Truth Doing Justice Initiative at Mound
The committee on peace includes (from left) Srs. Frances Therese Murray, Jeanne Flanagan, Mary Jane Quinn, Loretta Zemaitis, Mary Ellen Green, and Marie Juan Maney.
by Jeanne Flannagan, OP
Under the leadership of Mary Ellen Green, OP, the Mound community has developed its own Truth Doing Justice initiative. Over the past year the Sisters have focused on specific aspects of this topic in periods of three months. Starting with ecology, they next moved to the issue of human trafficking and thirdly to immigration. Now we are focusing on peace.
During each of these three-month periods, a committee of Sisters provide the community with education by means of talks, films, and reading materials. The committee suggest positive actions which individual Sisters could do as follow-up.
The current committee on peace includes Mary Ellen Green, OP, Loretta Zemaitis, OP, Marie Juan Maney, OP, Jeanne Flanagan, OP, Frances Therese Murray, OP, and Mary Jane Quinn, OP. Their first action was to ask the Sisters of the Mound community to write a brief reflection on “What makes peace for you?” The depth and practicality of the Sisters’ responses were shared in a prayer service in the Gathering Place on Jan. 30. Three Sisters alternated reading the responses aloud. Here are some of the thoughts they shared:
Peace for me is
- when I have time for quiet, for reading, praying, or meditating in a particular spot by myself; a time to just be;
- decreasing TV viewing time to a minimum;
- being mindful and resting in the beauties of nature in all seasons;
- living more simply, sharing my gifts, having compassion for the needy;
- accepting others’ ideas with openness;
- realizing that each person (or group) has a piece of the truth―no one knows it all;
- realizing that I may only be able to do a little, but I’ll do what is in my power; being ready to die;
- experiencing a tranquil spirit despite chaos, confusion, or competition which may exist around me.
The prayer service concluded with the words of Father Samuel:
Never forget, oh Christian soul, that your true and lasting happiness is in God alone; the farther you shall be from him the more discontented you shall feel. How delightful the prospect to behold all of one heart and one soul, loving one another, supporting one another, sharing readily the joys and sorrows of every neighbor and walking hand in hand to heaven.
The next action of the peace committee will be to show the film, The Power of Forgiveness. This movie recounts the inspiring story of the Amish community in Lancaster, PA.
Stay tuned. There’s more to come.