Imagine a letter …

November 11, 2025
184th Anniversary of the Death of Catherine McAuley

Venerable Catherine McAuley (left) and Frances Warde
in Our Lady of Mercy Window
BASILICA of the NATIONAL SHRINE
of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Washington, DC

Fifteen years ago, as the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pennsylvania, prepared for the Sesquicentennial of our founding, we imagined what Catherine McAuley might write to us as we celebrated.

As we lovingly remember her today, on the anniversary of her death, perhaps you would enjoy reading the imagined letter she so graciously sent us:


Beloveds in Mercy,

I wish I could be with you in person on this special occasion, but – well, I’m sure you understand.  In place of that, I hope this letter brings you the warm blessing of knowing how grateful I am to each of you.

When I was contacted to offer you a few words, I indicated that I had already been talking with all of you for quite some time. If each one of you would think, just for a moment, our first conversation will come back to you.  It was the moment you realized that when you serve someone in the name of Mercy, you share the glorious and humbling call that I received so long ago. You share the work of God!

You and I may have talked in your classrooms or labs, in the crowded corridors at the change of class, or on your way home after a tiring week. We may have spoken just before a Board meeting, or in the midst of a celebration such as the one that brings us here today.  Perhaps we spoke at a hospital bedside, or kneeling beside a warm street grate on a snowy night.

Our connection happened in that moment when you realized, as I did in my own life, that you loved your wards and life companions the way God loves them – wanting their good, forgiving their shortcomings, honored to be with them on life’s journey. You loved them with Mercy.

For some of you, that sacred realization came when you helped a young person recover her self-esteem. For others, it came when you listened patiently to a harried parent until he found his way back to confidence.  For some of you, it was the pride you took in keeping the school beautiful, the records in order, the cafeteria churning. For some, it was the mutual support you found among your peers. For others, it was the ministry of sponsorship that you have exercised in my name for the sake of those we serve.

For many of you, it was the needy cry of the world outside a school or hospital. It was your courage to help your students and co-workers hear that cry too, and to guide them toward a merciful response. It is a call repeated to others by your witness of fidelity, justice, and charity in a tumultuous world.

How proud I am of each and every one of you! Long ago, when I still walked the streets of Dublin, I had already thought of you. It’s true! On a spring afternoon, passing by the sycamores of St. Stephen’s Green, I would imagine someone, long into the future, fired with the same passion for mercy that filled my own heart. That someone was you. Even then, when our little community was only a seedling, I knew it would endure and spread like a noble tree. I could already see its leaves shimmering with your names.

Over these nearly 200 years, I have slowly learned each of your names by heart – the thousands who have preceded you, and the thousands who will come after. You are one – and a very dear and special one – in an infinite line of compassion. You are the eternal reach of God into human need. You are the tender community of Mercy.

Today’s ritual marks a significant time in the evolution of this community.  It is a time of reminiscence, gratitude, blessing, and hope. I give you my everlasting thanks for joining your heart to this mission and your courage to carry it into the future. It was God’s dream in me so long ago, and it endures because of you.

But the years also bring change, which carries its own considerations, I know.  I went through many changes and challenges in my short ten years of ministry. And the changes over two centuries – oh, I can’t begin to tell you! They can bring hesitation and worry, but they also offer the opportunity for faith and creativity.  As I encouraged my first Sisters long ago, “We have one solid comfort amidst this little tripping about, our hearts can always be in the same place, centered in God, for whom alone we go forward or stay back.”

My final words to you today are these: trust our Merciful God who is always with us. Your trust will bring a new grace and a new call. It is the next imagination of mercy, and you are its architects! Be faithful and be blessed. Be Mercy in the world!

And, oh my friends, will we all meet in heaven? What joy even to think of it!

Your loving sister,

Catherine

Veterans Day

November 11, 2025

Photo by Wilson Rodriguez on Pexels.com

Today, we recognize all our men and women, living and dead, who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

This is not a celebration of war or military strength.  Rather, it is an acknowledgement of individual courage, generosity, and patriotism.  These are men and women who are willing to stand in the breach for the rest of us to protect our peace and freedom.


Yes, they are brave. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t frightened sometimes, or lonely, or discouraged about the course of international events.  Our veterans may show us ribbons, or pictures, or tell proud stories now. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t pay a huge personal price for their years of service. So did their families.


One cannot avoid the fact that there is confusion today among Americans as our military is domestically deployed against unarmed citizens and refugees. Many consider the deployment to be politicized presidential overreach using our military as pawns. We have yet to acknowledge what damage this does to the reputation of our military, the respect earned for 250 years of selfless service, and the well-deserved patriotic pride of its members.


Our men and women in service have made a valiant choice. They deserve to be inspired by leaders who value and honor that choice.  Their skills should be deployed in a manner that draws the respect of their countrymen and the world.  And upon discharge, they deserve to have the healthcare, housing, and benefits they have earned. 


However we feel about war or politics, to serve our country is an admirable contribution to the common good.  So if you know a Vet, thank them today for what they have done for you and your family.  And if you see a soldier, pilot, sailor, or marine in the airport or mall on this special day, say thanks and God bless you.  They answered the call to stand up for everything you have the freedom to celebrate today.


Music: God Bless Our Veterans – Voice of the Lamb (lyrics below)

Come to me all who are weary and burdened
I will give you rest and comfort your soul
The Lord is close to those with broken hearts
He saves those crushed in spirit never apart

In the darkest hours when shadows fall
He carries the weight answering the call
With gentle hands He heals the pain
In His promise of peace we remain

God bless our veterans brave and true
In every trial He stands with you
Through the pain and the sorrow His love renews
With strength from above He sees you through

He mends the hearts that are torn and worn
In His gentle touch the wounded are reborn
Fear not for He is ever near
With His righteous hand casting away your fear

In the darkest hours when shadows fall
He carries the weight answering the call
With gentle hands He heals the pain
In His promise of peace we remain

God bless our veterans brave and true
In every trial He stands with you
Through the pain and the sorrow His love renews
With strength from above He sees you through

Praise be to our God source of all comfort
In every affliction His love never falters
With the comfort we’ve received we comfort too
In His everlasting love all things are renewed

God bless our veterans brave and true
In every trial He stands with you
Through the pain and the sorrow His love renews
With strength from above He sees you through

He mends the hearts that are torn and worn
In His gentle touch the wounded are reborn
God bless our veterans in His holy light.

After Daylight Savings Time

November 3, 2025

The world changes.
The evening shadows
gather and surprise us,
like dinner guests arrived too early.

The meal is not ready;
the wine not fully decanted;
the candles yet unlit;
our warm spirits not yet gathered
to receive our visitors,
carried by the chilly dark.

It is this way with life as well.
Seasons of sadness, loss,
longing and incompleteness
intrude themselves into our light.
We are not ready
for their frosty secrets.

Yet they too carry
the Great Spirit’s warm caress,
though harder to discern.

So challenging to find the way
to a peace hidden in darkness.
So effortless to keep the path
in a summer afternoon’s full light!

Yet we must not shun
these blessed November evenings.
They squeeze the most amazing brilliance
through the vespering clouds.

Be still in their encroaching darkness.
It is but a moment until,
like a pinprick on velvet,
the Evening Star appears
tumbling a universe of diamonds
into the night.

~ Renee Yann, RSM


Music: Adagio – Tomas Albinoni

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?

Suggested Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has made everything beautiful in its time,
and has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done

from beginning to end.