November scenes bring hope

We are talking and reading a lot these days about hope, both personally and nationally. Here are three recent things I saw that help feed my hope.

A sunrise--photo taken right from the little patio 

at the end of our residence wing last weekend.

Along the three-story staircase that I walk every day to our 

offices on the 4th floor, the pre-schooler's art 

of local squirrels and acorns is wonderful.

Why are these hydrangea blooming so beautifully in November, albeit red now

instead of their summer color? Who knows, but we are grateful for their beauty!

Looking back, but not really

At the end of this week we will celebrate Mary Lou Kownacki's new book, Everyday Sacred, Everywhere Beauty, (Orbis) a selection of her best blog posts. Here's an excerpt of one from November 2016. It's eerie how true it rings, eight years later. 

 God is trusting in us

November 9, 2016

When I awake each day I say a short prayer.

This morning I had to force every ounce of integrity to pray it. I am heartsick over last night’s national election, in anguish for what this mean-spirited political view will mean for the poor, for women, for refugees, for the sick, for all the vulnerable. I am frightened of what military force we will unleash around the world without an ounce of concern for the unarmed civilians in its wake. And I am fearful that what we really woke up to this morning is the unraveling of the American dream, a country sharply, irrevocably divided about what the Constitution, freedom of press, the Statue of Liberty, and democracy itself mean.

I am also appalled at the misogyny at the base of this election and angry at my church for its deafening silence over a presidential candidate who is disgusting in his treatment of women. But, then, my church is misogynistic, too, and, yes, disgusting in its treatment of women. 

I am also bewildered by my own lack of perception. Who are these people who voted for Trump? Who are these neighbors, board members, co-workers, people that I celebrate weekly liturgy with at the monastery, that I thought I knew? And even liked and considered friends? How did I not know what they really believed and valued? My relationship with them is forever altered and it breaks my heart.

So, it was in deep agony, almost disbelief, that Old Monk forced herself to pray: This is the day our God has made. Let us be rejoice and be glad.––Psalm 118:24

November 17, 2016
Lots of people commented on the last journal entry. Many of you suggested praying and trusting in God. Prayer––yes, of course. I’ve devoted a lot of years to prayer. And so what? For me, there is only one measure for authentic prayer: am I becoming kinder, more tolerant, more courageous, more god-like? I pray to change myself and you can see that’s taking quite a long time. I do not pray to change other people, life’s circumstances, world events or the future.

As I get older, I have a private measuring stick for my own spiritual integrity—do I speak my truth without fear and act on what I believe? That’s all I pray for these days. Of course, I’d like to do it with all the kindness I can muster, but my bottom line is speaking truth to power. It’s the one irrevocable lesson I’ve learned from getting to know Jesus of Nazareth. 

As for trusting in God, I think it’s the reverse. I believe God is trusting in us. God is trusting that in giving us the gift of life, we will bear good fruit. That we who claim to be on a spiritual path will accept our responsibility to co-create the kind of world that God envisioned. It’s up to us, each one of us, to be faithful to God’s trust and do everything in our power to bring in the day when “justice and mercy embrace.”

 

And it continues...

Last week we continued to have "interest" from media outlets. Reuters came and interviewed for a story and ABC posted an interview from their time here. See it  here  This is the URL, if needed:

abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/Nuns-fight-back-false-fraud-allegations-115335038

Meanwhile, life (tries) to go on, highlighted by more beautiful fall weather, mostly mild with colorful scenes throughout our area. 

And right in our backyard, our larch is orange again and displaying its unique fruit orbs. 

CNN, ABC, Washington Post, ErieNewsNow

As they say, " I would never in a million years" have thought that this week would be as exciting as last week. But it was!

St. Scholastica looking over the library courtyard in the fall.

CNN video:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/25/politics/video/nuns-pennsylvania-election-fraud-accusation-digvid

CNN interview at the Mount:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/25/politics/benedictine-sisters-of-erie-pennsylvania-election-fraud-viral/index.html

Erie News Now:

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/2024/10/24/voter-fraud-accusation-erie-benedictine-sisters-deny-cliff-maloney-charge-social-media-x/75820224007/

Washington Post interview:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/23/pennsylvania-republican-voting-nuns-erie/

Kamala and Liz

What a week to live in Erie, PA! On Monday vice-president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris was here and spoke to a crowd of over 9,000 at the Erie Civic Center (to those who know Erie, it's the sports center attached to the Seawolves baseball park on E 9th St.)

Then on Thursday, Liz Cheney was interviewed by Sister Joan Chittister at the Bayfront Convention Center on Presque Isle Bay, sponsored by the Jefferson Education Society. The crowd there was 4,000 a record for the JES.

Many sisters attended, although many were not able to get into see Harris as the Civic Center filled up early. As Steve Scully said to Cheney in his wrap up, "You do know that you're in the swingiest county in the swing state of Pennsylvania, don't you?" She smiled and laughed, as did the audience.

Sister Joan Chittister, former representative and committee member on the January 6, 2021 Select Committee Liz Cheney, and moderator, Erie-native, CSPAN host Steve Scully.

Here's the local news clip on Harris.

Here's a clip on Liz Cheney's visit.

Unexpected pleasures

Last week I took a friend of mine, who is recuperating from surgery, outdoors in her wheelchair every day for a jaunt around our property. The timing was good, as early fall days were still sunny in the afternoons. One of the unexpected pleasures of these hours was the daily variations that we saw, even though we took the same basic path every day.

Here are two of Thursdays sights: the colias plant is an off-shoot of the one I planted last summer. This one grew twice as tall and is flowering! What a delightful surprise.

The second one is not really the bunny per se, but how close it let us come before scampering away. 

In our four-season climate these autumn days are special as we all know that everything we are seeing now will soon be disappearing for a few months, as winter sets in. Hope you're enjoying your October, too.

 

An excerpt from a prayer we are adding to our Evening Prayer everyday  this month.

Prayer for Leadership

Give us, O God, leaders whose hearts are large enough

to match the breadth of our own souls

and give us souls strong enough

to follow leaders of vision and wisdom.

  

Give us the hearts to choose the leaders

who will work with other leaders

to bring safety to the whole world.

 

Give us leaders who lead this nation to virtue

without seeking to impose our kind of virtue

on the virtue of others.

 

Give us a government that provides for the advancement

of this country without taking resources from others

to achieve it.

 

We trust you, Great God, to open our hearts

to learn from those to whom you speak in different tongues

and to respect the life and words

of those to whom you entrusted

the good of other parts of this globe.

 

We beg you, Great God, give us the vision as a people

to know where global leadership truly lies, to pursue it diligently,

to require it to protect human rights for everyone everywhere.

 Amen