Compassion is the antidote to the violence and hatred that plagues our world.
Timothy Radcliffe
Happy Father's Day
I look forward to Father’s Day every year. It gives me time to think about the role of father in our lives and the influence that each father has on laying the groundwork for his children in a myriad of ways that will guide them throughout their lives.
Of course, as an example, I turn to thoughts of my own beloved father, now long deceased, and the influence he had on my life and on my siblings. Dad and the other men who I knew as I grew up, cemented my perception and belief of what a father should be. Later in life, I learned that not all fathers were kind and loving as were those during my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. A lack of good male role models can leave its mark on children who suffer from lack of self-esteem, addictions, and a host of other maladies that may be carried through life.
From my earliest years, I knew my father as a kind, gentle, and patient dad. He loved my mother deeply and expressed it in daily acts of kindness. He insisted that we show her love, honor, and obedience. We also learned to respect our elders, and those who visited us in our happy, faith-filled home.
Throughout my childhood, I observed my father teaching by example. We saw his daily cordial conduct, gentle politeness, easy neighbourliness, and the careful dance of when to act and when to desist.
As the years passed and we grew up and took our place in society, new generations arrived. I watch my brothers in action. They treat their wives and children with the same patience, love and kindness that my father portrayed. Suddenly, in this new millennium, another generation, tall and strong, is on the horizon. These lads also exhibit the traits that have been handed down from the generations of our fine forefathers.
How appropriate it is to set aside one special Sunday a year to honor hardworking, fine men who bear the name of Father – or just plain, wonderful DAD.
-Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ
Images: Steve DiMatteo | Unsplash
Weekly Pause and Ponder
On the Road Again
I heard a tagline aired recently in a Fountain Tire commercial: “We’re on this road together.” Are we not more deeply aware that we are travelling on the road of life together? Hourly, we witness in TV-land multiple local, national, and global realities. However, we often experience ourselves as restless travel companions. Frequently, I hear my table companions utter, “I can’t watch the news anymore.” On CPAN, we witness our politicians acting childishly. Oftentimes, we hear truth substituted by lies and half- truths.
Amid the continual global chaos and evolving crises, we struggle with the temptation to pull over and stop. We easily identify with the words penned by the novelist, Oliver Goldsmith,
“Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.”
Perhaps the words of Dag Hammarskjöld set the course for an authentic response to the bombardments of the daily newscasts.
The brilliant diplomat succinctly captures where we discover ourselves wandering. In seven, ordinary words, Hammarskjold profoundly states, “The longest journey is the journey inwards.”
As virtual and emotional globetrotters, bereft of modes of travel, we are left to our own devices. We soon discover ourselves pulled into an inner soul quest. Part of my daily soul quest is to set aside quiet time for dedicated soul searching where I can seek to untangle my thoughts and feelings. This quiet time of self reflection allows me to avoid the temptation to pull over and stop. Instead, I am in a better position, if challenged, to give as Peter says, “a reason for my hope.” (Peter 3:15)
On the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again -Willie Nelson
by Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ
Here Comes Summer
The calendar announces, “Two weeks until summer”, but I’m sure it’s already here. The early rising sun peaks in my window at six a.m., beckoning me to go for a morning walk. The birds are chirping in the leafy trees. Squirrels and chipmunks are jet-propelled as they scamper from tree to tree and best of all, we are having our first outdoor barbecue of the season at noon today! Pull on the well-worn straw hats, slap on some sunscreen, don’t forget your sunglasses. Head toward the beautiful, enclosed garden, lured by the sizzling aroma of burgers on the grill. We’ve been waiting for this summer ritual for months.
Last year, whenever a barbecue sign was posted, it always ended with, “in the dining room”. Rain prevented our backyard party every time. Today will be different; yesterday’s sunny hours said so.
This morning, here I am, preparing to head for our first summer cookout. I pull back the curtains and survey my kingdom. What’s this I see? Heavy clouds fill the sky. I run to check the sign. There I read the fatal words, “in the dining room”. Foiled again. Guess I’ll have to wait until summer begins.
-Sister Jean Moylan, csj