Vol 14 No 3 2004 Mercy Association

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The Journal of the [ ~ Vol. 14, No.3
Mercy Association in
Scripture and Theology [JC] 2004
V
December, 2004
Dear Sisters, Associates and Friends of Mercy,
This issue is devoted to the theme of Mercy association. The autobiographical statements of associates
show their diversity. Some came to Mercy association through a Mercy educational or health care insti-
tution, some more indirectly through a spouse, or through a community program directed by a Mercy
Sister. All find spiritual meaning and support for the journey with God. Many are active in their parish
and civic community.
At a party, glass in hand, I was speaking with Sr. Sheila Devereux, director of the Omaha Associa-
tion, about the value of retaining the diversity of each region's approach and sty Ie-which was evident
when I read associate materials she mailed to me. Her region's association covers the territory from
Nebraska to Oregon. I wondered if that culture would be lost if twenty-five regions were melded into a
"mega-association" erasing regional differences and voices. Would that be good for associates?
In Los Angeles for a conference on canon law, I discovered that a clearheaded presenter, Deborah
Cerullo, a School Sister of Notre Dame, had done her canonical research in Rome on the phenomenon
of association, which is occurring in many congregations. She provided an article to keynote this issue
from research she has been doing for several years. Her article proves that divine synchronicity exists!
I asked some questions after one of her talks: Would it be timely for associates to form their own
"private association of the Christian faithful" as described in canons 321-329? This would provide
ecclesial identity and autonomy for them as laity, as distinct from vowed membership in Mercy. Mar-
garet Marnell, a Burlingame associate and psychologist, told me later when I floated this idea, that not
all associates want to have a formal identity with the institutional church. An alternative to sometimes
bleak parish life is one reason they are attracted to Mercy association.
I had to admit that ecclesial identity is a matter for both theological clarification and emotional
struggle. Do Mercy Sisters feel they are "in the church, but not of it"? Is it akin to what Jesus said of his
disciples in John's gospel: "You are in the world, but not of it"? How do associates see their relation to
the institutional church? If associates and companions aspire to "everything but vows," is that thereby
a critique ofa spirituality grounded in vows? Didn'tJesus practice more than three counsels? Or does
affiliation with "Mercy" embody chafing at too close a tie with the church's male authority structure?
As to human organization, I wondered whether it would make sense for associates in various re-
gions to formalize their activities using the model of a not-for-profit corporation established for chari-
table purposes. This would be a structure inclusive enough for women and men, Catholics and those of
other faiths. It would help define the distinct identity and mission of association.
In any organization of adults, disputes arise. Is it an expression of the charism of mercy for associ-
ates to have a peacekeeping board to resolve differences and promote charity so energies will be fo-
cused on good works? And what is the process for handling tensions that may arise between an
associate and a vowed member? Since no discussion followed my questions, I assume they remain open
for conversation.
Therese Di Lisio's study of "a comfortable cup of tea" shows that associates can interpret the
charism in attractive ways. Julie Upton, R.S.M., had received a copy of her thesis in New York and for-
ward it to me, for which readers will be grateful. Toni Gross's essay is an update of an article she submit-
ted four years ago to The MASTJournal on the sister-associate relationship, which indicates how long
she has been reflecting on this theme. A writer able to pull together many strands, she was also the
compiler of the report last year from the Institute Commission on Women in/of the Church,
codirected by Helen Marie Burns, RS.M. and Patricia McDermott, RS.M.
Katherine Grant, generous in her work for Mercy higher education, and long an advocate for al-
ternative forms of commitment, has collaborated with Katherine Ann Hill, RS.M., in connecting the
idea of companions in Mercy with Catherine's charism. Another form of collaboration, that of a col-
league at Mt. St. Aloysius College, is illustrated in Rev. Victor Austin's essay on the way Catholic iden-
tity expresses itself at a Mercy institution of higher learning.
Shorter pieces include autobiographical statements by associates, a poem by Patricia Ryan,
RS.M., and a book review by Dr. Elizabeth Baer of a volume on the Rwandan Genocide, coedited by
Carol Rittner, RS.M.
We are grateful that our Mercy associates accompany us in prayer, enrich our conversation about
what matters most in life, write skillfully, support Mercy ministries and chart new directions with us.
Yours,
~~,R.S.9?,.
Eloise Rosenblatt, R.S.M.
The Editorial Board wishes to broaden the voice of The MAST Journal. Sisters of Mercy and Associ-
ates in all fields are invited to submit editorials or opinion pieces on theological concerns arising from
topics featured in the journal. Forthcoming issues will address Reading Contemporary Theologians, Per-
spectives on Mercy Association, ContextuaVCultural Theology, and Racism. Another welcome genre is
reflections on the discussion questions of each issue. Such short pieces are normally between 400-800
words and publication includes the author's name. Submissions should be sent electronically or by
mail and disk to Carol Rittner, R.S.M., MAST Editorial Board, 1502 Atlantic Ave. #2, Longport, NJ
08403. E-mail: [email protected].
Associate Programs
Identity and Shared Charism from a Canonical Perspective
Deborah M. Cerullo, S.S.N.D.
STATEMENTS BY
Introduction ence between current associate ASSOCIATES
The phenomenon of lay associ- programs and earlier manifesta-

tions of the laity connecting with I am the fourth child of a family of
ate programs connected to reli- five--three sisters and one brother.
gious institutes has been devel- religious institutes, a history that
goes back as far as the Benedic- My mother died when I was about
oping rapidly since Vatican II. three and a half. My father raised us,
Current statistics place the num- tines of the late seventh and
along with Sacred Heart Orphan-
ber of associates at an estimated early eighth centuries. 6
age and my devoted grandmother,
27,500 in the United State. l My own introduction to as-
with whom we spent many sum-
This is marked increase from the sociate programs came when I mers. After school in San Luis and
statistics of 1997, which showed was ~ewly professed in 1988. My Pueblo, Colorado, I lived in San
an estimated fourteen thousand provmce was the last of seven Francisco, California, for twenty-
five hundred associates scat- North American provinces to eight years. After I graduated from
tered throughout more than develop such a program, and I high school, I went on to a voca-
three hundred eighty insti- was having some diffIculty un- tional program-an LVN for nurses.
