"Give me a free hand;" this is the reported response that Jesus gave to Saint Margaret Mary when she asked, "What must I do?"[i] This is how saints are made. For it is of His fullness, we have received grace upon grace.[ii] For each of us there are but two options...
In September, the Church celebrates tremendous feast days. We turn our attention to the Triumph of the Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows. St. Bernard writes beautifully of the power of the contemplation of the wounds of the Lord; it is through these wounds and the...
Mother Catherine McAuley understood the need for kindness particularly in the care of the sick and the poor. She reminded her Sisters that “there are things which the poor prize more highly than gold, though they cost the donor nothing; among these are the kind word,...
See the 60th anniversary edition of Presence Magazine of the Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, OK, where our Sisters serve. 2020 also marked the 20th anniversary for the Religious Sisters of Mercy at Saint Francis. It’s 5:00 a.m. The sun has yet to wake and crest...
In the wake the recent commemoration of National Infertility Awareness Week (April 18-24th, 2021), I was introduced to the film documentary, Hush (2017), which is a deep dive into the controversies surrounding the possible links between induced abortion and future...
When we think about the gift of creation, we ought to remember that God has given us dominion over the earth to care for it, and creation is His gift to us. Indeed, He nourishes us through His creation. We take our sustenance from the earth. It is one of the...
One of Mother Catherine’s Little Virtue is forbearance, with an accent to “enduring all things.” The virtue of forbearance helps us to exercise self-control and to put our actions into the right order. How can we also put this into the context of medicine? Let me...
Mother Catherine McAuley taught her Sisters that their growth each day depended on the little moments and choices they made, from rising to dressing to eating, what she called the “perfection of the ordinary act”. She pointed out to her Sisters particular “little...
How can you grow in your spiritual life? How can you integrate that growth with your everyday experiences, choices, and relationships? Venerable Catherine McAuley not only taught this, but she exemplified how to do so by taking one step at a time towards growing in...
Every year Christians should consider how they may grow closer to the Lord during the time of Lent. While the grace to even desire conversion first comes from the Lord drawing us to Himself, many times individuals will consider different practices to help turn their...