What is Cor?
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Cor ad cor loquitur: Heart speaks to heart
We live alone so much of our time today. We don’t talk face to face. Our communication is by cell phone and email. We boot up our computers and search the internet to get information. We don’t even have to go out to a movie theater to be entertained when we have a multitude of TV channels or DVD’s to choose from. But life is tough. To get through tough times we need to really connect with other people.
The St. Patrick Women’s Cor groups provide a way to connect with other women face to face or heart to heart. “Cor” is taken from our motto, Cor ad cor loquitur which means “heart speaks to heart.” These small groups gather for discussion once a month from October through May. Each month the members are provided with one or two short readings and a few questions for reflection on a topic that is spiritual or philosophical in nature. Our discussions are launched from the readings. We have discovered that when we stop and really listen, we are expanded. When one person’s experience is shared, and it is ours also, we learn lessons from that person. We can give empathy, but we also receive the sense of being part of a family, a common humanity.
Although our topics are not theological in nature, the discussions have a very definite Catholic perspective. Each gathering gives us insight into the way our beliefs and our faith are integral to who we are and how we live the gift of each day of our lives. We come away from each meeting with “food” for thought. Our Cor group allows us to connect personally with other women of St. Patrick and to hear God’s voice speaking through them.
One of the last things Thomas Merton said on the day he died was: "What we are asked to do...is not so much to speak of Christ as to let Him live in us so people may find Him by feeling how He lives in us." St Patrick’s Cor groups help each of us find Christ in this way.
If you would like further information about the St. Patrick Women’s Cor Groups, please contact a member of the Cor Planning Team:
Marti Alworth
Susan Carlson
Lisa Garrity
Sally Willis