Toward a Spirituality of Justice
Formation Resources:
Social Justice
InFormation 2022 No. 1 : Catholic Sisters Week : Called to Bear Witness, by Romina Sapinoso, SC
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2022 No.1 Spring
"Our Catholic faith and vocation is the DNA imprinted in every cell of our being calling us forth to be life and nourishment for our world. The reading on the works of mercy reminds us of the fruit that we are called to bear as Catholics and as women religious in this world - feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, counsel, comfort, pray. These are all part of who we are. The needs of the world are great in every generation and our DNA calls us to place ourselves in those areas of needs."
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A Spirituality of Reconciliation: Robert Schreiter, a Reconciling Presence in Integrity of Heart
On January 23, the CTU and Precious Blood communities gathererd to remember our colleague Robert J. Schreiter, CPPS at Catholic Theological Union (CTU). His student, Sr. Mi Kyong Hwang, CPPS, offered the following lecture: “A Spirituality of Reconciliation: Robert Schreiter, a Reconciling Presence in Integrity of Heart.”
Formation Resources:
InFormation 2019 No. 3 : Practicing Courageous Hope, by Rhonda Miska, OP
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2019 No.3 Fall
"Christian hope acknowledges reality we can see, humbly acknowledges God sees infinitely more, and chooses to trust that God is always in the business of bringing about new life where we don’t expect it. And then Christian hope is realized in action as we get dirt under our fingernails – planting a seed, pulling a weed, watering a tender shoot."
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InFormation 2019 No. 4 : Starfish, by Gregory Evers, CPPS
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2019 No.4 Winter
"To be signs of courageous hope is to face the reality of brokenness and injustice in our world with compassion, love and mercy. It is to be resilient when times get tough and celebrate when the small victories come along. When we see the sheer number of starfish washed up on our shores, it is easy to become overwhelmed and to question whether what we are doing really makes a difference. But, courageous hope never fades. Like the boy and the starfish, what we do matters to this one."
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InFormation 2019 No. 4 : Faith and Hope : Receiving Others with a Spirit of Sisterhood, by Patricia Murray, BVM
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2019 No.4 Winter
"In a profound way, this makes us more relevant than ever; it places us in communion with the people of our time and place - especially those at the peripheries. While we can be justly proud of past achievements, we also have to acknowledge our past blindness and negligence especially where we failed to protect the most vulnerable among us. We are called to face the future with the same courage and conviction of our founders and foundresses, convinced what matters is our presence and our encounters with the people of today and their needs."
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InFormation 2021 No. 1 : Looking Back to Move Ahead, by Mumbi Kigutha, CPPS
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.1 Spring
"I have talked many times with other younger religious sister friends about how hard it is to have conversations and workshops on racism in religious life. My response has always echoed something along the lines of, 'It is very hard to tell life-long dogooders that they are also complicit in racism and white supremacy.' This is not in an attempt to discount the inordinate amount of social justice reform and progress that religious communities have done, not just in this country but around the world. However, if we are going to stand in the gap when it comes to this issue of racism, we first need to reconcile with God and self."
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InFormation 2021 No. 2 : Celebrating Traditions, Changing the World, by Mary Haddard, RSM
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.2 Summer
"Today, our lives continue to be shaped by a singular commitment to make God’s love known in our suffering world. We believe that each life is sacred; that all share in the common good; and that we have a responsibility to ensure a preferential option for those who are poor and marginalized."
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InFormation 2021 No. 2 : Book Review, Birth of a Movement : Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church, by Julia Walsh, FSPA
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.2 Summer
"Segura’s book is a manifesto, a work of longform journalism and a feminist response to Catholic resistance to the Black Lives Matter movement. A Black Catholic immigrant from the Dominican Republican and resident of Bronx, New York, Segura’s perspective on the Catholic relationship to the Black Lives Matter movement is both personal and informative. She writes with vulnerability and prophetic imagination about how her life experiences uncovered a harsh truth: not all white Catholics value her life."