tutes-more than double the ap- derstanding the differences be- I met my husband and married him
proximate six thousand associ- tween my life as a member and following him to Japan for tw;
ates ofless than ten years prior. 2 that of associates. While it all years. Our first daughter was born
Although this phenomenon has made sense to me in theory, there. We returned to San Fran-
its roots in the lay and religious given the "equality of the bap- cisco and raised our five daughters
tized" and all the theology of in- and two sons. I worked part time in
movements of the past, the cur-
clusion that I had been learning, nursing for twenty-eight years. We
rent associate programs date moved back to the valley in Colo-
I was still uncomfortable. I was
back generally to the 1970s and rado where we both were from. My
are seen by their founding con- having trouble understanding
why associates were participat- husband was from Denver. We
gregations as a new develop- were in San Luis, Colorado for
ment coming out of Vatican II's ing in much of our shared life
without having to undergo the twenty years. I became active in
call for greater collaboration community and church volunteer-
with the laity.3 According to the scrutiny and evaluation that was
ing.1 became a VIDA volunteer for
suc~ a constant part of my for-
North American Conference of three years. Presently I am a
Associates and Religious, associ- matIOn. I would sometimes have
Eucharistic minister and lector. I
ates are lay people who affiliate the experience of hearing the as-
work one-quarter time for the Re-
s~c!ates praised for all they were
with a religious institute and tired Senior Volunteer Program
commit to living the mission and glVlng to the community while at where I recruit volunteers. I have a
t~e same time, I was feeling criti- deep interest in herbal medicine
charism of the religious institute
cIzed because of some of the dif- and studied at Regis College one se-
~ithin their independent, lay
ficulties that I was experiencing
hf~ style. 4 This notion of the laity mester through the University
hvmg or sharing the charism ofa as I attempted to acculturate Without Walls program. I presently
religious institute has been into contemporary religious life. do herbal walks and lectures, and
called" a radical change of view- Frankly, I sometimes wondered share my products made from
point,,5 and marks one differ- if associates were receiving all of herbs. I had the privilege of traveling
to some countries and would like to
3
4 Cerullo: Associate Programs
travel even more. I have fourteen

grandchildren and two great-
grandchildren.
Frankly, I sometimes wondered if associates
-Teresa de Jesus Berlinda were receiving all of the benefits of
Vigil, Associate, San Luis, Colo- membership with none of the obligations.
rado (1996)
the benefits of membership with grams, other panels are also evi-
none of the obligations. dent. These represent volun-
My study of canon law and teers in mission who give a year
Questions: Is association a social specifically associate programs or two of service and then move
variation on the idea of sodality? from a canonical perspective on, or former members who
What might be some organizational helped me to recognize the value lived and were formed in the
structures for association? of the appropriate sharing of charism before moving on to
Answer: About the association, I do charism, which is a very new con- new lifestyles. Partners in minis-
not like to think about it as a later cept that flows from our post- try, especially in our sponsored
life Vatican II theology of equality, works, represent another panel
Sodality. I'd much rather think and at the same time, be more and another might be secular
of it as priesthood of the laity. The comfortable with the knowledge branches, a new development in
Protestants are way ahead of us in that there are boundaries. While its very beginning stages for
terms of having lay people make sin- many communities are still in a those who feel called to the evan-
cere commitments to do ministry process of dialogue to under- gelical counsels in a secularized
and they give them, in some cases, a stand and develop these bound- lifestyle. All have the potential to
"partial ordination." aries better, it seems to me to be share the charism with the world
I don't think the future calls for very helpful to put these issues out of their particular lifestyle.
taking vows and living in obedience into this broader context of both While this image is helpful,
to an equal nor giving up intimate sharing and boundaries. it seems to me to present two
committed relationships (and sex), The image that has emerg- challenges, challenges that we
at least for most of us. That pro- ed for me is that of an umbrella have been grappling with ever
found commitment will hopefully in relationship to the world. The since Vatican II asked religious
continue to exist for a few. The
charism is the canvas that covers to return to our founding spirit 7
world has enormous needs and we
all of the spokes, but layered on and to hold lay apostolic works
all need to try harder to consider
each panel is a different colored in high regard, helping to pro-
each other and work for the com-
transparency, manifesting a dif- mote them in accordance Witll
mon good. Association may be one
way in the future for lay people to
ferently hued and textured life- the spirit and rules of their insti-
work together, to bond together, style that presents that charism tute. s The challenges invite us
just as many humanistic organiza- to the world. Holding it all, its to continue to grapple with our
tions do, but with the center em- stem and center, is Jesus Christ. understanding of charism, and
bedded in a spiritual, Christian faith In addition to the panels of reli- with our own identity as reli-
loosely and informally probably gious life and associate pro- gious, distinct from that of the
Catholic faith.
Sitting in a pew on Sunday, at-
tending Eucharist and being
preached at for ten minutes, is not
We have come to understand our renewal as
much commitment, though the a call to rediscover our unique, founding
Church seems to say it is what is ex-
pected of the laity, that and dona- charism and offer it to our world but we
tions plus an occasional confession.
Many of us want to be actively in-
often struggle to identify its uniqueness.
