Movin’ 4 Missions

Searching for the Mystery

By Sister Win Whelan        

During my last move, a small packet of pictures showed up among the boxes. They were pictures of our family: myself as a young woman, my sister and brothers, my brother standing proudly in front of his shop that he had just opened.

I considered throwing them away, mainly because I didn’t know where to put them. I probably wouldn’t look at them again, and there is no one after me who would know these people. They would get thrown away anyway, eventually.

What is this mysterious connection we feel to old pieces of paper or a piece of metal that makes us want to hang on to them? What is it about a statue of St. Francis that I have carried with me for 50 years, or a small bell that was given to me on a trip to Wales many years ago?

It’s a mystery. There’s a physical object, but it’s more. In a way, it’s proof that there’s something or someone else there, too.

Read the full text of Sister Win’s reflection.