The invitation offered by Centering prayer to use a word, object, song, etc. “when engaged with thoughts” in order to reaffirm openness to God is NOT meant to direct us not to think – this would be impossible! When you settle into a Centering Prayer period, thoughts will come, and in many cases, are vessels of grace, even as we don’t engage them. Recognizing that...
Where are you on the digital divide? Like it or not, the digital age is here. You have learned to use the computer and the internet or someone else is doing it for you. Without your “smart” phone, tablet or computer, you miss out on a range of information, educational, employment and communication avenues. Imagine what it must be like for those without financial resources, knowledge or the infrastructure to be part of the digital age. According to the St. Louis Digital Divide Report...
As we turn our focus to the ever new and ever-present joys of the Resurrection, the MMOC Contemplative Core Team (CCT) wishes to offer a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who attended either part of our Lenten program! We have been pleased to hear from so many how the Spirit used these outings to deepen your relationship with ...
Did you know that, according to the American Immigration Council, immigrants make up 5 percent of the labor force in Missouri and are important in a range of industries? 25 percent of immigrant workers are in life, physical, and social science occupations with approximately 44 thousand in healthcare, social assistance, accommodation, and food service jobs. Undocumented immigrants comprised 2 percent of Missouri’s workforce in 2016. Immigrant-led households paid $1.9 billion in...
Did you know that immigrant children ( defined as all children of all immigrants—refugees, asylum seekers, recipients of DACA or of special temporary status, unaccompanied minors, and first generation Americans who are US citizens by birth living anywhere in the US) represent 19.6 million children, nearly 25% of all children living ...
Did you know that the wait time for a green card allowing legal entry into the US was nearly twice as long in 2018 than in 1991 ( when quotas were first implemented)? According to data from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, the share of those waiting more than a decade increased nearly tenfold, and many immigrants already wait more than 20 years because of the quota system. The US ranks in...
Fr. Richard Rohr here suggests a practice for allowing to “die” those parts of our false, passing selves whose time has passed: At the end of [World War II], some Japanese communities had the wisdom to understand that many of their . . . . veterans’ only identity for their formative years had been as a “loyal soldier” to their country, but now they needed ...