The White Wing Report

Sister Joan Chittister

Sister Joan Chittister was chosen for her continued commitment to boldly stating spiritual truths in a world of floundering spiritual focus. Not afraid to tackle any spiritual issue or take on anyone from Presidents to those in her own Catholic realm, Sister Joan does so with diplomacy, directness and respect.

Eloquent, insightful and fresh, Sister Joan is a Catholic nun who has authored over 40 books and travels worldwide to bring her forthrightfulness and spiritual clarity to where it is most needed.

Joan Chittister is one of the most articulate social analysts and influential religious leaders of our age. For over 30 years she has put her energy into advocating for the critical questions impacting the global community. Courageous, passionate and charged with energy, she is a much-loved author, speaker, counselor and fond voice across all the divisions of Christendom. People who have read her multi award-winning books, heard her speeches, or personally encountered her sensitive, caring presence are rarely ever the same.

Recently Sister Joan served as an advisor for the groundbreaking report, "A Woman's Nation" by Maria Shriver (2009) and was part of the interfaith counsel that theologian Karen Armstrong gathered to draft the Charter for Compassion being promulgated worldwide.

She is co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative for Women, a United Nations partnership organization of women faith leaders working for peace and a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania. She served as its prioress for twelve years. Benetvision, her organization, encourages "the development of contemporary spirituality from a feminist and global perspective through the works of Joan Chittister."

Sister Joan was a speaker at the 2008 California Women's Conference and in Italy at the “Science and Spirituality Conference” in Cortona. You can hear this on her website

The Benetvision organization has a fund for prisoners, a group most of society rejects and ignores. Sister Joan also publishes the "Monastic Way" a monhtly publication that offers daily spiritual guidance.

1. What is The Best Spiritual Advice You Were Ever Given and Who Gave it To You?

"I watched my mother weather every challenge, survive every loss, persist till every struggle turned to gain and trust every turn of her personal universe because her faith told her that there had to be meaning, purpose and growth in every instant. “Just trust God, Joan,” she said over and over again, “and do not quit.” That surrender to the God who, in the end, wishes us ‘well and not woe’ has been the mainstay of my life, both spiritual and personal."

2. What is The Best Spiritual Advice You Can Give To Help People Today?

"Know that God is as present to you here as God will ever be. We must simply seek the God who is already seeking us. Then, we will finally melt into the heart of the God we already know with every fiber of our being."

3. What is Your Vision For 2010 and Beyond?

"The merging of peoples, nations, and global pursuits is clear sign that we must learn to see God at work in different ways in different peoples everywhere. We must learn the ways of God from one another. We must come to see that we are many peoples singing alleluia to the same God. We must realize that we are no longer living on our private little religious islands. We must begin to grow toward God in an interfaith world, our respect for which will be a sign of the depth and authenticity of our own spiritual development."

Sister Joan Chittister Quotes

"If the people will lead, eventually the leaders will follow."

Contact Sister Joan Chittister:
www.benetvision.org

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