Church and Culture

InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2020 No.2 Summer

"I offer 'the interim time' and 'a change of era' as apt descriptions of the season in which we live. I will sketch out several markers of the 'signs of the time,' that is, seismic developments or sites of disruption that illustrate how and where I see a 'change of eras' occurring, specifically looking at the phenomena of climate disruption, sexuality, and white nationalism as protean events that challenge established ways of thinking and being. I then will turn to the Christian tradition to retrieve its wisdom concerning courage as the grace and virtue needed as we live in the midst of this time of change and upheaval."

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InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.2 Summer

"Segura’s book is a manifesto, a work of longform journalism and a feminist response to Catholic resistance to the Black Lives Matter movement. A Black Catholic immigrant from the Dominican Republican and resident of Bronx, New York, Segura’s perspective on the Catholic relationship to the Black Lives Matter movement is both personal and informative. She writes with vulnerability and prophetic imagination about how her life experiences uncovered a harsh truth: not all white Catholics value her life."

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InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.2 Summer

"The invitation to serve at the border was the signpost that a curve lay ahead. A curve, once negotiated, that would set us on a path to see and experience religious life as inter-congregational, intergenerational and inter-cultural. The last several months have found religious women throughout the country living together, serving side by side, learning, growing, developing for the sake of the mission – a shared mission to those most in need."

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InFormation Bulletins - InFormation 2021 No.4 Winter

"Today the First Reading and the Gospel speak of widows and of generosity: Elijah, seeking a piece of cake, and the widow placing two small coins in the basket. I believe that all of us can give examples of generosity from these last two years of this pandemic, when people arose from their normal behavior and routine to help those in need."

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Most of the theological and spiritual tradition that forms us as religious is based on a classical view of a static universe. As science reveals more about the world God created, we have the opportunity to deepen our understanding of God, ourselves, and the reality around us. The focus of this webinar is cosmology and how this new knowledge and consciousness informs the vowed life, lived in communion and for mission.

We will discuss insights from cosmology and its significance for Catholic faith, spirituality, and religious life. Topics will include an exploration of ecological themes in Christian scripture and tradition, the challenge and gift of evolution, the unique role of the human and reading creation as the first book of revelation. 

Linda Gibler
Overwhelmed by the first Hubble Deep Field picture, Linda, a Dominican Sister of Houston, became enchanted with the magnificence of the Universe and intrigued by the image’s significance for a Catholic understanding of God. In 1999, she began formal study of cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies where she completed a MA then a PhD in Philosophy and Religion with an emphasis in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Before her cosmic epiphany, Linda was the director of social ministry for a parish in Houston where she coordinated direct services, social outreach, and social justice programs and served on a hospital medical ethics board. Linda is the associate academic dean of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio and an adjunct professor for the Loyola Institute for Ministry. Her book, From the Beginning to Baptism: Scientific and Sacred Stories of Water, Oil, and Fire was published in March 2010 by Liturgical Press.

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Every person encounters the mystery of suffering in his or her life and in the lives of loved ones. Those of us who minister in the Church come face to face with this mystery often, as we are called to be present to those who suffer in different ways. Vowed religious are affected by the reality of suffering within religious community. This webinar will address the challenges of talking about God and talking to God in times of suffering. We will draw upon four dimensions from the Judeo-Christian tradition that can serve as resources for us in grappling with the mystery of suffering.

Robin Ryan, CP, PhD is a Passionist priest and theologian who serves as Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Master of Arts in Theology Program at Catholic Theological Union. He received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from The Catholic University of America. He is the author of numerous articles and recordings on theological and spiritual topics. He edited and contributed to the book Catholics on Call: Discerning a Life of Service in the Church (Liturgical Press, 2010). He is the author of God and the Mystery of Human Suffering: A Theological Conversation Across the Ages (Paulist Press, 2011). He recorded a series of CDs on the topic of God and the Mystery of Human Suffering for Now You Know Media. He is the author of the forthcoming book Jesus and Salvation (Liturgical Press, April 2015). He is also a contributor to and English-language editor of the forthcoming Diccionario de la Pasión (Madrid, San Pablo).

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We stand at an evolutionary juncture that is fostered by a deep yearning to be co-creators of the Universe. Led by the energies of that first primordial fire of the Divine, we are in communion with the Universe, Earth, and God. We strive, as sexual beings, to evolve and engage in life, seeking deeper understanding, interconnectivity and love. In this webinar, participants will explore how these energies within ourselves and beyond have evolved from that first fire that drove evolution. We will explore what God has intended for us all along.

“Some day after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we will harness for God the energies of love, and then, for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Essay: The Evolution of Chastity, 1934.

Maco Cassetta, CND, is a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame, a psychotherapist, and spiritual mentor. Based in New York, she is Director of Formation for her congregation.

