by The Life Panelists
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Silence. Community. Nature. Prayer. Scripture. Music. Journaling.
This month, the panelists share their own coping mechanisms for the stresses of their life and ministry. As religious deal with war and trauma globally, they have found ways to stay focused on their missions.
They addressed this question:
How do you keep your spiritual energy strong under the demands of ministry and the ongoing drumbeat of negativity around the world?
Eilis McCulloh professed first vows with the Sisters of the Humility of Mary in June 2017. She is a program assistant with Migration & Refugee Services, Catholic Charities-Diocese of Cleveland, after volunteer experiences in Haiti and Immokalee, Florida.
It is nearly impossible to turn on the news or open Facebook without hearing about violence in my city or elsewhere around the world: bigotry, racism, hatred, fear, immense grief, forced migration, natural disasters, or deportations that tear apart families. We can only "pray the news" so long before we feel like we are running on empty.
Given my ministry as a refugee resettlement case manager, on some days, I find myself grasping for any signs of light that remind me that hope is a way of life. I don't want to ignore the news or the people around me, but I know that for me to be truly present, I must take time away. I cannot be an effective case manager, an engaged member of my community, an advocate, sister, friend, daughter or niece if the ugliness and despair that so often permeate our world darken my own life.
