THE LAST TIME I spoke with Sr Mary David, a member of the Benedictine community of St Cecilia’s Abbey on the Isle of Wight, she told me how she had prayed in 2010 for my recovery from a cancer that is fatal more often than not. She had insisted that God show me mercy.
"All my services aim at expressing my deep gratitude to Catholic nuns who have helped improve the material and spiritual life of our ethnic communities for decades," he said. Supporters of the Holy Cross nuns offer education scholarships to children and, as a result, many become teachers at local public schools.
The Franciscan friar and spiritual writer Richard Rohr discusses his new book, his recent illnesses and the prospects for reform in the Catholic Church. And What’s next for you, Richard?
"Education is often accused of inciting people to understand their rights, to be capable of organising themselves to ensure their human rights. "If that's a crime, then yes, I'm guilty. As a member of a Catholic order my life's been dedicated to human and Christian education."
India will soon have a new saint after Kerala-born nun Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan was cleared for canonization by the Vatican. Pope Francis has authorized the Congregation for the Cause of Saints to publish a decree recognizing a miracle through the intercession of the nun, the Vatican announced on Feb. 13.
On December 26th, 2018, the family of art and the family of faith lost a cherished member. Sr. Wendy Beckett, aged 88, famed art critic, committed woman of faith, and nurturing friend to many, died.
Others will write of Sister Wendy Beckett, who found fame in the 1990s with her popular TV documentaries, as an art critic and public figure. This is a tribute to a woman for whom God was her very life. Born in South Africa, Sr Wendy joined the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, a teaching order, in 1947 at the age of 16.
Jesuits are called upon to offer themselves to others and "take care of the world that God loves." Jesuits are called upon to live on the outskirts, in delicate situations, and "in the deserts of humanity." They may find themselves "like a lamb among wolves, but they must not battle the wolves, they must only be a lamb," never becoming like the wolves, so that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will know "where his lamb is."
The Nuns & Nones origin story is almost disappointingly practical. In 2016 Santa Fe-based minister Wayne Muller visited retreat centers of women religious in the Midwest shortly after he led a retreat for 25 Millennials involved in social justice work—a growing group of young adults who considered themselves spiritually oriented but not affiliated with a specific religion (aka “Nones”)
The Tibhirine monks as well as Bishop Pierre Claverie and eleven other Catholic religious were killed during Algeria's 'dark decade'. Ultimately, it was decided to hold the event in Oran, the city of Bishop Claverie at the time of his assassination on Aug. 1, 1996.
Sister Gloria, the sixth of nine children, has dedicated her life to serving God and healing the hearts of people suffering various forms of psychological distress in this Muslim-majority South Asian nation.
Pope provides precise guidelines regarding practical and spiritual aspects pertaining to founding and running of monasteries for contemplative nuns. The document, Cor Orans ("Praying Heart") is a follow-up instruction on implementing Pope Francis' 2016 document Vultum Dei Quaerere ("Seeking the Face of God"). These documents safeguard the identity and mission of contemplative nuns.
Sister Imelda, made MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, is a key ally in Her Majesty’s Government’s campaign to eradicate modern slavery. She is joined by the prominent Catholic, James (Jimmy) Burns, who was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to UK and Spain relations.
Much like the Poor Clare Colettine nuns, other traditionally monastic and cloistered communities are reevaluating the role that social media and technology play within their walls. While some communities have been active on the internet since its existence, others are just starting their foray into Facebook and Twitter. And as with other technological changes, communities are again being asked to consider where society ends and the cloister begins.
Bishop Karotemprel, who founded the congregation in 1989, said the nuns have helped "thousands of voiceless domestic workers" like Asharf to find "their place and value in their families and society." The 84-year-old bishop said he founded the congregation to help poor women in what was a newly developing diocese. "Thousands of people were living in the slums.
A congregation of nuns in central Vietnam has started a jubilee year to mark its efforts in bearing witness to Catholicism and serving the poor for 300 years. Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh of Hue celebrated at the opening Mass on March 21 to mark the 300th anniversary of the establishment of Lovers of the Holy Cross congregation in Hue.
Her assassin Singh also attended the Mass and special prayers for her beatification. He now leads the life of a farmer after serving a prison term. He has publicly expressed his repentance for the crime, seeking forgiveness from the nun's family.
May we never look at the screen of our cellphone more than the eyes of our brothers or sisters, or focus more on our software than on the Lord. For whenever we put our own projects, methods and organization at the centre, consecrated life stops being attractive; it no longer speaks to others; it no longer flourishes because it forgets its very foundations, its very roots.
The newest religious community in the UK has just received the keys to its very first convent – a converted barn complex near Dereham in Mid Norfolk. The Community of Our Lady of Walsingham began life in 2004 in the Slipper Chapel at Walsingham. It grew out of a London vocations group that began in 1999, then became a discernment community called Cornerstone, housed in Whitechapel by the late Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
“Music can be sacred, but it can also be simply human - which is also sacred, just in a less explicit way with lyrics and themes,” Brother Timothy Danaher, one of the vocalists, told Catholic News Agency in an interview with four of the band members. “The New Evangelization needs all kinds of music, both the sacred and the human, to get the attention of people going about their daily lives.”
