Reflections Blog

By Sister Agnes Coveney, OSU Two weeks ago, I saw a photo with a three-year old boy hard at work, mowing the lawn with a play lawnmower. He is turned to face the photographer and it is as if he is saying: Can’t you see, I’m busy! I understand from early childhood experts, my Ursuline Sisters, that children’s play is learning. It’s probably true to say that for children most of their waking and dreaming life is all about learning. Wouldn’t it be something if we grownups also oriented our daily selves largely over to learning from whatever comes along? What [...]

Sister Janet M. Peterworth shares a reflection  in Global Sisters Report on ministering to and counseling victims of the recent flooding in eastern Kentucky, and looking back on her doing the same in Tug Valley in Mingo County, West Virginia after a 1977 500-year flood. "Victims of disasters need to tell their stories. They need to express their feelings to someone who will listen." On April 2, 1977, a so-called 500-year flood raced through the Tug Valley in Mingo County, West Virginia. Five months after the event, when I went there in September as part of an ecumenical team of “disaster [...]

“It is I who bring both death and life,” our loving God reminds us in Deuteronomy 32, but still five states (Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia) have executions scheduled from August to December of 2022. This is the bad news. But the good news is that we have many dedicated people working diligently to bring an end to the death penalty, as those of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) and Death Penalty Action (DPA). Several of DPA have said that their goal is to put themselves out of a job! (And I surely hope they do this…and soon!)  These and [...]

The following is a reflection given by President Jean Anne Zappa, OSU, at the annual Missioning service held on August 5, 2022 in the Motherhouse Chapel. Sisters, Associates and staff were invited to attend. The theme of this year's missioning is "Walk In Faith." “Walk in faith”— is that a command or an invitation? In the readings today, Isaiah is more of an invitation and Romans is more of a command. More later on the readings. When we go to the doctor, or read health articles, we are encouraged to walk—walking is good for your health, walking is good for your [...]

Sister Rita Ann Wigginton, OSU, reflects on her experiences in Peru thirty-five years ago, describing carrying Jesus in the Eucharist to those on the margins in Peru with her fellow Ursuline Sisters. She notes that Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutierrez, OP, was present at a funeral liturgy she attended in Lima. One of the key post-Vatican II leaders in liberation theology, Gutiérrez’s foundational text, Teología de la liberación, perspectivas (1971), reached its 50th anniversary in 2022. For Gutiérrez, a theology of liberation is one that seeks out the relationship between salvation and the historical process of human liberation. This meant a “preferential [...]

The following is a reflection given by Sr. Janet M. Peterworth at St. William Church in Louisville, Kentucky on July 3, 2022. “And the Lord said, go. And I said who me? And he said, yes, you. And I said, but I am not ready yet And there is company coming, and I can't leave the kids, And you know there's no one to take my place. And he said, you're stalling. And the Lord said, go And I said, but I don't want to. And he said, I didn't ask if you wanted to. And I said, listen I'm not [...]

The following was published by Global Sisters Report in a series by guest writers who are Catholic sisters, called The Life. This excerpt was written by Sister Sue Scharfenberger, OSU. An educator, she ministered in rural Mississippi and for the last 42 years has been with the people in the coastal region and the Central Sierra of Peru. Her ministry has been with circles and communities of women around issues of empowerment, nonviolence and leadership. She has served as facilitator for various religious communities in Central and South America and the Caribbean and currently represents her congregation as mission promoter with parents and teachers [...]

By Sister Agnes Coveney, OSU The following is a reflection given by Sister Agnes Coveney, OSU, at Mass on June 2, 2022 in the Motherhouse Chapel on the Ursuline Campus. Here we are on our journey in the 7th week of Easter, between the celebrations of Jesus’ Ascension and his sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. There is something to the times we are living in now, that makes us lean forward toward the enlightenment and wisdom that the Holy Spirit brings to us in Pentecost. As for the times in which we live, it is important to note that [...]

The following is a reflection written by Sister Janet M. Peterworth, OSU, for the third Sunday of Easter, May 1, 2022. “It is something within us that doesn’t let us sleep,that doesn’t let us rest,that won’t stop poundingdeep inside. . . No, brother,it is not the noise in the streetswhich does not let us sleep. . . Join us in this vigiland you will know what it is to dream!Then you will know how marvelous it isto live threatened with Resurrection!” 1 Julia Esquivel These words “threatened with Resurrection,” are the title of a poem written in 1980 by Julia Esquivel, [...]

By Ginny Schaeffer, director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality …love one another as I love you.Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.I have told you these things so that my joy mightbe in you and your joy might be wholly mature. John 15:12, 14:27, 15:11 Jesus was not blind or stupid. Unlike the religious leaders he once busted for not being able to read the signs of the time, Jesus sees the horrific storm that is about to break over him. He has become too popular with the people. He has evaded the traps set [...]

Tandem, an organization founded by twins Arianna and Lorenzo Martinelli of Louisville, matches and facilitates interaction between seniors and high schoolers. They are currently developing an app, Tandem, that will have its third release in April. They state that their mission is to create a safe and accessible environment for high schoolers to benefit from seniors’ mentorship while seniors stay connected with the younger generation. Several Ursuline Sisters of Louisville are participating in the program, and Arianna, a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, was recently honored with the Ursuline Education Network Service Award. The following is her essay submitted to the [...]