History in the Making

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk.

Martin walked so Barack could run.

Barack ran so our children will fly."

Source: Unknown (Overheard during the 2008 Presidential Campaign)

The Invitation Still Awaits You...

As I recently posted, the Sisters of Christian Charity (U.S. Eastern Province) are hosting a Discernment Retreat the weekend of January 9-11, 2009. To help foster a broader understanding of the charism, ministry, prayer life, and community of the Sisters of Christian Charity, check out this brief online video. For more information about the Discernment Retreat or other vocation-oriented events, click here or visit the Province's website.

Social Justice Matter: Congo

In case you are not already aware, I want to bring to your attention a pressing social justice/global human rights issue, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

YouTube has a brief informational video, entitled "Congo Emergency."

The video, "Congo Emergency," is located here and includes the following description:

In November 2008 representatives of missionary Congregations working in North Kivu and its outlying zones met at the headquarters of the International Union of Superiors General in Rome, Italy to discuss what could be done about the situation. About 100 men and women religious, as well as representatives of other non-governmental organizations working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, participated in the meeting which set up an intercongregational committee entitled, Congo Emergency. The committee has been asked to gather and centralize information, requests for aid, news and initiatives pertaining to the Kivu
crisis and above all to draw up a unified strategy that will enable the missionary institutes present in the area to work together to help alleviate the desperate situation of the people.

Click here to access both the video and related information. The situation there is quite bad. According to reports from a number of diverse sources, women and girl children are being subject to rape as a "strategy of war" and doctors who treat rape victims are subject to persecution and violence.

Celebrating the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God

As we celebrate the arrival of the New Year, today is also the feast of Mary, the Mother of God. "Theotokos," the God bearer, is the most common image associated with this feast. The image of "Theotokos" is familiar: the focus is on Mary's birthing of Jesus, her bringing him into (human) being and giving him to the world. We are all called, by virtue of our common baptism, to be "Theotokos" in our world today, to bear Christ, to carry Christ to all of God's people. The call is sacred and should not be minimized or ignored. But the feast of Mary, the Mother of God also calls us to focus on Mary's mothering of God beyond Jesus' birth in a humble stable. Today's feast asks us to contemplate and respond to the call to care for Christ in the most ordinary yet most meaningful everyday ways. For me, this invitation calls me to reflect on and respond more meaningfully to the numerous opportunities in daily life to mother Christ, not in disempowering or condescending ways but in ways that lift up, empower, and allow Jesus to be more fully known and loved. The call to mother Christ is a call to make Christ available and be available to Christ in God's many faces, voices, and presences: to care for Christ by caring for all of God's people and creation.

2009

... Love and joy

come to you,

and to you glad tidings, too!

And God bless you and send you a happy new year,

and God send you a happy new year!

(excerptedfrom the English Christmas Carol, "Here We Come A'Wassailing")