RBWords - Volume 19 - Number 1: January 2006
Something to Think About
It has become a habit with me each year to list my contact information at the top of the first issue of the new volume of RBWORDS. Not only does it give all my readers an opportunity to update their lists (You WILL do that, won’t you?), but it’s also a reminder to me about events that brought me to the place where I am! When I wrote the first issue of last year, 2005, I was still in San Antonio, but I made the announcement that I would be moving here to St. Catharine, KY. The events leading up to that announcement were difficult, as some of you know, but I am happy to say the move has been a good one for me. I never dreamed that I would be living and ministering in Kentucky. God is a God of surprises! If you’d care to see a bit of my ministry, go to www.opkentucky.org or www.sccky.edu . The first of those is the Dominican Motherhouse and the Sansbury Care Center (infirmary). The second is the college where I serve as a chaplain and adjunct instructor in bioethics. All these institutions are on the same campus, where I also live. I am also involved with the Siena Center for Adult Faith Formation which is headquartered here. In addition, I am able to preach occasional parish missions and retreats. So, I live a fairly full life. I welcome guests and hope any of my readers would feel comfortable to come. Although hard experience has taught me to be cautious about predicting how long I will live in any one place, I fervently pray my stay here will be a LONG one.
Although I was not in New Orleans or East Texas/West Louisiana for the two terrible storms, my life was considerably impacted by them through the experiences of friends, Dominican friars/sisters and family. In addition, I became the chaplain for TWO congregations of Dominican Sisters when the Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic, who were headquartered in New Orleans, moved up here to St. Catharine. Since most of them are from South Louisiana or New Orleans, their accents join with the Kentucky sisters (many of whom are from the South, Midwest and New England) to create quite a diverse community. The sisters along with the college present me with a community ranging in age from 17 to 100! It is a unique challenge and IT IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
It Has Been Said
[T}he Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or – if they thing there is not – at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it.
From MERE CHRISTIANITY by C. S. Lewis