We All Have Far to Travel
As I pause to write this reflection on my experience of our dialogue on conversion, I am keenly aware of the important sharing we did in the final days of the dialogue. Listening to how each one prays was powerful. That conversation and Dr. Shomali’s reflections on mission were highlights for me, as was the Sunday Eucharist at Turvey.
Having experienced true dialogue during the Apostolic Visitation of American nuns (I was involved with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious at the time), I came as a neophyte to this extended dialogue with people of Islam. I left with a deep appreciation of and reverence for the faith and practices of my Muslim sisters and brothers. Dialogue of this kind is extremely important in our world, and I feel very privileged to have been a part of this 2019 experience.
Conversion proved to be a fruitful topic, and each of us shared in both the external movement from one thing to another and the interior movement of the Divine within each of us as we journey through life.
Having learned a great deal, I left with some questions that I may try to pursue in the future:
- In the intricate relation of culture and religion, what does conversion signify?;
- Freedom of religions and religious freedom seem to be topics yet to be explored, especially in relation to relativism, the co-existence of religions in various parts of our world, the persecution of other religions in some countries etc.
- What is common to people who are moving away from each of our religions?
My one puzzling observation was that the gulf between men and women in both traditions seems greater than the gulf between monasticism and Shi’a Islam. The former gulf is more subtle and may have been greater because of the excellent academic background of the male monastics, whereas two of the three of the female monastics did not have that background.
My one moment of discomfort came during the discussion on sexual ethics that followed a question about freedom made by one of the monastic participants. I chose to follow the lead of others who had more experience in this dialogue process but, even now, I wonder if it would have been good to comment on the diversity of approaches. Having worked closely with women in poverty and with people who have “come out” over the years, I suspect my views on these issues are quite different from those of most in the group. Over the next meal, I came to understand the wisdom of focusing on our commonalities rather than on our differences.
In conclusion, I want to thank all who organized this dialogue. I, for one, am extremely grateful to have had this experience and I look forward to being in touch with members of this group in the future. We all have far to travel, as I indicated when I ended my presentation with Jan Richardson’s “Circle of Grace.”
Patricia Crowley, OSB
St. Scholastica Monastery
Chicago, Illinois