Cerullo: Associate Programs 5
laity.9 We have come to under- time that Benedictine communi- volved in serving others, following
stand our renewal as a call to re- ties began accepting oblates, Christ's model. We need commu-
discover our unique, founding adults who offered the monaster- nityto help us do it,for support, for
charism and offer it to our world ies services in return for sharing learning, for common prayer. And
but we often struggle to identifY in their spiritual lives. Through- we need good theological teach-
its uniqueness. 10 out the twelfth and thirteenth ing-Which we are very fortunate
Regarding identity, we have century, most Christians partici- to get from a number of Sisters of
spent many years developing pated in one or more of the innu- Mercy.
those aspects of our life of faith merable groups oflay associations Every day, as I work, I think of
that we share with others, includ- that arose. It was at this time that myself as an extension of Mercy. I'm
ing spirituality, ministry, commu- some societies or associations ac- not very nice sometimes and I need
nity, and now charism. As our un- tually developed a juridic form someone and something to help
derstanding of what we share that allowed them to begin own- keep me on track and to keep push-
with others continues to develop, ing and administering their own ing me along in my spiritual devel-
opment which Mercy association
it is also important to explore property. Those attached to reli-
does. Many Sisters are not in
what makes the lifestyle of religious orders were placed under
Mercy-sponsored ministries. I'm
gious life distinctive, not because the order's direct supervision and
the same. My work is my ministry
it is better or holier, but simply administration to the extent that and it is changed and enriched by
because it is different. ll The the superior and other professed being an associate. I hope in the fu-
struggles we experience with our members formed the administra- ture there will be many associates
associate programs around issues tive board. who bring the Mercy charism into
of identity, boundaries, inclusion, It was from this historical all kinds of work settings working
and shared charism provide us background that third orders for conversion of the spirits of
with wonderful opportunities to developed. Francis of Assisi was many, infiltrating systems to change
explore these issues in a very himself the founder of the Fran- the current narcissistic perspective.
practical way. ciscan third order, which devel- There are those who love the
oped between the years 1209 and religious, have free time, and who
1221 when its rule was approved want to help them do their work.
by Pope Honorius III. In 1285, That's good and useful. I guess that's
History of Lay Associations the Dominican third order re- more like the sodality. But there is
and Their Connection to ceived a rule patterned after the need for many kinds of work. I think
Religious Institutes 12 Franciscan rule. The Dominican we need to make space for all kinds
rule did not receive papal ap- of work. Probably what real com-
The first occasions oflaity associ-
proval until the fifteenth cen- munity means is that we try to at
ating themselves with religious least be genuinely tolerant of each
orders developed during the tury, which was also the begin-
ning of the approval of third other's perspectives but more ide-
early monastic period. The ally that we genuinely value each
Benedictines began forming fra- orders connected with other reli-
other's perspectives.
ternities of prayer that offered gious institutes. In the seven-
I need a faith community that
masses and other supplications teenth century, the founders of
considers science and knows that
for the success of the apostolate many religious congregations God is not a human person sitting in
and for the repose of the dead. desired to have the laity share in the clouds directing traffic and pun-
Gradually, the membership wid- the spirit and apostolic endeav- ishing when "he" gets mad. I'm glad
ened to include kings, princes, ors of their religious institute to help when I can but I am a
and nobles, and eventually even and from their beginnings re- woman, not a child, and I have my
general lay folk became members. ceived approval to have associa- own work to do. That's what should
Eventually, their purposes grew to tions of the laity joined to them, happen to associates. They should
include works of charity such as either "in the nature of third or- be women (and men) doing. their
giving alms to the poor and visit- ders" or as public or private as- work.
ing the sick. It was about this same sociations of the faithful. 13
I think association needs to The 1917 Code of Canon Consecrated Life. The canon
belong to itself, neither to the Law, which for the first time put that allows for associations con-
Church nor to the Sisters of Mercy. the law of the Church into one nected to religious institutes,
That is because the Church makes code, restricted third orders to canon 303, is found in the sec-
some rules that can limit the out- those religious institutes that had tion under Lay Associations of
reach of Christianity. The Sisters of an apostolic privilege. After the the Faithful-not the section on
Mercy have Constitutions that promulgation of the 1917 code, religious institutes. Canon 303
were developed for vowed religious no new privileges were granted describes associate programs as
women. We associates need some- and much of the activity regard- associations whose members
thing new for a new time. Yes, we ing lay associations was unrelated lead an apostolic life and strive
belong to Mercy and to the likes of to religious institutes, but rather for Christian perfection while
Catherine and the women of Mercy. was centered around the Catholic living in the world and who
I can see us as a new contextualiza- Action movement and related to share the spirit of some religious
tion of the charism of Mercy. I sup- the development of the new form institute under the higher direc-
pose I can see us connected to the of consecrated life now known as tion of that institute. Unlike the
Sisters of Mercy organization like
secular institutes. 14 The Second 1917 code, there is no require-
Catherine was connected to the
Vatican Council's emphasis on ment for an apostolic privilege
PBVMs. Over time, if we keep at it, I
the laity's "special and indispens- to create such an association and
think we must become ourselves.
We aren't there yet, so we're hang-
able role in the mission of the as a result, these programs have
ing on your apron strings, and church," brought with it a call to developed primarily through
Mercys are incredibly gracious and the laity for "an apostolate infi- the religious institutes them-
helpful about it. nitely broader and more intense" selves rather than through any
We are so young that I dread than in former times due to the connection with or approval by
trying to become part of the insti- circumstances of the times. 15 the Apostolic See.
tute.1 think we are confused about Further, religious brothers and A second canon regarding as-
where we are going right here in the Sisters were directed to hold lay sociate programs is found in the
Bay Area. If it's hard for the Sisters apostolic works in high regard section on religious institutes, c.
and they have been developing for and help in promoting them in 677 §2, which states that institutes
I SO years, my gosh, it seems even accordance with the spirit and that have associations of Christ's
harder for us. I fear that all the rules of their institute. 16 faithful joined to them are to have
hassles involved will just prove a dis- It was out ofthis context that a special care that these associa-
traction from our work on becom- most lay associate programs tions are imbued with the genuine
ing community ourselves. Remem- were born and it is out of this spirit of their founder. It is inter-
ber that Catherine didn't even stay context that the 1983 Code of esting to note that this canon is
for breakfast after she made first Canon Law, which in many ways found in the section on the
vows. reflects the theology of Vatican apostolate, implying some con-
I, at least at this time, would be nection between the spirituality of
II, situates associate programs.
opposed to the association becom-
Book II of the code, entitled an institute and its expression in
ing formally attached to the Church.
