Name: Sister Luma Khudher
Sister Luma Khudher is a Dominican of the Mosul, Iraq, Congregation, St. Catherine of Siena. Currently she is a student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a guest of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, IL. A popular lecturer and speaker, Sister Luma has years of experience in youth ministry in both her native country and the United States.
- How were you called to your current ministry/service? When I came to the U.S. I learned that the people here do not know a lot about the people in Iraq and their daily life. I started giving talks in different places mostly schools about the people of Iraq, the history of Iraq and the situation now in Iraq. I feel that God wanted me here for a purpose and this purpose is to tell people the truth.
- Who inspires you? Many people inspire me: my family - what they are going through every day in Iraq, my Dominican community in Iraq, and the community I am living with here in United States because their encouragement, love and support are beyond words.
- What are the biggest obstacles to peace? I think the biggest obstacle is not believing that peace is possible. We are all called to live in peace and work for peace. What we believe is what we are.
- What is the biggest challenge your organization faces? My Dominican community in Iraq has to deal with the war everyday. Our sisters work in hospitals, schools and orphanages and are trying to bring hope to the younger generations that peace will come someday.
- How do you get the news? From different websites. Since my first language is Arabic, I read the news on an Arabic website and an English website and that gives me the whole picture and different perspectives of what is happening in our world.
- How do you nurture your faith life? My personal prayer, celebrating the daily liturgy, community prayers everyday, and reading and reflecting on the words of the Bible are essential to my life. My life of faith is the source of my active life.
- What advice would you give the next generation of church and civic leaders? Act in nonviolent ways to resolve the conflicts because violence only begets violence. As Jeremiah points out: The potter reshapes and refashions his work with love, not with violence and war. We must do the same.
- Last good book you read? A book called: What is the point of being a Christian? By Timothy Radcliff
- Last good movie you saw? Crash – It really looked at some important issues and when it comes right down to it, we are all connected on this earth.
- What were you like in High School? When I was in high school the first Gulf war had started and there were not any activities in school. I was trying to do my best with my studies, enjoyed being in the choir at the church and worked collecting food for the refuges in my hometown and from that experience I started believing that the world should be better than it is.
- What is your favorite comfort food? Ice cream and chocolate
- Share a favorite quote that inspires you. “Preach the truth as if you had a million voices. It is silence that kills the world.” Saint Catherine of Siena, a Dominican Saint
