The problem is me 09/04/2023
From the time I was very small I’ve been told I have to forgive. Today I’m discovering that forgiving is not so much a moral act as it is above all a new level of awareness. That discovery is the fruit of a process that requires me to go deep into my own self, to [...]
Gifts from the desert 25/03/2023
For several months L.Sr. Luigina shared the daily life of the little sisters who live in a tent in Niger. It was 30 years ago, but this unique desert experience among our Muslim friends had a profound impact. That is where I received the most beautiful gift I ever got. And what was it? Just [...]
What’s left when everything crumbles 18/03/2023
We’ve had a fraternity in Aleppo for many years. We had to be absent from there for the past few months, but as soon as it became possible after the earthquake, l.srs. Diana-Maria and Carol went to visit our friends and neighbors. This is what they shared with us when they came back to Lebanon: [...]
Less coffee for more truth 12/03/2023
Biblical scholar Rosalba Manes came to Tre Fontane to study the story of the Samaritan woman with us. L.Sr. Marianna wondered, “I know this passage so well, what can she possibly tell us that would be new?” When Rosalba got to the part where it says, “The hour is coming when true worshippers will worship [...]
Welcoming life as a gift 25/02/2023
However old I am, whatever state my body is in, I try to welcome life as a gift…a gift of God’s love. Isn’t this the goal of our existence? At 88, I sometimes look back over all the years that have gone by, and I contemplate my life. In those moments I see it as [...]
Parable of Life 09/02/2023
Twice a week for the past year I’ve left the house at 8:30 for a long, unpredictable morning. Right in front of our door I frequently run into Bakhta and Sultan. They’re already coming back from work, which for them starts very early. A smile, a good-day wish for all three of us…and I continue [...]
Weaving Unity in Jerusalem 20/01/2023
More than 15 different Churches live side by side in Jerusalem, most of them in a very limited space in the Old City: the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Church; the Latin Rite Catholic Church; the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Syriac Catholic Church; the Chaldean Catholic Church; the Coptic Orthodox Church and [...]
Between roses and thorns 08/01/2023
We recently had the International Formation Team meeting in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil, in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Little sister Lamia, who is part of the team, is Iraqi and she suggested that we meet in her country, instead of meeting in Rome as we usually do. We were immediately enthusiastic about [...]
Embracing my humanity 24/12/2022
A year and a half after the sudden passing of my mother, my youngest brother, age 33, had a very acute case of leukemia. After two weeks, he also left us…Many people came to mourn with us, with flowers, candles, incense, prayers, Masses…and even very heartfelt tears. And yet, surrounded and even carried by so [...]