Letter on Peace

We chose "Peace" as our theme for this catalog in early June. Little did I know the situation I would find myself in, sitting down to write this letter months later.

 I often say when I am introducing myself in spiritual settings that after my parents, I was raised by the Franciscan sisters of Rochester, Minnesota. Teachings on and symbols of peace, especially from interfaith and multifaith perspectives pervaded the spirituality of my youth. As I grew into adulthood, peace became the primary organizing value of my life and work.

Peace requires building. Peace requires effort and energy, strength and flexibility. Peace requires honesty, healing and forgiveness. Saint Francis took the call to rebuild God's church out of the rubble literally, and did so, but the deeper, more valuable work involved rebuilding people (himself included) spiritually. As it did for Francis, the call to become instruments of a peace beyond ourselves often comes during times of war and conflict. Precisely when we least want to be peacebuilders is when we most desperately need it as a human community and for our shared home.

Although I was raised by Rochester Franciscans, the desire for peace reigns high in the hearts and minds of the CSJ sisters as well. When I was hired in 2021, a video was in production for the Year of St. Joseph. The video features many ministries and ends with a series of sisters who responded to the prompt on a white board, "what do you most want for the world?"  I knew that I had found another home here as most of the sisters' responses expressed some version a desire for peace for people and our beloved planet.

Living as co-creators of peace serves as the fundamental value and the goal of the Wisdom we seek. Wisdom that has the power to pervade our inner lives, homes, workplaces and community organizations as it embodies a just, equitable peace and an integrated, wholistic spirituality. 

 Let each of us, as we are inspired, wish, pray and act for peace.