For those who were hoping for something “new” in this document, perhaps this will be disappointing. And yet this wisdom about dignity is ever ancient, ever new.
History has ignored Joanna, as it has most of the other women who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and provided for him and the Twelve “from their resources” (Lk 8:2-3).
Observing Ramadan, a sacred time of fasting in the Islamic world, heightens my awareness of the afflictions that so many are forced to endure and the ways our world still needs healing.
It is necessary that we grapple with hard facts, even if it means wearing scars. But let us not yield when confronted with the racism, sexism or other sins of any saint.