Patient Endurance: A Conversation with Sister Barbara Jean LaRochester
March 24, 2021
Sister Barbara Jean LaRochester is an 88 year old Carmelite nun in Baltimore, where she's been a sister since 1972. Prior to her arrival she spent 17 years in Philadelphia as an active nun in a Catholic hospital, and teaching on the weekends. According to the NY times,
“As a board member of the National Black Sisters Conference in 1968, she was active in the civil rights movement during the height of the race riots…. “ She’s been a spiritual director since 1982. In a Washington Post article, Sister Barbara is quoted as saying, "There comes a point when you have to get off the merry-go-round. I could only do so much with my two hands. Through prayer, I feel I can touch the world."
In this interview we discuss mysticism's role in activism, Black Lives Matter, the insurrection of January 6th, and more. Sister Barbara defines a mystic as “someone that observes mysteries or experiences but their intuition is held by God. And so they’re able to understand beyond the human understanding, beyond it."
Sister Barbara Jean LaRochester is a Carmelite nun in Baltimore, where she's been a Catholic sister since 1972. Previously, she spent 17 years in Philadelphia as an active nun working in a Catholic hospital and teaching on the weekends. She was also a board member of the National Black Sisters Conference and was active in the civil rights movement during the height of the race riots in 1968. She’s been a spiritual director since 1982.
Sister Barbara told the Washington Post, “There comes a point when you have to get off the merry-go-round. I could only do so much with my two hands. Through prayer, I feel I can touch the world.”
In this interview I ask Sister Barbara about mysticism's role in activism, and we talk about Black Lives Matter, the insurrection of January 6th, and more. She defines a mystic as “someone that observes mysteries or experiences but their intuition is held by God. And so they’re able to understand beyond the human understanding, beyond it.”