Contemplatives in Action

BY JOSIE SCHUMAN | February 8, 2021
Sunday’s Readings

In this week’s Gospel, we witnessed the miraculous healing powers of Jesus. He healed Simon’s mother-in-law, cured many others and drove out demons throughout Galilee. Since the world has been riddled with deadly sickness for almost a year now, this Gospel seems so fitting; it serves as comfort, inspiration, and hope for healing in the midst of the pandemic, as the distribution of vaccines continues to expand. 

In addition to Jesus’ tireless work to cure all types of disease, I was also struck by his quiet and intentional prayer. After a day of healing the entire town, Jesus rose before dawn “and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” Undoubtedly exhausted, Jesus still carved out time to pray before another long day of work. I believe Jesus is modeling the Ignatian value of being a contemplative in action for us. 

In March 2020, I had the privilege of traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border for an immersion experience with a group of John Carroll University students. We spent one week humanizing the highly politicized issue of immigration with the Kino Border Initiative. Through this experience, I realized the importance of centering prayer and reflection in working for justice. 

We spent most of our time at El Comedor, where migrant families can get hot meals, clothing, personal care items and social service assistance. The group was divided into two teams. One team worked in the kitchen while the other spoke to the migrants waiting to enter. The kitchen was fast-paced. We worked as quickly as possible to make room for the long line of people. The environment outside was the opposite. We engaged in thoughtful conversations with the migrants who were generous enough to share their stories with strangers.

We also ended each night in prayer. We recounted our experiences, shared people’s stories, and reflected on how they impacted us and our understanding of immigration. We prayed for the safety and well-being of the migrants we met and set intentions for the following day. 

Listening to the migrants’ stories and praying about them with my immersion community is what fueled our work. These reflective practices transformed the seemingly mundane task of serving food into serving people made in the image of God. 

Being a contemplative in action means staying grounded in our beliefs, purpose, and vision while we fight for justice on the ground. Prayer enables us to do this. Prayer is unifying, energizing, lifegiving and, above all, healing. 

Only after praying to our heavenly Father did Jesus boldly proclaim, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” We are called to follow Jesus’ example by allowing the power of prayerful contemplation to inform our radical actions. 

3 replies
  1. Annette Dworsky
    Annette Dworsky says:

    Perfectly timed for us, especially for us in Texas since we border Mexico. Thank you so much, Josie. And thank you for your plan to become an ESL teacher. So needed!

    Reply
  2. Dorothy Marshall
    Dorothy Marshall says:

    I refer readers to the movie, Soylent Green. Will Generations have to wait until we’re standing human being to human being crowded on all continents of the planet before we recognize the need for population control?. Where do we absorb all the worlds immigrants? Why do nations fail to provide better living conditions for their peoples? Why does the burden of caring for immigrants fall solely on middle-class citizens?Did God really instruct us to go forth and deplete the planet She created? Why can’t charities give out food and contraceptives simultaneously?Why are we depending on pandemics to give some population control relief? My contention has always been, if men could become pregnant and the primary caregivers, population issues would not be predominant. Dorothy Marshall

    Reply
  3. Dr.Cajetan Coelho
    Dr.Cajetan Coelho says:

    Prayer has a reputation of being a powerful weapon. Jesus prayed. Mary prayed. Moses prayed. Abraham prayed. Isaiah prayed. Mahatma Gandhi prayed. They all prayed and made the impossible possible. Long live prayer.

    Reply

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