Christine Schenk

It is perhaps easier to feel discouraged and hopeless than to accept that life comes with both suffering and joy. Advent calls us to a deeper faith in Jesus' power to reconcile these lion-lamb opposites.

National synodal documents from around the world call for more lay inclusion in church decision-making, reports Sr. Christine Schenk. But will the process itself include laypeople in the deliberations?

While moral considerations are important in making individual decisions, a rigid moral approach has significant limitations. When considering legislation on abortion, there are additional facts to consider. 

Christine Schenk: "The rich Biblical resources about the role of women in the Old Testament, and especially in the early Christian communities, are still simply unknown," Ursuline Sr. Eileen Schuller said. She's right.

Christine Schenk: If we are to ever emerge from Catholic polarization, it will be through dialogue, respect for differences, and the kind of nonviolent love practiced by New Ways Ministry and so many LGBTQ+ Catholics

Christine Schenk: What could better witness the power of an unpredictable God than to raise up a long-awaited Messiah from the least powerful of humans — a child born of an unwed mother? What better witness than a son with no apparent biological father, and therefore no claim to patriarchal privilege?

Commentary: Sr. Christine Schenk's review of major U.S. dioceses' websites presents a heartening (though inconclusive) picture of synod events planned by church leaders of both "liberal" and "conservative" persuasions.

Simply Spirit: More than 420 Catholics from all over the world gathered in an online event to celebrate Ludmila Javorova, who courageously served the underground church in communist Czechoslovakia as an ordained priest.

Simply Spirit: As one who often cannot find herself in the masculine pronouns of today's liturgical offerings, I am profoundly grateful for Wil Gafney's rendition of texts I have loved since childhood.

Simply Spirit: On her feast day, I want to reflect on something St. Mary of Magdala might find puzzling: What is the big deal about recognizing women's leadership in today's Catholic faith communities?

Simply Spirit: Racism and white supremacy are killing our Black and brown sisters and brothers. We white people — especially white Catholics — are being called to do something about it. But what must we do?

Simply Spirit: The mental state of acedia tells us that the world and our church are beyond the power of God to save. This is where our Advocate, the Holy Spirit — our Advocate-Spirit — comes in.

Simply Spirit: Addressing the woeful omission of biblical women leaders in lectionary texts should be a top priority for today's Catholic Church. We asked for this at the time of the 2008 synod on the Word. What about now?

Simply Spirit: Women's History Month is a great time to celebrate the 'mothers of the church,' early female believers who shaped our church's future no less than the better-known 'fathers.'

Simply Spirit: A Deadly Education, the intriguing first book in Naomi Novik's new series, led me to think in new ways about how we are called to use our own graced "superpowers" to overcome evil and promote good.

Simply Spirit: I think it oddly providential — or perhaps synchronistic — that the horrific events at the U.S. Capitol occurred on the Feast of the Epiphany. An epiphany is a manifestation or an awakening.

Simply Spirit: It may be time to own our despair. The clerical system isn't working anymore. Perhaps it was never meant to work, only we didn't realize it.

Simply Spirit: Okay, I have a confession to make. Last spring, as I watched the coronavirus pandemic explode across our planet, I was beyond furious at Donald Trump. (But that's not my confession.)

Simply Spirit: In a group called "Believers for Biden," I did not expect to be so deeply moved by praying together and witnessing that our shared faith requires us to help the most vulnerable and to promote the common good.

Simply Spirit: The Vatican's recent instruction on parishes restates a male-celibate-priest-controlled vision that is already moribund. St. Paul reminds us of a better way of mutuality in ministry: the example of Aquila and Prisca.