In Wolof, when someone says thank you, the typical response is: “Ñokabok”. Translated, it means, “We are together.” It’s a deeply rooted spirit of community. In contrast to our western exaltation of the individual, in Africa it is the community that reigns. The Senegalese people are always, literally, together, and always ready to lend a...
I first encountered Con-solatio as a seminarian during the winter of 2016. I was sent as a part of my formation to stay and minister with them for a month in their mission in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, NY. It was perhaps the best single month of my seven years of seminary formation....
I’ve been given a new gaze on what it means to be mother and woman by the way they live their life – simple, and somehow all-embracing. And they take seriously this simplicity! ...
On the first Wednesday in February, I attended a movie night hosted by Con-solatio in Brooklyn. I have attended many of these monthly gatherings, but they have come to mean even more amidst the increased social isolation of recent years. The opportunity to enjoy a potluck dinner, followed by a screening of “Women of Slender...
It’s 11:00pm. I am having a rare moment of peace in a patient’s room. A Con-solatio moment. A late night tv show with a laugh track plays in the background – I’m not paying attention to it. A change in tone catches my ear and I glance back to see the sitcom has been interrupted...
Pan Petro is my inspiration whenever we walk into his room. When he was 13 years old he stepped on a land mine which exploded, leaving him with only one working arm and two shriv-eled legs. One half of his face is disfigured, and he was blinded by the incident as well. Yet there is...
Dear priests and consecrated people! Beloved brothers and sisters! At this moment, when the worst scenarios are being realized, when martial law has been declared in Ukraine, I address you a word of comfort and solidarity. We all feel in danger, but we must not lose hope, let alone panic. Now more than ever, we need...
This morning in the street, I witnessed a scene that really moved me: a young woman dressed in black was on her knees begging with a small sig...
On a recent trip to the nursing home we were unable to visit the residents because there was no electricity. Pani Hallea is a relatively young resident at the nursing home (60 years old) and sometimes she works at the desk in the entry, recording the guests that come and go from the nursing home....
Oh, this little boy! Just thinking about him makes me miss him! Georgie is eight years old, and has an illness that messes around with his hormones; the medicine he takes for mood control makes his body swell up real big. And he doesn’t speak....