Associate Maria is involved in many ministries in her parish, Sacred Heart/Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As I was reading the gospel for Palm Sunday, I was struck by such contrasts from welcoming and cheering to violence – betrayal, deceit, injustice and death. As a mother I felt the anguish that Mary must have felt to witness her son’s pain and suffering. And there is a part of me that is in awe of Jesus obedience to his Father – to die on the cross for us.
Resurrection is a hard sell. One would think it would be easier than suffering and crucifixion, but ironically it isn’t. No one alive today is unaware of the ordeal of suffering and pain: in themselves, in the people they love, in their own cities and countries. Unfortunately, we are also acutely aware of the sufferings of people around the world through the media. We can see on our televisions and media devices the horror as it unfolds from natural disasters and from evil inflicted by others. We can see the effects of torture and death on the evening news as clearly as if we stood on Calvary looking up at the Son of God as he was dying by the hands of those who hated him.
Photo: Sr. Rose Mary Sullivan and Sr. Jackie Hanrahan
We are winding down the Have a Heart Campaign. We received many notes for our brothers and sisters in detention. We have raised money to be used in collaboration with First Friends, the group which is actively working with immigrants in metro NY detention sites. There are a few more promised donations to come. Our sisters, associates, local Congregation of Notre Dame Communities, former CND sisters, family and friends of CND sisters, several schools, parishes in Norwalk, Kankakee, and Bourbonnais have generously responded to the Campaign. I was especially touched by a letter from a parishioner from Maternity Parish in Bourbonnais who reminded me that the novitiate used to be in her parish and that she loved attending the CND ceremonies held in her church! Her letter and several notes spoke of gratitude to be able to do something in the face of the growing ugly prejudice against immigrants. On April 6, Sr. Marilyn Medinger and I will meet with Sr. Regina Holtz of First Friends to strategize as to the best way to use our funds and to get information on “Packing Day” – the day the materials are packaged for distribution. I hope some of us can go to Kearny, New Jersey to help on that day. I firmly believe this campaign gives concrete and specific expression to our commitment to dare to live interculturally and to go to the peripheries. May we continue to walk where we talk. Thank you for Having a Heart.