We are blessed here at Mercy by the Sea with furry, feathered neighbors like Ralphie, the groundhog; a shy fox; chipmunks; an occasional skunk; and a bevy of sparrows, nuthatches, sea gulls, ospreys, crows, and Harriet, our resident hawk. This year, there’s a special event happening just outside our office windows.
Forty-seven years ago, the first Earth Day brought together 20 million Americans; this year on April 22, a billion people across the globe will celebrate our planet in nearly 195 countries. And while attention will be rightfully focused on environmental literacy and education, Earth Day is not only about the science of a healthy planet but our sacred relationship with the natural world, our home.
Ann Grasso, whose exhibit, “Begging Bowls, Offering Bowls,” is currently on display in our Mary C. Daly RSM Art Gallery, included with her artwork a poem by Stuart Kestenbaum called “Holding the Light”:
Reading the Omid Safi’s blog on the On Being website has become a weekly ritual for me. Not only is his writing incisive and insightful, but it is often inspirational. Being a Muslim and an American citizen born here in the U.S., Omid is now confronted with the realities of life in our imperfect union.