By Sister Michele Morek December 2023 I was mulling over what the theme of this reflection should be: gratitude, for Thanksgiving season? Awe for the upcoming Advent and our celebration of the Incarnation? But when I read through some of Saint Angela’s writings I found a quote I had never noticed before: Receive my every…

By Sister Michele Morek “Let them have Jesus Christ for their only treasure, for there also will be love.”  Saint Angela Merici, 5th Counsel I was reflecting on what it would be like to have a treasure chest full of gems. This was not hard for me to imagine because I used to be a…

By Sister Michele Morek The day I am writing this, August 14, is the anniversary of the date in 1962 that my Ursuline class made our “investment” into the community: that is, received the habit and began our formal canonical novitiate. How appropriate that the quote for the day on my little Saint Angela desk…

By Sister Michele Morek Ah, summer! Time to work on our summer reading lists. For years, when anyone asked me the name of my favorite book, I have always said it was John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”  But wait, I read that about 50 years ago – was it really as wonderful as I…

By Sister Michele Morek Saint Angela is famous for founding her “Third Way” – not traditional religious, not exactly lay. I have always liked exploring “in between” places, the cracks, the Twilight Zone. I taught some fun courses at Brescia University – Marine Biology, Genetics, Embryology. But one of my favorite courses surprised me –…

By Sister Michele Morek In March, the Vatican formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, which the Western world used for centuries to justify colonization, and – though it was not a part of formal church doctrine – claimed to give European nations a right to take over new world lands. Combined with systemic beliefs of…

By Sister Michele Morek Several years ago, an elderly Sister was looking suspiciously at the baptismal font that formed a prominent feature of the newly renovated chapel in the motherhouse. Water continually welled up from the middle and spilled over into an outer well. I don’t know if she knew it came from a pipe…

By Sister Michele Morek During Lent I have been sitting in church thinking about purple. The color purple. Not the book, “The Color Purple” (though that book is certainly worth thinking about!). I have always liked purple, though I’ll admit that when I taught eighth grade for one year, I was really surprised when one…

By Sister Michele Morek On Ash Wednesday I was thinking about the story of Angela – how she would dull her blond hair with ashes (was that to discourage suitors? I don’t remember). Later, in her instructions to her sisters, she would warn them about wearing the elaborately embroidered sleeves that passed as high fashion…

By Sister Michele Morek In the novitiate I worked in the Diet Kitchen with Sister Mary Laura, who would sing “Don’t let the stars get in your eyes …” but I beg to differ. Now eagerly awaiting the Green Comet and the end of cloudy weather, I have been reflecting on how I love stars,…