"Spirit of God Different" with M. Shawn Copeland

Catholic Women Preach

Preaching for Pentecost, M. Shawn Copeland offers a reflection on 'Spirit of God Different':

"At Pentecost, Spirit God Different missions us to live out the command of Jesus to ‘love one another.’ Spirit God Different opens us, teaches us to live in and live out active compassionate, loving solidarity with those whom our society chooses to oppress––those whom our society exploits and alienates, marginalizes and dominates, rejects and denies, attacks and assaults, represses and crushes, murders and destroys. By creating these blessed fleshly differences, Spirit God Different nudges us to reach out to one another, to communicate, to meet one another, to enjoy one another, to act in love for and with one another. Spirit God Different urges us to defend and protect one another from oppression and violence of body and soul, mind and heart; to respect and honor, welcome and embrace one another in all our fleshly difference––for our shining and beautiful fleshly differing bodies are dwelling places of Spirit God Different."

Dr. M. Shawn Copeland is Professor emerita of Systematic Theology at Boston College and Theologian-in-Residence at Saint Katharine Drexel Parish, Roxbury, Massachusetts. She is an internationally recognized scholar and award-winning writer. Copeland is a former Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCTS). She was the first African American and first African American woman to serve as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA).

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/06052022 to learn more about Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.