"The People of God," is made up apostolic works. While many asso-
I think Church hierarchy needs to
of three sections-All the Chris- ciate programs were begun for the
be reformed. It's just too male, too
dogmatic, too hierarchical. I think
tian Faithful, The Hierarchical purpose of spiritual companion-
we're better off to live with some Constitution of the Church, and ship, it is not uncommon now for
ambiguity for a while, but if there
were some pressure for a more for-
mal relationship with the congrega- While many associate programs were begun
tion, I would not feel the same as I for the purpose of spiritual companionship,
do about the Church. About incor-
poration under state law, this is in- it is not uncommon now for associates to
move into more collaboration in ministry.
associates to move into more col- the dynamism that defines it- teresting. I hadn't thought about it,
laboration in ministry. This "im- often called its particular spirit- don't know whether others have.
buing with the genuine spirit of and it provides for a future with a In contrast to my desire to be
the founder" takes us to our dis- "certain constancy of orienta- seen as a good girl when I was
cussion of charism, where the call tion" that allows for a continual young, today I want to be allowed to
for a relationship of equality, revitalization and change in ex- be a woman, listening to others and
where associates "live the charism ternal forms. 20 Mutuae Relationes learning from them, working with
in the first person and share the expanded this teaching, stating them, but ultimately, thinking for
gifts of the Spirit in filii that the charism of the founder is myself and acting according to my
coresponsibility" 17 is being seen "an experience of the Spirit," own motivations. Fr. Hand counsels
as the true innovation of contem- transmitted to their disciples to "living from the inside out:' I won-
porary associate programs. be lived, safeguarded, deepened, der if the Church· would let me do
and constantly developed by that if I were to get too formally
them in harmony with the Body connected to it.
Charism of Christ continually in the pro- -Margaret Marnell, Associate,
Burlingame, California (2004)
Pope Paul VI was the first to use cess of growth. 21
the word charism officially in re- Applying these concepts to
lation to religious life in his apos- current developments in associ-
tolic exhortation on the renewal ate programs and elsewhere, it
and adaptation of religious insti- seems reasonable to conclude I was born in Coos Bay, Oregon in
tutes after the Second Vatican that the growth that was pre- 1922, with an Irish Catholic mother
Council. 18 Before that, language dicted, has very unpredictably and a supportive father. I was raised
concerning charism focused on moved outside the parameters Catholic. My father died when I was
the gifts given by the Spirit for of the religious institutes them- sixteen. Mother was left with three
the renewal and building of the selves to "multiple and no lon- other children besides me. She was
Church. From the text of the ger exclusive partICIpations always involved with the Sisters of
more in keeping with the con- Mercy in food drives and sewing.
classic description of charism
cept of charism as a gift to the She obtained a job for me at
given in the second chapter of
church. "22 This view has recently McAuley Hospital as an aide when I
Lumen Gentium (§ l2b), we see
been validated by the apostolic finished high school. In 1940, I en-
that the origin of every charism is
exhortation VIta Conseo'ata, in tered nurses' training atthe Univer-
the Holy Spirit. It is a special sity of Portland, graduating in 1944;
grace given to anyone ofthe faithfol which it was said:
then I joined the army. In 1946, I
as an enabling gift within the Today, often as a result of new worked as a nurse,and was active in
Body of Christ to make them fit situations, many Institutes have youth groups. I married in 1948 and
and ready for various tasks for come to the conclusion that
their cha1'isms can be shamd with birthed eight children who now
the renewal and development of the laity. The laity are therefore range in age from forty-six to
the Church and its authenticity is invited to share more intensely twenty-nine. My husband died in
tested and judged by the hierar- in the spirituality and mission 1989 after a full life involved in
chy, not to extinguish the Spirit of these Institutes. We may say Knights of Columbus and other
but to test all things and hold fast that, in the light of certain his- church and school activities. My in-
torical experiences such as
to what is good. 19 When discuss- those of the Secular or TIlird
terests always revolved around my
ing the charism of the founder of Orders, a new chapter, rich in husband and children after mar-
an institute, Evangilica Testificato hope, has begun in the history riage. Since my husband's death, I
tells us that it does two things, it of relations between conse- have been involved in many activi-
gives each religious community crated persons and the laity.23 ties: I worked several years on the
Social Concern Commission of our
parish, several years at the Commu-
nity Food Bank, and at present help
our parish twice a year with St.
Catherine's recreation, a bingo pro- What Makes Religious Life the leadership of the institute in
gram. For the past five years, I have Distinctive the name of the Church. 24 This
been studying iconography and reli- This growing sense of clarity re- obviously implies that no one who
gious art. I have "written" one icon. garding what religious institutes has not professed the evangelical
My desire in the associate program share with associates leads us counsels in that institute is a mem-
is for prayer, spiritual nourishment,
back to the challenges we spoke berwith the rights and obligations
works of mercy, and coming to the of membership.25 Other church
of earlier. As our understanding
table of the Sisters of Mercy sharing
of what we share with associates documents such as Vita Consecrata
God's love. also speak of associate and volun-
continues to develop, we are also
-Mary (Molly) Adele Rhodes challenged to explore what teer programs, suggesting that
Auer, Associate, Coos Bay, Oregon makes the lifestyle of religious these movements of communion
(1995) , and cooperation are to be encour-
life distinctive, examining those
aspects of our life that we do not aged but that care must be taken
that the identity of the internal life
share with others. I will speak
here of the legal issues that sur- of dIe institute is not harmed.
round this topic, but it is impor- Two areas where this often
Born in Los Angeles, California's comes up are government and
"City of Angels," I have a twin tant to understand that this is
not simply about law. Law gives finance. These are areas that
brother, Peter. I was raised by a require boundaries, but it is not
mother-a single parent who structure to identity, but other
factors, such as theology, always clear where to put them,
worked as a nurse. My brother and I
ecclesiology, sociology, psychol- especially with government. Fi-
attended Catholic schools in Los
nances are a titde clearer be-
Angeles and had after-school activi- ogy, worldview, and genera-
cause of the civil structure of the
ties sponsored by the Sisters of So-
cial Service. As a child I began my
strong connection to God.1 always
thought something was wrong with As our understanding of what we share with
me because I though differently
than most I didn't like to fight or get
associates continues to develop, we are also
in trouble and had a strong desire to challenged to explore what makes the
be good. I was quite lonely. My twin
brother was the rebel. I began lifestyle of religious life distinctive, examining
working as a "candy striper" at the those aspects of our life that we do not
local hospital when I was thirteen
and my family moved to Idaho. I be- share with others.
