It’s a fortunate time to write today, the day after my ordination to the priesthood with ARCWP. I say this because everything leading to this moment had within in it an inherent sense of movement. How could I describe all these moving parts on the Way till now?
My Community across the country and even across the ocean is ready for this ground breaking time in the Catholic Church when seven women claimed the Sacrament of Holy Orders twenty years ago. We’d been living the reality of the grass roots for a long time, taking responsibility for breaking the bread and caring for the least of these, working and praying peace and justice. We’re matured individuals with families who now are engaged with God in styles uniquely their own and responsive to a hopeful shared vision of a compassionate and sustainable world.
Now that I’m officially ordained at the age of 74, wondering “what now?” is not on my radar. Maybe I’m simply honoring the deep calm in stillness and more than a bit of satisfaction for awhile. “ What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us, “ Emerson observed. And I trust this One within Us to continue moving through our encounters: beginning with healing by inclusion at the Table.
