What's Happening

June 2, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Elise García, OP, in an article for The National Catholic Reporter, proposes that people of Earth undergo a “profound transformation” as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic rather than returning to normal. A General Councilor for the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Sister Elise notes the inequalities that left the African-American population disproportionately susceptible to the virus and the ecological degradation that endangers our planet. The human species is called to a profound transformation,” a spiritual call to awaken to the sacredness, interdependence, and interconnectedness of all life.” Read Sister Elise’s article on our call to transformation.

May 13, 2020, Maywood, Illinois – The COVID-19 pandemic turned the disciplines of Lent into mandates as the coronavirus forced the entire world to practice isolation and separation and face their fears. That is one aspect of a reflection written by Sister Xiomara Méndez-Hernández, OP, a hospital chaplain at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. She writes of the suffering that patients – whether or not they had the virus – endured while isolated in the hospital and of the fear that all of the hospital staff face. “For us, the hospital was the place where Lent was practiced every moment,” she writes, but concludes by encouraging readers to take on the hope of Easter.

Read Sister Xiomara’s reflection on life during the pandemic in the newsletter of Giving Voice, a national, peer-led association for younger women religious. Sister Xiomara serves in leadership of Giving Voice as a member of its Core Team.