came president of the junior auxil-
iary and, during the summer, I
helped deliver meals to the elderly tional issues all come into playas institute as a corporation that
through the Meals on Wheels Pro- well. We may not discuss these is- has many regulations that must
gram. At nineteen, I worked as a sues as fully as we would ifwe had be observed. Government is
therapist at the state hospital for a different entry point, but the harder because of our move-
mentally retarded. I then moved to issues are there nonetheless. ment to small group decision
Palm Springs, California, where I Canonically, it is very clear making by consensus. Associates
took evening classes at the commu- that associates are not members of are often appropriately welcome
nity college and worked in a depart- the religious institutes since they in these groups, but do they
ment store. It was at this time I be- do not meet the canonical criteria therefore inappropriately par-
gan to drift away from relationship for membership. The code de- ticipate in decision making?
with God. I was more concerned fines membership in an institute While influence and consulta-
with making it in the world, having as a person who has made first tion is always appropriate, actual
all the "goodies:' I went to beauty profession of vows, accepted by voting or deciding about issues
that affect the internal life of the be becoming clearer and clearer school and became a licensed cos-
institute or the vowed life itself that it is our charism that we metologist. I went to work at I.
are not, especially since non- share, and not our identity or in- Magnin and met some people who
members do not have to live with ternallife, we may not be so clear began to open my eyes. I started go-
the decisions that are made. In about what our charism, the ing to workshops that helped me to
addition to issues of governance unique spirit of an institute, actu- take a look at my life. I went back to
and finance, a new issue facing ally is. This issue was raised in a work at Saks Fifth Avenue, and it
communities that have associ- recent symposium of the School was like going to school. I became
ates connected with them is the Sisters of Notre Dame in which it aware of selfish people and learned
growing desire among some as- was pointed out that the question patience and unconditional love,
sociates to make permanent continues to come up-what and began my return to God and
commitments as associates. makes a given community's prayer. I loved my experience at
Here the boundary issue charism unique. 26 Rather than Saks and all the people, but I felt a
surfaces again as the question continue to speak of charism as strong desire to help people on a
higher level. I returned to Idaho
becomes, to what group do they ephemeral qualities or virtues,
with the thought of possibly going
desire to make the permanent such as unity, reconciliation, or
into nursing. I went to work in a
commitment? If it is to the reli- even mercy, some authors are
nursing home and was trained as a
gious institute, what is the nature suggesting that we instead turn to nursing assistant. I began working as
of that commitment and what is the concept of "deep-story" to a volunteer at Mercy with hopes of
the permanent commitment understand the uniqueness of working in a Catholic hospital. I was
that the institute makes in re- each religious institute, while at eventually hired out offourteen ap-
turn? If the commitment is to the the same time, reunderstanding plicants and I truly feel blessed. I
associate program, does that charism as a historicized phe- pray the rosary daily.
group have enough of a unique nomenon meeting that deep- Why did I want to be an asso-
identity and indicia of perma- story.27 Bernard Lee in an article ciate? To share in the spirit of the
nence, such as resources and entitledA Socio-Historical Theology Sisters of Mercy, to be part of a heal-
identifiable, long- term mission, of Chmism, states: ing presence in community and in
to sustain permanent member- The "recovery of charism" may service at Mercy, to grow spiritually
ship? These and other questions be one of the most through daily service to all I en-
must be discerned by both mem- unsupportable and unneces- counter by being an example of
bership and associates together sary burdens a religious institu- mercy and compassion.
tion has ever been asked to -Patrick Michael Ahaus, Asso-
in dialogue as these issues arise.
bem; because it cannot be done ciate, Mercy Medical Center, Nampa,
... Charism is not a property. It
Idaho (1993)
is not a possession; it is not
Sharing the Charism transferable, and not control-
lable. Charism is a deeply
The second challenge for our un- historicized social phenome-
derstanding of our relationship non. It cannot be duplicated in
with associates is that while it may any other time or place. 28 I have been in law enforcement
most of my adult life-twenty-
three years with the Colorado
Springs Police Department. I was
While it may be becoming clearer and chief for ten years prior to retire-
ment. After retirement, I was dep-
clearer that it is our charism that we share, uty chief of Adams County Sheriff's
and not our identity or internal life, we may Department, which included most
of northern Denver. I have always
not be so clear about what our charism, the been active in community, state, and
national affairs. I am currently mar-
unique spirit of an institute, actually is. ried to Patricia and have two sons,
two stepchildren, and four grand- What Lee says a community religious life that they say devel-
children. My spouse is an M.S.vv., does possess is a "deep- story," a oped out of the major historical
and director of a hospital-based narrative structure that has also shifts going on at their time in
chemical addiction intensive outpa- been called a unique, incar- history. These are the age of the
tient program. I have a broad range nated spirit. 29 The code of desert, the age of monasticism,
of outside interests, and am very at- canon law talks about this as the the age of the mendicant orders,
tached to air sports, which involves mind and design of the found- the age of the apostolic orders
the Big Brothers/Sisters, and a sum- ers regarding the nature, pur- and the age of the teaching con-
mer jump school. Besides the pose, and spirit of foundation gregations, which are also some-
USOC and USA triathlon, Iwork on along with its sound traditions times called the institutional age
various mental health and addiction or "spiritual patrimony."30 Lee to include the hospitals that were
boards in Colorado Springs. I have a also says that although the also founded.
