Sister Colleen Gibson SSJ

A Reflection by Sr. Colleen Gibson, Coordinator of Pastoral Care, from the August issue of Give Us This Day

Soon after graduating from college, I found myself immersed as a yearlong volunteer in a trilingual parish. Dedicated to the Visitation, the parish brought together new immigrants and well-established neighbors to worship side by side. While each language group had their own Sunday liturgies, our shared celebrations were an amalgamation of Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. At daily Mass, a simple prompt to recite the Hail Mary would bring forth a symphony of praise as tongues as varied as the faces in the pews filled the packed basement chapel…

On Thursday, January 30, Sr. Colleen Gibson, our Coordinator of Pastoral Care, participated in a panel discussion at a book celebration sponsored by Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry and FutureChurch for Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church, a collection of homilies offered by Catholic women from Cycle C in the Catholic lectionary (including Sr. Colleen!)

A panel discussion with Sr. Colleen, Kayla August, Margaret Eletta Guider, O.S.F., and Chanelle Robinson followed and was streamed live (recording available below.) The panelists offered historical, theological, and pastoral perspectives on the value of women’s voices in the Church and answered question posed by the audience.

All are invited to a book celebration sponsored by Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry and FutureChurch for Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church. This publication, edited by Elizabeth Donnelly and Russ Petrus, is a collection of homilies offered by Catholic women from Cycle C in the Catholic lectionary – including our own Sr. Colleen Gibson, SSJ, who is also part of the evening’s panel discussion.

Please Note: In-person capacity has been reached. Please register to join virtually for the panel discussion at 6:00pm…

Jesus prayed. It might seem like an obvious, and certainly fundamental, part of Jesus’ life, and yet I find myself captivated by the fact that amid everything else, the Gospel author chooses to make note that Jesus prayed.

I wonder what Jesus prayed about? How was the Spirit swirl­ing on that hillside as Jesus looked out over the sea—having just fed the five thousand and watching his disciples struggle to understand everything that was happening? And if I were to sit with him in that moment, what might Jesus say to me?