As we continue on our Lenten journey with Jesus, we would do well to pay attention to the words of social justice pioneer Catherine Doherty:
“There are ways of being crucified that do not involve rough wood or heavy nails, but a love beyond our capacity to love, which means a love that has been given to us by God…”
As I read these words, I imagined parents living in poverty unable to give their children enough to eat, or living in countries at war unable to protect their children amid the destruction around them, or parents on the move carrying their little ones on their shoulders seeking a better, safer life.
This is a capacity for love that it is hard for us to imagine without being in the dire circumstances of these parents, and yet, we are all called beyond ourselves to care for those on the margins.
St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises invites us to gaze on Jesus crucified and ask ourselves:
- What have I done for Christ?
- What am I doing for Christ?
- What will I do for Christ?"
Jon Sobrino, a Jesuit liberation theologian, sees Jesus’ passion and death, not as a one-time event in history but as an ongoing cycle in the lives of the poor, oppressed and marginalized. He recommends that we gaze on those suffering in our world and ask ourselves those same three questions.
Can we risk asking for this same God-given capacity to love as Jesus showed on his journey and that we witness in so many courageous people in our world today?
Sister Rosemary Fry
Previous Wisdom Wednesdays
- March 16, 2022: Preparing for the Future
- March 9, 2022: What is God Saying?
- March 2, 2022: Ash Wednesday
- February 23, 2022: Living Fully in the Present
- February 16, 2022: How Can I Not Judge?
- February 9, 2022: Centers of Care:
- January 26, 2022: A New Soul
- January 19, 2022: Pray for Unity
- January 12, 2022: Have You Heard the Voice of God?
- January 5, 2022: Epiphany
- November 3, 2021: Fallen Leaves and Saints
- October 20, 2021: All Saints Day & All Souls Day
- October 13, 2021: Blackwater Pond
- October 6, 2021: Death is Not Forever
- September 29, 2021: In Nature
- September 22, 2021: Sleeping in the Forest
- September 15, 2021: Season of Creation
- September 8, 2021: A Sharp Turn in Our Journey
- August 11, 2021: An Invitation From Jesus
- July 21, 2021: Cannonball Moments
- July 14, 2021: Consolation and Desolation
- July 7, 2021: Who is This God You Seek to Serve?
- June 30, 2021: Praying with the Gospel Stories
- June 23, 2021: Walking the Path of Life
- June 16, 2021: A Saint for Strong Willed People
- June 9, 2021: God's Flowing Love
- June 2, 2021: I Will Not Leave You Comfortless
- May 26, 2021: Celebrating Our Beginnings
- May 19, 2021: Before the Cannon Struck
- May 12, 2021: The Fruit of Jesus
- May 5, 2021: A Branch of Jesus
- April 28, 2021: Living One Day at a Time
- April 21, 2021: The Blessing of Pope Francis