Vocations Newsletter

Ilia Delio, OSF, a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC, is Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University and founder of the Center for Christogenesis Her many books include Christ in Evolution, The Emergent Christ, The Unbearable Wholeness of Being, and Birth of a Dancing Star: My Journey from Cradle Catholic to Cyborg Christian. She is editor of the Orbis Books series Catholicity in an Emerging Universe.
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“See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory.”Isaiah 60:2Our faith tells us, and Isaiah does, too: No matter the circumstance of our lives, we are surrounded in God’s glory. May the light of the Lord shine upon you today on the feast of the Epiphany!Please accept my blessings for the New Year, one that we pray brings us deep spiritual renewal and strength for the journey.The new life we crave is born in our call to mission, a reaching out to the entire world in the name of Christ our Savior. The Magi were the first to recognize the Messiah with precious gifts—and signs of humility. Just imagine: three kings honoring an infant born in a stable! In our own way, we are called to acknowledge the blessing of salvation in the Christ Child, and make the Good News known to the ends of the earth.An epiphany, we know, is an insight into the essential meaning of something. An intuition that is undeniable. The Epiphany of Our Lord is all that and more. Today’s feast day acknowledges the divine nature of the Infant Jesus, a…
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“Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.”(Colossians 3:12)The celebrations that surround Christmas have been wonderful—liturgies, caroling, being with family and friends. But I still have to ask myself: What exactly changed? Am I a better person now? Has the Christ Child shown me something I didn’t know before?Today on the feast of the Holy Family we have a lot to contemplate about the role love plays within our families—and the role it plays beyond. We are called to witness God’s love in many spaces: communities, towns, our nation and the world. A single act of courage or kindness is never wasted. Neither is a single act of forgiveness. They can change someone’s life forever—including lives we may never know personally. The circle of love widens at each turn because that’s how love works. That’s how God works. Lessons of love start within our families. When Mary gave birth to the Christ Child, we saw the model of a loving family. Mary and Joseph welcomed Jesus completely even as events clouded their future together. Soon after the arrival of the Magi, they fled home,…
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“Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”(Luke 1:38)Pausing at the words of Luke’s Gospel makes me ask the “What if” question of the day: What indeed if Mary had said “no”?
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