August 24, 2025

Teaching the dear children was just one part of our daily rounds.

My name is Elizabeth Hughes.
You know me as Sister Mary Philomena.
My dream of mercy was born in Wales, Great Britain
and nurtured later, like Patricia’s,
In Ballinrobe, Ireland.

When I was but a child,
The Great Famine fell upon beloved Ireland.
I suppose it was then
that my innate compassion for suffering people
began to shape my dream of mercy.

Although I lived for only a decade
after our journey to Philadelphia,
Mother Patricia knew me well.
We had sailed together to Boston in 1860
on the good ship “Parana”,
You, and I, and Francis de Sales.

You believed that my natural talent
and innate sympathy
prepared me well to be appointed
our first real practical nurse.

The care of the sick was a ministry I loved
in the brief time I spent on earth.
I dispensed it with every tenderness I could,
Knowing that I tended the wounds of Christ.

Before I died, I heard the priest whisper in the stillness,
“There is no cloud on that sister’s soul.”

Indeed, by God’s good grace,
Compassion flowed from me
Like dew upon the fresh green grass.

From my cloudless soul, I have sent you
the blessing of compassion and gentleness
down these long years.

I have watched our healthcare ministries
pour out like a sweet ointment
over the wounds of this city and its people.

In 1915, most of us had gone to God
but you, Mother Patricia,
When you journeyed in your final days
to the groundbreaking for Mercy Hospital in Philadelphia.
Oh, from that clear October afternoon,
What a wellspring of healing has come.

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For Your Reflection:

• What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
• Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
• What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

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Suggested Scripture: Colossians 3:12-14