Prisms
Prisms: A Reflection by the editor Michael Harter SJ
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Unique Approaches
A Tale of Two Scandals: Cornelia Connelly as Nouvelle Héloïse
Barbara Newman tells the remarkably similar stories of two married women who lived six centuries apart, became nuns and then abbesses only through the instigation of their husbands, suffered considerably, and faced numerous canonical difficulties in the founding of their orders. Barbara Newman is professor of English, Religion, and Classics at Northwestern University. Her email is bjnewman@northwestern.edu
Excerpts: "Before the end of her novitiate, Cornelia Connelly, American wife and mother of three, became the first English monastic foundress in two hundred years. . . Where Heloise saw opposition Cornelia saw conjunction. . . . Abelard's rule for Heloise is so ambivalent as to be unworkable."
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Building Community
The Hum of Being: Spirituality for Leadership
Beatrice M. Eichten OSF describes the ministry of community leadership as pilgrmiage and explores the various spiritual realizations that flow from it—such as the openness to Spirit that comes through moments of emptiness and detachment, and the gifts of loving and being loved. Sister Beatrice is community minister/president of the Francican Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota. <beichten@fslf.org>
Excerpts: "Being quiet and present is a critical discipline as we deal with the siren lure of daily demands and issues inherent in congregational leadership. . . . Conversion is a life-long project of committing one's whole life to God."
Architecture and Religious Life
Thomas A. Krosnicki SVD discusses the impact that the architectural design of buildings—in particular community residences—can have to the benefit of religious life and those that touch by their life and ministry. He resides in Washington D.C. His email is <tak6099@aol.com>
Excerpts: "One hopes that we religious have better images of ourselves that these buildings project. . . Some artist stated that "small rooms beget small ideas. . . .The physical environment does influence the persons who occupy the building."
Focus on Joseph
Be Saints: Pathway to a Holy Life
Joel Giallanza CSC gathers wisdom fro St. André Bessette, whose name is forever linked to that of St. Joseph because of their obvious similarities. Both were simple laborers through whom God chose to do extraordinary things; both knew poverty and sufering; both experienced exile. Above all, both point our a pathway to holiness because they remained faithful to whatever God asked of them. He is the administrative assistant to the provincial of the South West Province of the Holy Cross Brothers. His email is <jtsgial@aol.com>
Excerpt: "True holiness in enduring and accessible. . . Prayer may not be so much about changing the world around us as it is about changing our perspective on that world. . . The priorities for the spiritual life were more closely related to humility and faith than to any healing."
St. Joseph in Focus: Husband of Mary and Guardian of Jesus
John M. Samaha SM reminds us why we honor St. Joseph by giving us a simple portrait of the quiet, often overlooked member of the Holy Family. Brother John writes from the Marianist Center in Cupertino, California. His email is <mariaduce@alo.com>
Excerpts: "While we know that Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus, Luke, in the gospel account about Jesus being lost in the temple, has Mary say to Jesus: 'Son, your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow.'. . .Joseph played an important role as Jesus 'grew in wisdom, age, and grace before God and men.'"
Potpourri
Lighting Our Modern Spirit: Pope John Paul II's Luminous Mysteries
Carey Ellen Walsh explores the theology and the spiritual gift of John Paul II's meditation on the rosary in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. She focuses on how one of John Paul II's most intimate reflections tends to teh humger in our souls. Carey Ellen is a Benedictine Oblate of St. Meinrad's and teaches theology at Villanova University. Her email is <carey.walsh@villanova.edu>
Excerpts: " Theology was no abstraction with this pope. He used it to electrify and empower his hearers. . . . The twenty mysteries of the rosary are key depth moments in the gospels where Christ's divinity is glimpsed. . . . By teaching us to walk a pilgrimage again—of for the first time—John Paul II tends to the hunger in our souls. . . . The rosary sustains liturgy it does not compete with it."
Multiple Sclerosis: A Gift
Marian D. Frantz IHM reflects on how2 she has coped with multiple sclerosis and, in spite of the physical challenges and fears that accompany it, has come to understand it as a gift. Sister Marian is a spiritual director who has served as delegate for Religious in the Dioceses of Camden, New Jersey, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Her email is <srmarianfrantz@aol.com>
Excerpts: " I am learning how to live in God's time, in his presence in my own heart, and in the loving acts of others."
Cremation: A Path to Protect Holy Mother Earth
Brian Jordan OFM calls us to rethink our attitudes and practices about how we remember our loved ones through burial or cremation and to develop an attitude of reverence for "Holy Mother Earth" in the process. Father Jordan resides at Holy Name Church in New York City. His email is <stftheborder@aol.com>
Excerpts: "Cremation shows respect for the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and is in keeping with belief in the Resurrection. . . . An alternative to consider is the donation of one's body to a medical school."
Departments
Scripture Scope: The Bible and the Liturgy
Eugene Hensell OSB continues his Scripture essays, a regular feature of each issue of Review for Religious. Fr. Hensell travels about giving retreats and workshops his home is at St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. His email is: <ehensell@saintmeinrad.edu>.
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Poetry
Palimpsest, byBonnie Thurston– 70.4.363
Approaching Fall,by Patricial Schnapp RSM – 70.4.385
Imagining the Journey by Chris Hoellhoffer IHM – 70.4.403
Surprise Visit, by Teresa Burleson– 70.4.407
Just One of Those Days, by Mary Jane Higgins RSM– 70.4.425
Boys of Summer, by Chet Corey– 70.4.432
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Book • Shelf • Life
Mini book reviews by Rosemary Jermann
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