Sister Jaguar’s Journey

Aired Sunday, 4 September 2016, 2:00 PM ET

On Sunday September 4th, at 2 PM EST, I have the pleasure to introduce to you sister Jaguar and her journey to find God.

About the Guest Sister Judy Bisignano

Sister Judy Bisignano, a Dominican nun, spent sixty-eight years looking for God in all the wrong places. A lifetime of prayer and public service as a fierce and renowned educator in Tucson, Arizona failed to bring her the peace and divine connection she had always sought.

SISTER JAGUAR’S JOURNEY (the film and the book) tells the story of her difficult childhood, and her attempt to avoid family life, marriage and motherhood by entering the convent, where she was met with an even more abusive situation. Ever the survivor, she worked with children and teenagers and founded two schools, yet when the school she started for the Mexican-American community in South Tucson was closed, she was forced to confront the devastating effects of her lifelong anger on her life, her work, and those around her.

Divine intervention presented herself in the form of Sandra Morse, a friend and professional communication philosopher, who with a simple invitation to visit the Achuar community in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, forever changed Sister Judy’s life. Launching her onto a path toward reconciliation with her turbulent, abusive, angry past, she eventually found peace and forgiveness through plant medicine in the Amazon rainforest. Yes, a Dominican nun drinking ayahuasca – and it changed everything. It was here in this moment, in this place, with these special people, that she found God, healing and forgiveness.

While sitting in a canoe on the Pastaza River, Sister Judy witnessed a black jaguar devour a white bird. To date, she is the only visitor “from the north” to encounter a black jaguar in the Achuar region. According to the local shaman, seeing the black jaguar was a good omen, one that empowered Sister Judy to experience a series of cultural, environmental and spiritual shifts that ultimately transformed her life.

Sister Jaguar’s Journey is the story of one nun’s transformational passage from self-rejection to self-acceptance; from self-blame to self-love. Perhaps it is also the journey of each of us as we search for peace in this life and beyond.

The Achuar call her “Hermana Otorango – Sister Jaguar,” and so will you.

Website: http://www.sisterjaguarsjourney.com