Welcome to RE-SOURCE #2, the OCCASIONAL VIRTUAL SPACE launched in February 2023 in response to the 2022 SHCJ general chapter call “to probe our understanding of the Incarnation and its meaning for the Society’s ongoing life and mission in concrete ways” (GCE22, p.3). RE-SOURCE has its roots in the earlier SHCJ print publication, SOURCE.

Click to Download PDF of Welcome & Guidelines

This second edition opens today, December 1, 2024, the first Sunday of Advent, and will extend until the end of Easter week, April 26, 2025, focusing on THE WANTS OF THIS AGE, for the purpose of helping us recognize, understand more deeply, and respond to today’s wants in fidelity to the gospel and Cornelia Connelly’s broad vision for the Society — yesterday, today, and tomorrow — “to meet the wants of the age.”

Of course, the wants of this age are within and around us every day, even in the very air we breathe. In this first posting we single out just a few to get us started. Ours is a time of epochal change; marked by planetary climate change, multiple wars, global hunger, and massive migration of people. In our time of rapid technological progress we are learning to engage with the rise of artificial intelligence. And in the sphere of faith we reckon with multi-faith, inter-faith, conflicting faiths, no-faith as we integrate the values of the synod journey into our Catholic Christian faith. We reckon, too, with spirit, spirituality, the ongoing, ever-deepening hungers of the human spirit for nourishment, meaning, self-transcendence, intimacy with the incomprehensible mystery we call God.

As soon as we begin to name specific wants of this age, or signs of our times, a host of others press for attention in future postings of this edition in the months ahead, including specific consequences of climate change, such as the threat to the world’s water supply; Africa, a continent on the rise; the erosion of democracy; the condition of women worldwide; issues of humanity, gender and sexuality and, always and everywhere, extraordinary expressions of human kindness and heroic love, our signs of hope as we embark on the Catholic Church’s holy year of hope.

Once again, as in the 2023 edition, we invite sisters, associates, and other friends, partners and experts to join this journey in a variety of ways. You might want to share an article or book you read recently, or write a reflection on an experience that opened your eyes to a particular want of this age. There will be space for short clippings, too – a poem, an irresistible phrase or sentence ….. Think multi-media also: share a photo, or video, a piece of music, dance, painting, sculpture or other art form — your own creation or someone else’s. The possibilities are endless as you will see from the diversity of postings in the 2023 edition, now archived as flipbooks on the website: https://www.shcj.org/re-source/.

The following GUIDELINES will help you focus, create and share your contribution for the good of us all as, daily, we give ourselves to revealing God’s love and making known the reality of the Incarnation in the challenging and many-faceted context of the wants of this age.

OVERALL, this is a virtual space for creative and forward-looking exploration of what is at the heart of SHCJ life now and into the future. So, it is about our identity, what makes our personal and collective heart tick, and who we are becoming in this time of epochal change — all of this as a response to the call of the 2022 General Chapter to “continue to probe our understanding of the Incarnation and its meaning for the Society’s ongoing life and mission.”

REMEMBER, too, that RE-SOURCE is a space for and about today and tomorrow, rather than yesterday.

WHO may contribute?

All SHCJ and friends who have a connection with SHCJ – associates, ministry partners, past students, other friends and experts on specific topics related to the theme of this edition.

WHAT kind of content are we looking for?

In general, material that is original to you or created by another

In particular,

• written pieces, e.g. personal reflections; poetry or prose; book, article or media reviews; prayers; a sentence, a phrase, a short irresistible excerpt; and more
• regarding length, written pieces should not exceed 400 words
• audio-visual pieces, e.g. music, videos, still images, art work, dance, podcasts, and more
• live, interactive processes, e.g. interviews, conversations, and more — these would need to be reflected on in some way, e.g. in writing or as clips of a recording, or …
• please include identifying information if you are drawing on the work of someone else (title, author, date, copyright information, if applicable)

WHEN can contributions be made?

They will be accepted any time during session #2 – from December 1, 2024 to April 26, 2025. Send them to Sam Strike: shcjcommunications@gmail.com

What happens then?

Your contribution will be reviewed in the light of the purpose and focus of this edition, and in relation to the other contributions received. You will be contacted with questions or suggestions as needed, and told when and how your piece will be posted.

All are invited —

to be promoters of the purpose and development of this edition. Think about what you yourself might contribute, and about people you know, who could make a contribution in line with our purpose; extend an invitation to them, and get started yourself.

How is the focus on the WANTS OF THIS AGE helping me to recognize, understand more deeply, and respond to today’s needs in fidelity to the gospel and Cornelia’s vision?

In what ways is this focus changing me/us in our world of change? How is it moving me/us to live our mission in this holy time that is ours today?