What is Emerging?

During the past several years the Loretto Community has experienced profound changes. So much of what shaped our life is gone and the experience of endings, loss and confusion often prevails. Yet we know this is an invitation, a threshold, where new life will germinate, bloom and flourish beyond what we can begin to imagine.

A question that we often ask among ourselves goes something like this: What is at the heart of our life? What is the essence or core we value most and want to assure is attended to and supported so that it will bloom and flourish as our life goes forward? Article 20 in I Am the Way (IATW) suggests that it is LOVE: “The basic desire to be united in love with God, with one another, with all people, and with all creation shapes this community of faith.” We know this kind of love is a way of being. It is learning to see with the heart, the way God sees. It is a call to be a prophetic presence in the world — a presence that builds bridges and creates interconnections. Would this kind of LOVE be the heart of our life that we value most?

During the past several years it has been a practice after the death of each member of the Community to hold a vigil to remember her/ his life. These are truly heartfelt experiences for all of us as we share many personal stories and learn (or re-learn) how each person lived her/his life with loving care and faithfulness. “Their courage, concern and energy nourished by the gospel and communal love, are with us as a lasting endowment of hope.” (IATW # 6.) Would this kind of LOVE be the heart of our life that we value most?

We invite you to ponder with us what is at the heart of our life and what practices we can adopt that will create the space within us so we will not miss the Spirit’s whisperings. If you’d like to share your reflections with us, we’d be happy to receive them. Thank you!

Sources: LCWR “Occasional Papers,” Winter 2018, “At the Heart of Our Life” “LCWR Occasional Papers,” Winter 2017, “Living Into Love”