Prayer doesn’t always have to be a matter of spoken words. Any of the senses and faculties God has given us can be used for prayer, either alone or communally.
Sister Yoo Soo Kim, MM, whose mission is located in Hawaii, pursues art as her special ministry. She is well regarded for her paintings and prints. She also performs sacred dance and leads prayer groups that incorporate movement.
“My dance is a very sacred way of connecting and relating with various people and groups—a way of sharing stories. It is a way of giving a new perspective on experiences,” says Sister Yoo Soo.
Sister Yoo Soo has employed her talents as a dancer, choreographer, instructor, and group coordinator for many years. For ten years she served as “Moving Prayer” instructor at Chaminade University in Hawaii. “It is like moving from the inside out—expressing on the outside what is going on in the inside. Movements like thoughts are free to be expressed without judgement. When you are able to express your hidden emotions then these experiences may be transformed and healed.”
Sister Yoo Soo’s art, both visual and performative, is more than just entertainment. It’s prayer… for her and for the onlookers. She makes sure to always look for the evidence that it has changed someone.
“One time in a parish I was doing sacred dance to the music of ‘The Rose.’ I had a bunch of roses in my hands. I then gave the roses to people in the crowd. I didn’t know who I would give the roses to—I followed my feelings and intuitions. Afterwards a woman who experienced my movement came back to me crying, saying: ‘I am pregnant, but I am not married.’ She had a very difficult time being herself. When I gave her the rose, it was a gift for her—holding hope for that seed to become something beautiful. She said, ‘Oh thank you Sister, thank you very much! You give me hope and strength.
YOUR GIFT will help Sister Yoo Soo and all of our Sisters continue to do their great mission work!
Thank you, and bless you for being a friend to the Maryknoll Sisters and the vast variety of ministries in which they serve!