strong sense of spirituality and am deep-story is a necessary condi- In studying the patterns of
aware of God's love in all things. I am tion for charism, the story is not each of these ages in the history
not a member of any church. I got
the charism. Rather the charism of religious life, the authors
acquainted with the Sisters of
is the meeting ofthe deep-story found that the first period in the
Mercy through my spouse, and in
with the needs of the age. life cycle is a foundation period
working on a program for housing
for women who were leaving cor-
So then, if Lee is right, and that may last ten to twenty years.
rectional facilities and returning to
deep-story is not charism, and Often this foundation comes
the community. Presently,l am man- charism is only born in its own from the laity and not from the
ager of Work Release, Community age, what does that mean for us existing form of religious life it-
Corrections, in Colorado Springs. as we move through this trans- self. The group unites under the
- John L. Taggert, Associate, formative time and try to share guidance of the founding person
Colorado Springs, Colorado (200 I) our charism with the laity to search for and invent new ar-
through our associate programs rangements for living the gospel
and other forms of collabora- together and working toward the
tion' such as sponsored works realization of the reign of God.
and lay volunteer programs? The second period, which
I was born in EI Paso, Texas in 1963. they call the expansion period, is
My parents were also born in EI Paso. a time during which the found-
I currently live in Anthony, New The Life Cycle of Religious ing charism is institutionalized in
Mexico, with my husband, Javier Community a variety of ways. A community
Filerio, and my three daughters,
To begin to answer that ques- cult and belief system solidifies, a
Vivien, 16, and Lillian and Valerie, 12.1
tion, I think it is important to ex- community polity is fashioned,
was raised Catholic and continue to
amine not simply the history of and community norms and cus-
practice my religion.
associate programs, but the his- toms take hold. Attempts are
I came to the Anthony area
with my husband, who worked as a tory of religious life as a whole. made at thinking through the
farm laborer in the fields because he In their seminal work, Shaping founding myth and expressing it
did not speak English. Today, he has the Coming Age ofReligious Life,31 in terms of contemporary
owned his own business, Rio Bravo five authors explored the ques- thought patterns. Norms are set
Painting in Las Cruces, New Mexico, tions of revitalization and trans- down and customs emerge that
for more than three years. I have formation in religious life. cover aspects of the community's
been working at the Women's The authors describe the life. This period can last two to
Intercultural Center since 1997. I life cycle of a religious commu- three generations or longer. Next
started as a volunteer English tutor nity as made up of five periods. comes a period of stabilization,
and in 1999 became a part-time paid They base this cycle on their which may last a century or more,
staff member. Before that, I worked study of the history of religious but is sometimes as brief as fifty
as a secretary for a law office and life, especially during the phases years. A feeling of success per-
have been the owner of Martina' of each of the great ages of vades the community during the
stabilization period. Members in all communities that have Secretarial and Bookkeeping Service
experience a high degree of per- been revitalized-a transforming since 1995.ln 1982, I graduated from
sonal satisfaction from simply be- response to the signs of the times, Ysleta High School in EI Paso. I took
ing in the community. The pre- a reappropriation of the found- basic studies and four years of
vailing image of religious life is ing charism, and a profound re- French. I speak, read and write both
clear and accepted. It provides a newal of the life of prayer, faith, Spanish and English. Though not flu-
basis for describing unambigu- and centeredness in Jesus Christ. ent in French, I can get by. In 1992, I
ous social roles for religious. The This revitalization then leads to graduated from International Busi-
community is accomplishing its refoundation for some and the ness College in EI Paso.
purpose and the purpose is cycle begins again. My years at the center have
self-evident. I would venture to been life changing. I have learned so
suggest that we are not in a stabi- much about the border and the is-
lization period. Charism and Revitalization: sues of poverty and racism, keeping
After stabilization comes the IdentifYing the Need of the Age in mind the bigger picture. I am con-
breakdown period that may be cerned and involved in human rights
So where are we today in this life
issues. Last year, I was approached
gradual and last a half-century or cycle and how does this connect
by one of my former clients to be-
more or it may be rapid and run to Lee's work on charism and
come part owner of a legal services
its course in a few decades. In ei- our sharing of charism with asso- office. The money would have been
ther case, what happens (and see ciates? In my view, most commu- much more than I am currently
if this sounds familiar) is a dis- nities in North America are most earning. I refused the offer. HaVing
mantling of the institutional certainly in the critical phase fac- worked in both the for-profit and
structures and belief systems that ing extinction, minimal survival, non-profit world, I am sure nOw I
arose during the expansion pe- or revitalization. Lee's work will never work just to earn money.
riod and served the community helps us to understand better My work at the center has meaning,
so well during the stabilization the criteria for revitalization, and I do not see myself doing any-
period. As the community loses that is, a transforming response thing other than working with
its sense of identity and purpose, to the signs of the times, a women who need education,
service to the Church becomes reappropriation of the founding whether it's to learn English, to un-
haphazard and lacks direction. charism and a profound renewal derstand world issues and human
There is a net loss of membership of the life of prayer, faith and rights issues, or to help address is-
through increased withdrawals centeredness in Jesus Christ. sues of domestic violence. As part
and decreased recruitment of For, as Lee says, of the center, I see the bigger pic-
new members. This then leads to ture. I am involved in peace
Whether the deep-story comes
the fifth period, which the au- marches,human rights marches,and
alive in any age depends upon
thors call the critical period, whether it can mediate re- I am aware of worldwide political is-
where three possible outcomes demption for the cry of this age. sues I would not have known about
The deep-story emerges as had I stayed working in my secre-
exist for religious communi-
charism when it is able to rise to tarial and bookkeeping business.
ties-extinction, minimal sur- the occasion- which is the You do not hear about human rights
vival, or revitalization. The au- contemporary world in all its abuses or learn about patriarchy
thors also tell us that at least three concreteness-and the con-
from corporate media. I have been
characteristics can be singled out temporary world rises in turn to
very fortunate to have a connection
with Sr. Kathleen Erickson, who has
broadened my world views. About
In my view, most communities in North three years ago, I went to Philadel-
phia for an orientation of a volun-
America are most certainly in the critical teer with Mercy Volunteer Corps.
