Laudato Si’: Vision and Reality Ten Years Later

Bernadette Rudolph, MA, MS is Director of Facilitation and Strategic Partnerships at Cranaleith.  She has earned degrees in the liberal arts (BA, St. John’s College, Annapolis), religion and religious education (MA, Catholic University, Washington DC) and educational leadership (MS, Marywood University, Scranton), as well as a certificate in spiritual direction (Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia). Bernadette is a visionary thinker whose practical lens leads to results.  She is an engaging presenter and creative thought partner.  She is committed to welcome, mercy and respectful dialogue.  She knows from experience that, if people come together in true partnership, they will find themselves creating lasting solutions no one could have imagined on their own. Secular Expertise: Bernadette has experience in the areas of strategic planning, appreciative inquiry, processing difficult experiences and team building.  She has in-depth knowledge of gardening and sustainability, CliftonStrengths, deep listening for communal decision-making, team growth and self-care practices.  All of her work in these areas in rooted in compassion, nonviolence and a belief in the power of life.  These provide her with an invitational tone that is welcoming, safe and encouraging. Spiritual Expertise: In Bernadette’s current ministry, she facilitates deep listening to God’s Spirit in one-on-one spiritual direction sessions, with teams, parishes and retreat groups.  Her ability in leading communal discernment has been enriched by three years of animating synodality around the country.  She is a Biblical scholar, who has written reflections on the entire cycle of Sunday readings and has taught many courses on the Bible.  Bernadette has also led retreats on a variety of themes, including spiritual practices, eco-spirituality, hope, resilience, the Mercy charism, racial healing and handling adversity. Bernadette has been a volunteer teacher on the Navajo Reservation, a middle school and high school teacher of literature, religion and math, a pastoral minister in a parish setting, a K-8 principal, adjunct faculty at several universities and the Director for Family and Community Development for the Diocese of Scranton. Bernadette is a certified spiritual director and member of Spiritual Directors International.  She also serves on the board of the National Association for Lay Ministry and chairs its Standards and Formation Committee. Bernadette enjoys hiking with her husband John, long talks, feeding people delicious food and creating colorful gardens with plenty of tomatoes.

Deep within us all, there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine center, a speaking Voice to which we may continually return.  Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-worn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself.

Thomas R. Kelly, Testament of Devotion

Nicholas Collura is a spiritual director and visiting retreat director at St. Raphaela Center in Haverford, PA.   A board-certified healthcare chaplain and Enneagram teacher, he currently serves as a chaplain at MIT. There he also directs Radius, an ethics program committed to challenging uncritical narratives of technological progress. He earned a Master of Divinity and trained as a spiritual director at the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry.  A former Jesuit, Nicholas has also ministered on several college campuses, at a L'Arche community in the Pacific Northwest and at juvenile halls and adult state prisons in California. His website is www.nicholascollura.com.

Marianne Comfort serves as justice coordinator for Earth, racism, and women for Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. She coordinates Mercy’s federal advocacy on climate change, environmental justice, and voting rights. She serves on the board of the Laudato Si’ Movement, a global movement to engage Catholics in climate and environmental justice, ecological spirituality, and sustainable lifestyles.