August 17, 2016 // Uncategorized

Contemplation leads to ‘transformational leadership,’ LCWR assembly told

Todays Catholic

Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell, right, is seen with other women religious in Atlanta Aug. 10 during the 2016 assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

ATLANTA (CNS) — On a personal level, contemplation is “transformative” and on a communal level it is “transformational leadership,” Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell told attendees at the 2016 assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Atlanta. The Aug. 9-13 assembly drew nearly 800 participants under the theme of “Embracing the Mystery: Living Transformation.” All of the speakers pointed to the need for contemplative engagement with the struggles and sufferings of the world. In her Aug. 11 keynote, Sister Pat addressed the topic “Leading From the Allure of Holy Mystery: Contemplation and Transformation.” She spoke of centering religious life leadership in contemplation, describing contemplation as “a response to the movement of Spirit that has been stirring in and among us for some time now, becoming increasingly manifest.” “Where this contemplative impulse might be leading is less obvious. What will be the long-term effect of reclaiming and deepening the contemplative dimension of religious life, of exploring emerging consciousness?” asked Sister Pat, a former LCWR president. She said when she was given “the gift of time and space for contemplation,” she “found it transformative.”