Last year I agree to be part of the
phase facing extinction, minimal survival, or board. I am also a volunteer board
revitalization. member for the Anthony Chamber
12
of Commerce. I have lived in the

border my entire life, but I have
meet it. When they meet pub-
licly, the world knows it. At that
moment, redemption has a face
Ceru!to: Associate Programs
are called to discover this answer

with those who do not necessarily
share the lifesty Ie of religious life,
l
learned So much more about its and charism is afoot. 32
politics and my own culture by but do also know the deep pas-
working in an organization founded Lee has developed this whole sions and hungers of our times.
by a Sister of Mercy. line of thought in a recently This is the gift of pluralism of our
-Martina Luna Filerio. Associ- published book entitled. The times, our recognition that we all
ate, Anthony, New Mexico (2003) Beating of Great WingO': A Worldly have something to offer each
Spirituality for Active, Apostolic other and our world. While I con-
Communities. 33 There Lee says tinue to maintain that each life-
that charism is the social reality style needs to identify and em-
that provides the setting for a brace its own distinctiveness, the
I was born and raised in Hong Kong, new religious order. It does not cry of our age must be responded
and am going to be fifty years old in a exist in the founding person to differently from that which
few days. I attended an all-girls' Cath- alone, or in the followers, or in
olic school in Hong Kong from kin-
emerged to meet the cries for
the aspirations of the age, or in universal education and
dergarten to high school. After high
the style oflife proposed, but in healthcare during the eighteenth
school graduation, I traveled to the
the mutual complicity of all of and nineteenth centuries. 36
USA and enrolled at Easter Oregon
State College. After two years, I
these together. 34 He also says The sharing of our
transferred to Oregon State Univer-
every charismatic moment re- deep-story, our spirituality, his-
sity, where I got a B.S. in business ad- flects the cry of the age and the tory, and unique outlook on the
ministration with an emphasis on cry of one age is never identical contemporary issues ' of our
personnel management. While at- to the cry of any other age. In times with associates and others
tending OSU, I met Michael Madson, order to have an understanding will contribute to the meeting of
who has been my husband for of the cries ofthe age, religious that deep-story with the cries of
twenty-five years. We have been in communities must be deeply in- the age and will contribute to
the Roseburg area for twenty years, serted into our own culture and identifying and responding to it
where my husband was born and must experience for themselves with a richness and an insight
raised. We have one daughter, Jami, its essential passions. 35 that we could not achieve alone.
who graduated from Willamette Both identifying the cry of Whatever else charism is,
University last May, and now works our age and our response as peo- whether deep-story, spiritual
in the San Francisco Bay area. ple deeply inserted into our cul- patrimony, or something else,
Both my husband and I were ture, feeling its essential pas- we do know that charism is the
raised by loving parents, and I be- sions and needs, is, I believe, work of the Holy Spirit, entering
came a Catholic while Iwas enrolled what we are grappling with most into hearts in every age, and vivi-
at the Catholic school; my husband during these transformative fying our world with God's love.
became a Catholic shortly after our times. Is the cry the alienation,
marriage. Both my husband and I felt
This is our call, religious and as-
uncertainty, and ambiguity that sociates alike. Our context and
that we have enough love to share
corne from relativism? Is it the vi- lifestyle are different, giving dif-
with many children. However, my
olence and reactionary domina- ferent textures, flavors, and ex-
physical condition allowed us to
tion or fundamentalism that co- pressions of that vivifying love,
have only one, precious and loving
child. I undertook numerous tests
mes as we try to embrace but our purpose is the same:
and even surgery to correct this un- pluralism? Is it the need to re- making God's reign of justice,
fortunate physical condition, but my claim mystery, which is emerging peace, and love, present in our
effort was in vain. I later realized we from quantum physics and our world and in our hearts. 37
were blessed to have experienced views of the universe? Or is it
the birth of our child, and that now I something else?
am able to have more time to devote As we struggle to answer this
question, it seems to me that we
Notes their own unique state of life,

my love and services to children ori-
distinct from laity and clerics
1 Partners in Mission: The Associ- who are not religious. c. 588. ented activities.
ate- Vowed Religious Relationship See also, Schneiders, S., Find- I was president of the Booster
in the United States, Pmt II, ing the TTeasure, Locating Catho- Club at St. Joseph Catholic School,
Center for Applied Research lic Religious Lift in a New and chair of various fund-raising
in the Apostolate at Ecclesial and Cultural Context events at the time of our child's en-
Georgetown University, No- (New York: Paulist Press,
vember 2002 referenced at rollment. I was a facilitator for
2000), 127-128.
http://www.catho- "Rainbow for All God's Children"
10 Maher, Mary, "Only Con-
lic-church.org/nacar/assocgrow nect"-Discerning the Future for several years. Currently I am
th.htm. ofSSND in NAMA," presenta- president of Friends of Douglas
2 Jeffries, R, Associates of Reli- tion given at School Sisters of County Doernbacher Children's
g;ous Communities: Ove!'Uiew of Notre Dame Symposium, Mil- Hospital. We raise approximately
the CU'Tent Reality; Presenta- waukee,June 25, 2004. $24,000 to $30,000 a year for the
tion given at the legal seminar 11 This point was first raised by
jointly sponsored by the Lead- hospital. I am treasurer for the
me in an article entitled "Dis-
ership Conference of Women Glide Booster Club for Glide
tinctiveness, Diversity And
Religious, the Conference of Commonness In Religious School District. I also volunteer my
Major Superiors of Men and Life, "Review for Religious 272 services as a bookkeeper at Cobb
the National Association of (May/June 2002) 61. Street Learning Center for Sister
Treasurers of Religious Insti- 12 The material that follows is Jeanita Richter. God works in a
tutes (March 1997) [hereinaf- taken fi'om Amos, J., A Legal
ter J effi'ies Presentation 1997] wonderful way; I am blessed with a
History ofAssociations of the Chris- loving and supportive family and I
and Presentation to the Com- tian Faithfal, 271
munity of the Sisters of Char- 13 McDermott, R., Associates and would like to share that with the
ity of the Incarnate Word Associations Joined to Religious community.