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InFormation 2021 No. 2 : Book Review, Birth of a Movement : Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church, by Julia Walsh, FSPA
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.2 Summer
"Segura’s book is a manifesto, a work of longform journalism and a feminist response to Catholic resistance to the Black Lives Matter movement. A Black Catholic immigrant from the Dominican Republican and resident of Bronx, New York, Segura’s perspective on the Catholic relationship to the Black Lives Matter movement is both personal and informative. She writes with vulnerability and prophetic imagination about how her life experiences uncovered a harsh truth: not all white Catholics value her life."
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InFormation 2021 No. 3 : Wake Up the World : Living Our Prophetic Witness Through the Eyes of the Poor, by Br. Philip Pinto, CFC
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.3 Fall
"Listen again to Jesus’ words and stories, pay attention to his actions. He is constantly mirroring how he sees God present in our world. And the God he reveals in all of this, is not the God we expect: a powerful, omnipresent, omniscient, Being living elsewhere. It is a God revealed as vulnerable, powerless, fully self-giving; a God of selfless loving. A God who looks at humanity without judging"
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InFormation 2021 No. 4 : Yet, We Arise!, by Fr. Richard Hall, OMI
InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.4 Winter
"Today the First Reading and the Gospel speak of widows and of generosity: Elijah, seeking a piece of cake, and the widow placing two small coins in the basket. I believe that all of us can give examples of generosity from these last two years of this pandemic, when people arose from their normal behavior and routine to help those in need."
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WEBINAR | CAN YOU LET GO OF A GRUDGE? - A SPIRITUALITY OF FORGIVENESS
Based on the recently released book, Can You Let Go of a Grudge? Learn to Forgive and Get on with Your Life (Paulist Press, January 2014) Fr. Desiderio will give a brief overview of the spirituality of forgiveness based on five steps:
- L - Look deeply at what went wrong
- E - Empathy for the other is key
- T - Tell the story differently
- G - Give the gift of forgiveness
- O - One day at a time, keep forgiveness strong.
This webinar will offer practical tools for women and men religious who want to bring peace to persons caught in a web of unreconciled relationships whom they encounter in their various pastoral, administrative, peace and social justice ministries. It will also offer inspiration about living more peaceably with oneself and in community and healing rifts through reconciliation.
Frank Desiderio, C.S.P. has been a parish priest and campus minister (UCLA), a radio and TV producer and, currently, is director of the Paulist Center in Boston. He is the executive producer of the documentary “The Big Question: A Film About Forgiveness” which launched him into a new ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation. Since 2009 he has offered retreats, parish missions and days of recollection on the spirituality of forgiveness. From Victoria, B.C. to Washington D.C. retreatants have said, "this is the best retreat I've ever been on." Participants come away saying; "I have been waiting for this for a long time", "this is exactly the kind of thing the Church should do", "I feel so much lighter", "this is what I needed to heal."
Formation Resources:
WEBINAR | BASICS OF IMMIGRATION LAW FOR RELIGIOUS MEN AND WOMEN
This webinar will provide an overview of the immigration processes available for “religious workers.” In immigration law, the term “religious worker” encompasses men and women, both religious and lay, who serve in various capacities in religious organizations. For purposes of this webinar, we will focus our attention on members of religious institutes. We will cover immigration basics, including R-1 status, R-1 visas, and the permanent residency process. This will include a breakdown of the different regulations for the temporarily-professed and the perpetually-professed members of religious communities. We will also briefly discuss the regulations regarding students visa and visitor visas for missionaries. Finally, we will discuss USCIS site visits, as well as record keeping and best practices for maintaining immigration files.
Megan S. Turngren is an attorney in the Religious Immigration Services division of Catholic Legal Immigration Network (“CLINIC”). Ms. Turngren first came to the immigration field in 2003, and in 2005 began practicing immigration law with one of the best known immigration firms in the United States. In July 2012, she joined CLINIC and started working exclusively with foreign-born religious workers. By utilizing her expertise, Ms. Turngren is able to assist her clients in navigating this complex area of law by offering consultations, advice, and preparation of legal filings of immigration petitions and applications. Currently, she represents more than 35 religious entities, including Catholic Archdioceses, Dioceses, and Religious Communities, as well as over 150 foreign-born religious workers.
Formation Resources:
WEBINAR | HISTORY AND ECCLESIOLOGY OF SEX ABUSE CRISIS
On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 the RFC hosted a Lenten webinar presentation and discussion with Massimo Faggioli, PhD. He gave an overview of his current work on the Catholic Church and sex abuse.
