Category: Ministry of Prophetic Obedience

Transition periods are unpleasant, to say the least. Shifting from what came before to what is to come is often a circuitous path without visible markers. Some transitions are abrupt and bring their own difficulties, but many transitions linger with us. In these slow transitions, we break from the past without quite propelling into the…
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“Optics” seems to be used more and more to describe “how things look,” which is what I guess from the context. Like any jargon, it’s annoying. So I’ll focus on it and find things I like the look of. What about those teachers? I am amazed by statewide teacher actions. Here in Pennsylvania, teachers in wealthy…
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This is a quote from John Allen in Crux, who notes that every twenty years, “the Vatican has felt compelled to issue a major statement on the role of women.” Leave it up to Crux to remind us of Inter Insigniores in 1976 and Ordinatio Sacerdotalis in 1994. This time the major statement has been…
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Sometimes you cannot avoid the image of the Pieta, Mary with the body of her dead son in her arms. That deep, deep sorrow holds onto you as she held onto him. These days we are held in the grip of the tragedy in Parkland, and all those similar tragedies here and around the world.…
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“Winning the battle, losing the war” became the frame for this post at a performance to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Valentine’s Day/Ash Wednesday. Watching this talented family of immigrants perform their traditional music, I realized that the lunar New Year is called “Tet” in Vietnam. The Tet Offensive in 1968 was the turning…
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I am indebted to Simone Campbell for this week’s theme, courtesy of Marian Ronan. In The Georgetown Voice, the ever-revolutionary Campbell “then took audience questions, leading to a profession of her personal ‘heresy,’ her belief that women can and should be ordained. “’Ordination is an extension of baptism, and there are different kinds of baptism……
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The idea behind “Boxing Day” hit me especially hard this year as I thought of us struggling to gain and keep women’s sacred and secular leadership in our Church. A bit of history about the day may strike you, too, with a certain uneasiness. According to Elaine Lemm writing on a website called The Spruce:…
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The following is a preview from the Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary, a project by women priests Jane Via and Nancy Corran that aims to include every significant story about women in the bible, eliminate exclusive language for God and humans, and bring a spectrum of Biblical theologies to readers and communities. Download the complete Advent and Christmas…
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Merriam-Webster users are getting themselves up to date with feminism, the word of the year. Rather than a few linguists deciding on a new and different word every year, the online dictionary can count the number of times people look something up, so this honor is a true reflection of popular interest. Congratulate yourself, feminists!…
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The following is a preview from the Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary, a project by women priests Jane Via and Nancy Corran that aims to include every significant story about women in the bible, eliminate exclusive language for God and humans, and bring a spectrum of Biblical theologies to readers and communities. Advent reflections (below the readings) will…
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