A Soul Map

I often find unexpected spiritual inspiration in the world around me, even in something as seemingly mundane as a commercial tagline. Recently, Mazda Motors’ simple phrase, “Move and be moved,” struck a chord with me.  Four simple words promoted a fresh reflection on our community’s current congregational direction statement: “Moving with Love.”

Let me offer its wording to you before I continue sharing my thoughts.

“Moving With Love”
Immersed in Life and Love
we embrace this moment of possibility
as a graced path to Transformation.
Listening to God, to the universe, to the world’s pulse,
we trust that healing and whole-making energies

are released in ourselves and the planet,

as we commit to valuing diversity
in our witnessing, listening and discerning,
everyday caring and conversing,
our partnering and advocating,
risk-taking and justice-making.

Direction Statement: Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, 2021-2025

It has been my experience that each of our congregational direction statements, like this one, always seem to carry a quality of the now and the not yet. “Moving With Love” is not only a declaration of our mission but beckons us forward on a communal and personal journey. Words committing us to embark on a sacred walk that is evolving, always in progress, and never quite complete.

Personally, the phrases of Moving with Love, have become more than just a directional guide for our community, they have become a soul map and a spiritual checklist for me. Moving With Love invites me to assess the manner in which I move through this world.

Am I tuned into the pulse of God?

 Am I listening to others deeply today?

Where have I witnessed the sacred in the ordinary?

  Am I risk-taking and justice-making?

Not rhetorical questions, but daily invitations to live more fully, more lovingly, and more intentionally.

Sure, Mazda likely meant something entirely different when it said, “Move and be moved,” but the Spirit finds ways to speak through all things.

May we continue to move and be moved with love as our map and transformation as our path.

-Sister Nancy Wales, csj

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’
”
— Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

Be Seen. Be Heard. Be part of the Change.

“The act of voting is the most important act a citizen can perform in a democracy.”
— Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer from 1990 to 2007

Many young Canadians, sadly, have not been exercising their right to vote. In the last three federal elections, 2015, 2019, and 2021, voter turnout among eligible voters, ages 18 to 24, has declined. In fact, this age group had the lowest turnout of all voter demographics in the 2021 federal election. These trends are concerning and do not bode well for the future of engaged citizenship.

According to Elections Canada’s 2015 National Youth Survey, many young people feel that their voting will not make a difference. They also believe that the government does not care about their views. On top of that, young voters are often less informed about how to register and vote, and many perceive the process as confusing, difficult or not pertinent to their lives.

Despite this, today’s youth, in this election, form the largest voting bloc in Canada. This gives them a powerful voice and one that politicians cannot afford to ignore. They have the decision-making power to play a decisive role in shaping the next federal government, but only if they show up and cast their ballots.

If you are part of the over-fifty crowd, like me, where more than two-thirds of us typically vote, we have a role to play too. We can encourage first-time and younger voters to make their voices heard by participating in the 2025 federal election.

Let us help our newest, younger voters understand how to register, where and when to vote, and why their participation matters. More than ever this time around the front burner issues, cost of living, housing affordability, and labour and employment concerns directly relate to their days ahead. Let us clearly, kindly message all eligible voters:

Do not sit this one out.
Be heard. Be seen. Be part of the change.

No matter which party you support or who ultimately wins, elections shape our future. Civic participation by voting is one of our most powerful ways to influence what comes next.

 -Sister Nancy Wales, csj

Sources: https://electionsanddemocracy.ca/elections-numbers-0/table-voter-turnout-age-group

https://www.ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025/article/heres-why-young-voters-could-tip-the-federal-election/

 Images: Unsplash/Glen Carrie, Phil Scroggs

An Earth Day Reflection

In the Garden

In the morning

sometimes

there is a mist

that softly,

gently

touches everything

in the garden

and for a moment,

you can feel everything tracing

its connections one to another,

earth, spirit, human

and you know

in the stillness,

all is one….

and even after

the mist is gone

the memory

lingers in the soul

-Sister Linda Gregg, csj

Image: Noah Buscher/Annie Spratt/Unsplash

The Hope of Easter Monday 

As far as holidays go, Easter Monday in Canada is a bit “hit or miss”! The Federal Government lists it as a statutory holiday and some provinces and territories keep it as such, others don’t or it is left to the discretion of employers. When I immigrated to Canada from the U.K. I must confess this was a big surprise and disappointment especially when studying theology at the University of Toronto I found myself having to take exams on Easter Monday! I had been used to Easter Monday as a day of joyful relaxation, of sharing happiness with all. In many countries it is a day marked by festivities with families and friends, a time to take trips, enjoy meals together and, from a Christian perspective, a time for continuation of Easter celebration. 

Once I had recovered from my Easter Monday nostalgia I began to think of the day anew. At the very heart of Easter Monday is the hope-filled news of resurrection – new life and promise as Springtime too unfolds with its gifts. It isn’t simply a continuation of Easter celebrations. Rather, Easter Monday reminds us to move forward in hope. It is a day to celebrate faith and self-giving love, a time for reflection on the promise of life given us in Christ and in the seasons celebrated more widely by all. Easter Monday provides us with a gateway into the long Easter season of joy as we contemplate the transformative potential given in faith in the Paschal Mystery. Even in hard, dead times the memory and rebirth of hope to be rekindled is ever-present. The whole Easter season sends out an invitation to reach toward others, especially those who may be struggling with disillusionment, grief, anxiety and to the decimated Earth. A good question to ask of ourselves is “what difference does resurrection make in my life and in my care for others and in my world perspective”? Perhaps we can say, “it makes all the difference in the world!”  

In a beautiful, albeit sad, poem called, “Easter Monday”, written by poet, Eleanor Farjeon in memory of her friend, Edward Thomas who was killed on Easter Monday, 1917 on a battlefield in France during World War 1, we catch glimpses of still-existent hope. We read of promise beyond the present moment, a restoration of life even in death, resurrection in harsh reality and loss.  The poem reflects a sudden and extreme grief but also echoes magnificently in the final verse, the consolation of the Divine in its images of Easter and the new life of Spring: 

That Easter Monday was a day for praise, 
It was such a lovely morning. 
In our garden we sowed our earliest seeds, 
and in the orchard, the apple bud was ripe.  

May this easter Monday bring seeds of hope and new life to all.  

-Sister Mary Rowell, csj

Images: Unsplash Tim Gouw