Massimo Faggioli, PhD
Massimo is a church historian and is a current Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University and contributing writer to Commonweal magazine. He has served on the faculty at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota) from 2009 to 2016, where he was the founding director of the Institute for Catholicism and Citizenship (2014-2015).
Formation Resources:
WEBINAR | BEING A SIGN OF COURAGEOUS HOPE: PRACTICING COMPASSIONATE LISTENING
In this webinar, Marianne shares her experience and teaching of a practice called Compassionate Listening. The practice grew out of work facilitated by Leah Green (rooted in the work of Quaker Gene Knudsen Hoffman) with reconciliation leaders on the ground in Israel – Palestine beginning in 1991. The reconciliation work in Israel-Palestine was adapted for peace-building in everyday life and the Compassionate Listening Project began in the U.S. in 1999. Marianne has presented the practice to formation personnel participating in the RFC ForMission Program.
Sister Marianne, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, IN, is Professor of Theology and Philosophy and member of the Core Doctoral Faculty at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. Through teaching and professional affiliation, Marianne, is engaged in efforts to address some of the most critical issues facing today’s global communities – ecumenical and interreligious affairs, interfaith dialogue, cross cultural communications, Catholic social teaching, and care of Earth.
Formation Resources:
WEBINAR | ADVENT: THE INCARNATION OF LOVE
In this webinar Marcelline Koch, OP explores the season of Advent through the lenses of incarnation and solidarity.
Sister Marcelline is a Dominican Sister and directs the Office of Justice for the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, IL. In this capacity, she serves as the Justice Promoter, Co-coordinator of the Springfield Dominican Anti-Racism Team, and liaison for the congregation’s Socially Responsible Investing effort. In March of 2014, she was also named the North American Co-Promoter for Justice for the Dominican Family. It was in this capacity that she was part of a delegation to Iraq in January 2015.
Formation Resources:
WEBINAR | THE COSMIC PASCHAL MYSTERY
Who of us can doubt that we are all glaringly living the paschal mystery? Though the interconnecting consequences of Climate Change, COVID, systemic racism and pervasive violence seem to thrust DYING into the forefront, our faith demands from us the understanding that BIRTH and RESURRECTION are integral elements of the cycle. This session explores how that faith flows from the greater context of the Cosmic Paschal Mystery.
Webinar with Sharon Zayoc, OP
Formation Resources:
WEBINAR | ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS: RECOGNIZING JESUS IN THE JOURNEY OF RACIAL HEALING
A significant component of our charisms as members of religious communities involves being intentional about accompanying those who have been marginalized. In order to do this well, we must consider how past, present and future actions inform the ways we approach issues of justice. Utilizing a lens of racial justice, this webinar will wrestle with the history and lessons of Jesuit slaveholding and the continued need to break down silence and complicity. The session will focus on community approaches to restoration, reconciliation, and mutual transformation.
This webinar will be facilitated by Danielle Harrison, Co-Director of the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project with the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. It will include other staff and collaborators in mission.
Formation Resources:
Transforming Our Individual and Collective Grief and Trauma For the Sake of the World
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) publishes resource for members and others to use in reflecting on grief and trauma.
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Formation Resources:
Resource Manual Volume 4, Part 3, Prophetic Way : Chapter 06
Formation Resources - Resource Manuals - Volume IV
III. Formation for a Prophetic Way of Life
- 3.6. "A Spirituality of Religious Life", Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD
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Resource Manual Volume 4, Part 3, Prophetic Way : Chapter 03
Formation Resources - Resource Manuals - Volume IV
III. Formation for a Prophetic Way of Life
- 3.3. "The Peace Pulpit: Homilies", Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton
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2021 LCWR Assembly Resources
Text and vidoe from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) 2021 Assembly now available.
Theme: The Realm of Transformation: Creating Space for the Future
For resources: https://lcwr.org/2021-lcwr-assembly
Formation Resources:
Wake Up the World: Living Our Prophetic Witness
Veronica Openibo, SHCJ keynote address at the 2021 CMSM Assembly, "Wake Up the World: Living Our Prophetic Witness."