Pause+Pray

Francis once told a cardinal, “The Lord has told me that he wanted to make a new fool of me.” How many of us would boast that we’re idiots?

Think about the words of Mechthild of Magdeburg: “The Holy Spirit is our harpist/And all strings/Which are touched in Love/Must sound.”

While I am often goal-directed, I try to do something each day that neither toils nor spins, that doesn’t accomplish anything, that is simply joyful and fun. I believe God wants us to enjoy.

St. Augustine got a few things right, others spectacularly wrong. But his mother, St. Monica, never gave up on him.

For all the strides that have been made for women’s equality and protection, more work remains to be done. May we continue to amplify the voices and experiences of women everywhere.

As I begin the first months of retirement, I ask myself regularly, “What’s next?” What great thing will God ask of me? In what cause will I be called to invest my time, talent, and treasure?