By Janice Burns-Watson, Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin OH
My favorite Scripture for years now has been Romans 5:3-5:
And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (NRSV).
I love that Pope Francis starts his letter dedicating the year 2025 as Jubilee Year of Hope reminding us that hope does not disappoint us. Throughout this announcement the faithful are reminded to look at the signs of the time for hope. This is not an easy thing to do with the news barraging us constantly with reminders of natural disasters, wars, political unrest and economic woes.
In the midst of all of this, here I sit as a small-town woman, having embarked on a year of novitiate with ICCN in the big city of Chicago, of all places. I have to admit occasionally it has been overwhelming. But at the same time I desire to make the most of this time. Last weekend I chose to attend part of the National Catholic Workers Gathering in the Northern part of the city.
Photo is backdrop for stage at the event.
Sr. Karina Montes-Ayala joined me for the adventure. I was familiar with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, having chosen Dorothy as my confirmation name when I became Catholic, but Kari was “a novice” in this regard as well. The best part of attending this event was the conversation that the two of us had on our way back home. My companion was on fire for social justice and enthralled that there was a segment of the Catholic Church that she fit in with so well, one that took so seriously the call to care for the least of these in a manner that lifts them up and embraces them fully as brother and sister, realizing that they have as much to teach us as we have to give to them. Because indeed suffering is precisely what can lead us to see hope even in the midst of turmoil.
Over and over again during the two months of being part of ICCN we have been reminded that we are all in this together. It doesn’t matter what congregation we are a part of, what country we hail from, what our age is. We are all still God’s children loved and embraced as we are. And this call comes with a challenge to go out and live this love in a way that makes the world a better place for all of us. An important example of this was our attendance at a Nuns on the Bus event, encouraging everyone to vote in this very important election.
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