Sr. Joan Brown’s Op-Ed in Gallup Independent: Love or fear – our choice

The following piece appeared in the Gallup Independent on the weekend of April 23-24, 2022

Love or fear – our choice

By Sr. Joan Brown, OSF, Executive Director, Interfaith Power and Light New Mexico & El Paso

Special to the Independent

These are rare days. We just finished celebrating Passover on Earth Day, April 22 and we continue the Easter season and also Ramadan. The confluence of these holy days happens only about every 30 years. To add to these holy days we have a convergence with Earth Day and this is Earth Sunday.

What an important time to renew loving commitments to one another for peace and to care for our Common Home. Somedays, however, I feel there is hardly enough energy just to get through the day.

Several weeks ago presented one of those days. Amidst a sick friend, too much work and many demands, we were surprised to get irrigation water. During our dire drought the water was so very precious for our fruit trees and gardens. I was excited and then very disheartened when a problem arose with an underground pipe leading to one area limiting water to a trickle. It became dark and I could not work any longer in the night to address the problem.

Almost in tears with weariness and yet another problem, I walked to the ditch to turn off the water. There, reflected in the water was a growing white moon and stars. I was stunned by the beauty. A sense of well-being flowed through me. It was a holy moment. I just let go of so many burdens.

The beauty of God awaits us in surprising ways in these dark night times. Hope surprises us with the unexpected if our hearts are open a crack. We did get our water problem fixed with some help. But there are always more challenges. The question we are posed in the Christian scripture this week after Easter is whether I am locked in a closed room or am I a channel of love and peace of God in our troubled world.   Read Full Article