Sister Story Archives - Page 6 of 32

Engaging in Midterms Elections to Protect Our Democracy

byRoz Parr

September 6, 2022

By Sister Rose Marie Tresp, Institute Justice Team — Why should we vote? How can we strengthen the power of voting in our local, state and national elections? John Lewis, late civil-rights activist and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia, stated: “The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” Although national elections often receive the most attention, the outcome of elections at the state level may determine a significant number of decisions about laws and regulations related to our Critical Concerns.

Take Me With You

byRoz Parr

August 27, 2022

By Sister Cynthia Serjak — “Take me with you, Hyacinth, I will make the burden light.” The year was 1241 and the city of Kyiv was under siege. Hyacinth, a local monk, ran to the sanctuary to take the Blessed Sacrament to a safe place. As he turned to leave, he heard a pleading voice: “Take me with you, Hyacinth.” He realized it was the image of Our Lady of Kyiv, begging to be rescued.

Formation at the Border

byRoz Parr

August 11, 2022

By Sister Luz-Eugenia Alvarez — From the time I began formation in the novitiate (a phase in the process of becoming a Sister of Mercy), I knew that, following the completion of classes on the vow of service, there was the possibility I would go to the U.S.-Mexico border. This past June, I did. I traveled to the border between McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to learn about how the sisters serve immigrants there.

The Beauty of St. Mary Magdalene’s Love

byRoz Parr

July 21, 2022

By Sister Honora Nicholson — Today we celebrate the feast of Mary Magdalene, the woman whose place in the circle of Jesus’ friends was attested to by all four gospels and whose claim to apostleship is equal in every way to both Peter and Paul. Yet, unlike Peter, Mary never denied Jesus and, unlike Paul, she never persecuted him. She was given the title Apostle to the Apostles by the early church, the first to receive a direct mission from the Risen Lord to go and preach the Gospel.

New Native Peoples

byRoz Parr

July 13, 2022

By Sister Michele Schroeck — When I think of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint from the territory of the United States and Canada and patroness of ecology, I think of the Bhutanese immigrants living in my neighborhood. They were expelled from their native lands and sent to Nepal, where they lived in refugee camps in the 1990s before coming to the United States. These Bhutanese like many other native peoples were forced to leave their ancestral home.

“We can make a difference” + “This is what solidarity looks like”

byRoz Parr

July 12, 2022

More than 50 sisters, associates and colleagues in ministry joined the Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 18, 2022. Sister Carren Herring and Sister Diane Guerin recently reflected on what it was like to be a part of this momentous event!

Blessed, Broken, Shared: A Reflection for Corpus Christi

byRoz Parr

June 17, 2022

By Sister Michelle Gorman — The Gospel reading for the feast of Corpus Christi is a microcosm of the life of Jesus and how we are to understand ourselves as members of the Body of Christ. Jesus is healing those in the crowd in the context of the reign of God, and he places this reign of God within the reality of a crowd whose hunger can be fed by the intervention of the Twelve in the present moment. The seemingly insignificant five loaves and two fish are multiplied through the action of blessing, breaking and sharing.

Ready to Ride the Poor People’s Campaign Bus!

byRoz Parr

June 15, 2022

By Karel Lucander, Features Writer
— Sister Joan Serda and Sister Marilyn Graf have that feeling you get right before you embark on a big adventure. At 6 a.m. on June 17, they will board the Poor People’s Campaign Bus in Mobile, Alabama, bound for Washington, D.C.—leaving the comfort of the Convent of Mercy far behind.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

byRoz Parr

June 10, 2022

By Sister Patricia McCann, RSM — It is time to go back to the use of the word ignorant in our Mercy vocabulary. Catherine McAuley committed us to service among “the poor, sick and ignorant.” In recent years we changed wording to uneducated in many of our documents and in daily usage. Thinking of the vast network of Mercy educational institutions, we thought uneducated seemed more inclusive and less pejorative. And in that limited context it probably is. In contemporary times, though, we are discovering a new urgency about denouncing ignorance.

A Reflection for Pentecost

byRoz Parr

June 3, 2022

By Sister Peg Sullivan — Have you ever thought about what it must have been like to be present on that first Pentecost? The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit when they had the tongues of fire come to rest on them and immediately began to proclaim what Jesus had taught them. These were the same people who had cowered in fear just a short time before and who were now filled with a courage beyond themselves.

So Much Joy, So Much Sadness

byRoz Parr

May 31, 2022

By Sister Pat Kenny — If the Easter narrative taught us nothing else, it did confirm the inevitable truth of joy and sadness in our lives. Wild elation and profound grief will be part of every life; not once or twice, but over and over during the lifetime of every person old enough to understand joy and sadness. Everyone will experience soft and ragged edges of each.

The Process of Rebirth

byRoz Parr

May 26, 2022

By Sister Victoria Incrivaglia — In the process of rebirth, there are times when both the blossoms and new leaves of the dogwood tree are present simultaneously; both are present to each other yet knowing that change will happen. The engagement of this process is a journey.

Story Type: Sister Story