Sister Juanita Morales Tai Chi Chih Instructor

“I ran.”

This idea is dear to many of us. In 1998, when Dominican Sister of Hope Juanita heard of a tai chi chih (a particular style of tai chi) class near her home, she couldn’t get there fast enough. “I ran!” she remembers. Soon after, she requested to become a tai chi chih instructor. Nearly twenty years later, she’s still teaching. And while she credits tai chi chih with increasing her physical health (she also practices yoga daily and is sure to walk every morning), it also enriches her prayer life. She has a list of prayers that accompany every movement.

“It was another form of prayer and a way to pray with my body,” Sister Jaunita says.

Consider how you might pray with your body rather than just being resigned to it. Could a daily or three-times-per-week walk in nature help lead you to greater connectedness and physical health? What about yoga, tai chi chih, or an informal dance class?

As vines and bushes flower in the Mariandale garden to provide wholesome, nutritious meals for all who visit, her words ring more true than ever. 

According to Josh Arcaro, the Chef Manager at Mariandale and manager of the fruit-and-vegetable garden, the garden is all about sustainability. 

“We can’t rely on multi-million-dollar corporations for our produce anymore,” he says. “And we create a huge carbon footprint from shipping food across the country, or internationally.”

Research has proven that eating naturally can help restore the immune system and gut health, and it’s only better when the produce comes from right outside your window.

Here are some of the leading thinkers and influences in intellectual wellness:

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas’s most noted work is the Summa Theologica, in which he posits five arguments for the existence of God. Thomas Aquinas wrestled with the truths and engaged with them. He considered them, critiqued them, and put them together such that something with more truth came out in the end. In his spare time, he wrote music. He wrote Pange Lingua, among other hymns, many of which the Church still uses today. 

Studying, reading, writing, debating, and drafting major church writing might not be part of our call as people of faith, but getting creative can help us connect with God all the same.

Here are some ideas on how to establish a prayer routine that works for you or how to enhance one that you already have.

We’ve written before about the benefits of silence. Waking up early ensures the chance to pray in complete silence and sometimes even in darkness. By choosing a time when your neighbors aren’t up and your phone won’t ring, you are guaranteed peace and quiet that you can’t get at other times during the day.

Sister Juanita Morales takes this tradition seriously, waking promptly at 4:30 am everyday. She says that she learned from her mother to love silence.

“I remember my mother sitting on the back porch in quiet every night after supper, and I used to go out there and sit with her,” Sister Juanita recalls. “She was praying; I could feel it. So I learned to pray in silence, maybe from that experience.”

No doubt, finding silence is tough (and waking up that early can be even tougher!) but Sister says that it’s absolutely worth it. “You don’t hear doors banging or people walking extra help.

“I like to pray in the dark always,” Sister Jaunita shares. “To be quiet with your God, it’s just neat. I enjoy that.”

 

Journaling daily is a key way to track progress in one’s spiritual life and to identify patterns that can help inform prayer. Journaling might seem daunting, but you don’t have to start out with a blank slate. We recommend Falling Upward by Richard Rohr, which is a guided journal with an accompanying reflection book.

Sister Joan Chittister is an outspoken advocate of justice, peace, and
equality — especially for women world-wide — and has been one of America’s visionary spiritual voices for more than 30 years. As a Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, Joan Chittister has focused her life’s work on the development of contemporary of Benedictine life for seekers today, and justice for the oppressed and marginalized, particularly those in prison. “When I’m cooking, I’m praying for the people who have farms and till the earth, and those who get the goods to me, and the stores. I pray for all those people,” Sister Juanita says.

Here are some of the leading thinkers and influences in spiritual wellness:

Dominican sisters of Hope Nancy Erts and Bette Ann Jaster

After working together to legalize beekeeping in the Village of Ossining, Sisters Nancy and Bette Ann then welcomed two beehives onto Mariandale’s campus. They are also involved with gardening for the local food bank, facilitating nature-based retreats, and landscaping naturally to promote the health of butterflies locally.
This spring, they join together to present Bees, Blossoms, and Butterflies: Gardening as a Spiritual Exercise at Mariandale. New and seasoned gardeners are invited to explore and accept the abundant graces that emerge from within us during an experience of gardening.

Fr. Richard Rohr

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Fr. Richard’s teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy— practices of contemplation and self- emptying, expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.

Fr. Richard is academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Drawing upon Christianity’s place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Living School is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all beings.

In so many aspects of our lives, community is key. This is equally true for both vowed religious and laypeople. Just as our congregation serves as a source of community for us, so, too, do our lay families and friends.

Although solitude is sometimes necessary for deepening our spirituality and overall wellness, we can’t achieve emotional wellness alone. Support from friends, family, and a greater community can give us an honest perspective of our strengths and weaknesses, and help us to be healthier all around.

As Dominican Sister of Hope Veronica Miller says, prayer is one way to maintain or increase emotional wellness. But so is community.

“Talking [concerns, questions, fears, even strengths] our with somebody can be a help,” Sister Veronica says. “Maybe it’s somebody that doesn’t know you, but somebody who is competent enough to help you listen and form some questions in your mind.”

As Sister says, there’s no shame in paying for professional guidance. In fact, a as counselors and therapists. Prayer helps us center ourselves and grow emotionally, but so can talking through issues with either loved ones or paid professionals.

Dominican Sister of Hope Anne Marie Bucher stresses a similar point:

“Find someone who can help you through on a [regular] basis,” Sister Anne Marie advises. “Sometimes it’s a family member; sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it has to be someone outside of your family.”

As Sister says, taking care of ourselves can be a “very lonely journey.” There’s no need to go through it alone.

Oftentimes, we live according to our schedule, not God’s. However, being patient with ourselves and forgiving ourselves when we make mistakes are all part of living and growing, no matter how old we are. Trust yourself, be patient with yourself, and give yourself room to make mistakes.

“I think you have to trust yourself,” Sister Veronica says. “Some of us learn by our mistakes. That’s not a bad thing. When we make mistakes we realize ‘That’s not what I need to do with my life.’”

 

Here are some of the leading thinkers and influences in emotional wellness:

Saint Joan Chittister

Sister Joan Chittister is an outspoken advocate of justice, peace and equality — especially for women world-wide — and has been one of America’s
visionary spiritual voices for more than 30 years. As a Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, Joan Chittister has focused her life’s work on the development of
of Benedictine life for seekers today, and justice for the oppressed and marginalized, particularly those in prison.

Here is a book she’s written passion at any state in your life. Finding your true passion and purpose is one of the best ways to improve your emotional wellness.