gift of peace. It’s the peace the world can’t give...his kind of peace. But isn’t this like a willow the wisp, daily escaping through our fingers like water? A pipe dream? I no longer think so. Bad things happen. We aren’t going to escape them, and we are wasting our energy if we are trying to so control our lives to try to do so.  How do we meet these ups and downs in his peace? I’ve come to think of these down times like manure. Awful stuff. We don’t keep it in the kitchen. But out in the garden and spread properly, this awful stuff grows marvelous things. Now, no matter how we try, this awful stuff remains awful stuff. We aren’t being Pollyanna here. But this comparison has pr...