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En este tiempo complejo de creciente diversidad, nos enfrentamos continuamente con las posibilidades de encuentro o aislamiento. La tendencia natural de relacionarnos solo con la gente que comparte nuestros valores culturales y creencias religiosas refuerza inconscientemente el aislamiento etnocentrista, un cuarto lleno de espejos. El reto del Papa Francisco de encontrar al “otro” – el que ve, actúa y cree de manera diferente – nos mueve fuera de nuestra zona de confort a una mayor autoconciencia y apertura para ver el mundo desde el punto de vista del otro. Las relaciones intencionales con gente de otras razas y culturas es la única manera de disipar el miedo, retar los estereotipos y cambiar los prejuicios. Este webinar examinará las fases de este recorrido hacia el encuentro y sus implicaciones para la misión en el mundo de hoy, dividido por muros de miedo y desconfianza. Únase a nosotros a compartir la sabiduría de nuestras experiencias, y cómo todos juntos podemos construir puentes para un encuentro respetuoso y unas relaciones culturales.

El Dr. Arturo Chávez es el Presidente de MACC, Mexican American Catholic College en San Antonio, Texas. Desde el año 2007, el Dr. Chávez ha encabezado la organización en la transición de un Centro Cultural hacia un Colegio Católico que ofrece carreras de Licenciatura y Maestría en Ministerio Pastoral. Las carreras bilingües son únicas para atender las necesidades latentes de los latinos para su educación superior, especialmente para las comunidades en servicio de la fe. Antes de MACC, ha sido profesor, ministro de jóvenes, capellán para los encarcelados y un anfitrión en su comunidad. Fundó una organización juvenil sin fines no lucrativos llamada JOVEN y fue clave en establecer otras asociaciones basadas en la fe para abordar las necesidades urgentes de las familias pobres y privadas de sus derechos civiles. Reconocido nacionalmente por sus esfuerzos de combatir el racismo y la pobreza, el Presidente Obama lo apunto a un consejo de la casa blanca sobre asuntos de colaboración con organizaciones religiosas. Catholic Charities USA le reconoció como ´´…un campeón nacional de los pobres´´ con el ´´Keep the Dream Alive Award´´ en el año de 2010 en honor al Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. El Dr. Chávez tiene un Doctorado en Estudios Religiosos y Teológicos de la Universidad de Denver y la Escuela de Teología Iliff, con un enfoque en la relación entre la religión y el cambio social.

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Fr. Dan Horan discusses his recent book on this encyclical by Pope Francis titled Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Rejoice and Be Glad: A Faith Formation Guide.

Daniel Horan, OFM

He is a Franciscan Friar, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and the author of numerous articles and twelve books, including The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton: A New Look at the Spiritual Influence on his Life, Thought, and Writing (2014) and, most recently, Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Rejoice and Be Glad (2019).

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From Center to Periphery: Relocating the Prophetic Witness of Religious Life at one of the locations throughout the United States listed below. In these gatherings, we will celebrate our heritage, reflect with expert and engaging presenters and with each other on the implications of our call to mission in the 21st century, and continue our lifelong formation as women and men challenged, in Pope Francis’ words, to fly from the nest to the frontiers, to wake the world.

Richard Gaillardetz, PhD, Joseph Professor of Theology at Boston College;
Presentation title: From Center to Periphery: Relocating the Prophetic Witness of Religious Life

Caroljean Willie, SC, PhD, NGO representative at the United Nations for the Sisters of Charity Federation;
Presentation title: Called to Live on the Margins of Possibility

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Even though hope is essential to human and Christian life, very little has been written about it in comparison to faith and love. Faith sees what already is, while hope sees what is yet to come. Charity loves what already is, but hope puts its trust in what is not yet here.

Living in very dark times, hope is a most important, necessary and rare virtue.

For Christians, for vowed Religious, “hope” is linked to the person of Jesus Christ. Consequently we would do well to give greater attention to the precise nature of Christian hope. What exactly is it? This day will offer a clear understanding of the nature of hope to deepen our capacity to give an account of the hope that is within us (1Peter 3: 15), especially in the face of resistance and indifference.

Rooted in an understanding of the kenosis of God in Christ as the reason for our hope, the presentation will be interspersed with poetic reflections that help express the nature of hope.

Michael Downey, PhD

With a Master of Arts in special education as well as in theology, Dr. Michael Downey is the first layperson to receive the Ph.D. in theology from The Catholic University of America. His abiding theological concern for those who are wounded and marginalized has brought him to serve the church most in need through lectures, conferences and retreats in different parts of the world. Editor of the award-winning New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, he is founding North American editor of Spirituality, an international journal of the Christian spiritual life.  Author or editor of more than twenty books, as well as journal articles, essays, and book chapters numbering in the dozens, he is the recipient of three honorary doctorates. Two of his better known books are Altogether Gift:  A Trinitarian Spirituality (2000) and The Heart of Hope (2009). A member of the editorial board of Cistercian Studies Quarterly, he works extensively with enclosed contemplative communities, and is active in retreat work. Dr. Downey has a particular interest in Trinitarian theology and a theology of hope, both of which are expressed in his Living the Justice of the Triune God [with the late David N. Power] (2012). On March 31, 2005 Pope John Paul II awarded him the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

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