Women Who Have Been Pilgrims of Hope

Azaleas in full bloom in March at the Motherhouse.

Since March is Women’s History Month, my Musings blog this month is on two women who are inspiring to me for their groundbreaking work for Care for God’s Creation. They are just two of several “Inspired People” highlighted on the Healing Earth Project website sponsored by the Jesuits from Loyola University, Chicago. The quotes in this month’s blog are from this website’s introduction pages.

Several years ago our Congregation blessed me with a two-month mini sabbatical at Springbank Center in South Carolina in the spring. (It was actually during my time there that the closures for the COVID pandemic began.) As part of the program at Springbank we watched a documentary on the life of Rachel Carson (1907-1964). Carson was an aquatic biologist and environmentalist who “faced fierce social opposition when she pointed out that synthetic pesticides threaten the environment.” She wrote a book, Silent Spring (1962), that eventually led the U.S. government to ban the pesticide DDT.

Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring. 

Another inspiring woman is Jane Goodall, an English primatologist and zoologist, still living, who wrote Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey (2000), in which she explains how “appreciation for the sacred value of nature aids science and supports hope for the future of the natural world.”

Jane Goodall in her younger years. 

In this Jubilee year with the theme, Pilgrims of Hope, both Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall are women who inspire me with hope. As we celebrate Earth Day next month on April 22, let us especially remember Rachel Carson whose work eventually led to the modern environmental movement in our country and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

During our own Lenten journey during this Jubilee Year, while we focus on the life of Jesus, let us not forget the role of Mary his mother, and the other women who supported him in his ministry. As we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, we remember Mary’s “yes” to the angel. May Mary inspire us to be open to God’s will in our lives.