(1996) [hereinafterJeffries PTe- Institutes, CLSA Proceedings -Selina Madson, Associate,
sentation 1996]. 60 (1998). Roseburg, Oregon (200 I)
3 Jeffries, R., "The Associate 14 Amos, j., A Legal Histmy ofAs-
Movement-An Update," in sociations of the Christian Faith-
Horizon;Joumal of the National fal, supra. at 287-288.
Religious Vocation ConfeTence, 15 Apostolicam actuositatem, N 0-
19 (1993) 13-14. vember 18, 1965 in AAS., 58
4 http://www.catholic-church.org/ I am a native Nebraskan who was
(1966) 838.
nacar/assocgrowth.htm. 16 Idem. born in Cuming County in the
5 Bruno, S., "Horizons of the 17 Bruno, S., Hmizons of the northeast part of the state and
Charism of an Institute: The Charism of an Institute: The raised on a farm north of the small
'New' Participation of the Lay "New" Pmticipation of the Lay town of Beemer. The farm on which
Faithful" in Consecrated Life 17 Faithfal, supra.
(1992) 83. I grew up has been farmed by our
18 McDonough, K, Charisms and family for more than 130 years. My
6 Amos, j., A Legal Histmy ofAs- Religious Life, in The Church
sociations of the Cillistian Faith- and Consecrated Lift, The Best of
father was born and raised on this
fal, 31 Studia Canonica 271 the Review 5, Edited by David farm and he and my mom have just
(1987). L. Fleming, S.j., and Elizabeth recently moved into a house in
7 Pe!ftctae Caritatis, DecTee On McDonough, O.P. (St. Louis, Beemer. I have three younger
The Adaptation And Renewal Of 1996),131. brothers: Dan, a pharmacy techni-
Religious Lift. October 28, 19 Buckley, M., The Chmism and
1965, http://www.vatican.va/ cian with Nebraska Health Systems;
Identity ofReligious Lift in Paths
archive/hist councils/it Bill, who has taken over the family
of Renewal for Religious, The
vatican counciVdocuments/ Best of the Review 2, Edited by farm; and Mike, who is associate
vat-ii decree 19651028 David L. Fleming, SJ. (St professor of finance and insurance
perfectae-caritatis_en.h tin!. Louis, 1986), 60 .VoI44, 1985 at Washington State University. My
8 Apostolicam actuositatem, No- pp.654-664. grade school education was in a
vember 18,1965 inAAS., 58 20 Paul VI, Evangelico Testijicato, one-room country school just
(1966) 838. On The Renewal Of The Reli-
9 Although nonordained reli- one-half mile east of the farm. I at-
giO!ts Lift Acconling To The.
gious are considered to belong tended West Point Central Catho-
Teaching Of The Second Vatican
to the laity, they also belong to Council, (1971) available at lic High school and Creighton Un i-
versity, graduating with a major in www.ewtn.comllibrary/ Schneiders, S. Finding the T1'Ba-

PAPALDOC/P6RENEW.htm. sure: Locating Catholic Religious
journalism and minors in English 21 Mutuae Relationes, Directives For Life in a New Ecclesial and Cul-
and secondary education. I am cur- 17ze Mutual Relations Between tuml Context, vol. 1 of Reli-
rently finishing an M.A. in communi- Bishops And Religious In The gious Life in aNew
cation at the University of Ne- Church, (1978) available at Millennium (Mahwah, N.].:
braska-Omaha. I am married to http://www.vatican.va/roman_ Paulist, 2000(.
Timothy Coyle. He is employed at curia/congregaions/ccscrlife/ 28 Lee, Bernard, A Socio-Histmical
documents/rc can ccscrlife Theology of Chm'ism, Review for
Physician's Mutual Insurance Com-
doc_14051978_mutuae-relatio Religious (January/February
pany. We have one son, Brian Timo- nes en.htm!. 1989)
thy, who is a senior at Briar Cliff 22 Bru~lO, S., HOTizons of the 29 Maher, M. "'Only Con-
University in Sioux City, Iowa. Tim Charism of an Institute: The nect' -Discerning the Future
and I are long-time members of St. "New" Pm·ticipation of the Lay of SSND in NAMA," supra.
Pius the Tenth Parish. Currently, I supra at 84. 30 c.578
serve as E.M.E. for both our parish 23 John Paul II, Vita Consecmta, 31 Cada, L., R. Fitz, G. Foley, T.
Art. 54, (Vatican Press, 1996), Giardino, and C. Lichtenberg,
and the Mercy school community.
93. Shaping the Coming Age ofReli-
My other service includes making 24 C.654 gious Life (New York: The
stew once a month for the Francis 25 Canons 662-672 taken to- Seabury Press, 1979).
House, being a "dusting disciple" at gether with the obligations un- 32 Lee, B. Socio-Hist01';cal Theology
St. Pius,and working with our parish dertaken with the vows of of Charism, supra. at 131.
Adopt-a-Family program each poverty, chastity, and obedi- 33 Lee, B., The Beating of Great
Christmas. In my seventeenth year ence found in canons Wings: A Wm'iLlly Spirituality for
599-601. Active, Apostolic Communities,
at Mercy High School, I currently 26 Maher, M. "'Only Con- (Mystic CT, 2004).
teach sophomore English and jour- nect'-Discerning the Future 34 Ibid., 27.
nalism, and advise both the school of SSND in NAMA," SSND 35 Ibid., 29.
newspaper and yearbook, as well as Symposium,June 25, 2004. 36 Maher, M. "'Only Con-
cosponsor Mercy's Amnesty Inter- 27 Thompson, Margaret, nect' -Discerning the Future
national group. "'Charism or Deep-Story?' To- of SSND in NAMA," supra.
ward a Clearer Understanding 37 Some of the material in this
My expectation of associate
of the Growth of Women's Re- article, sections from author's
membership with the Sisters of ligious Life in Nineteenth- thesis, was first published as
Mercy includes an increase in op- Century America," a paper de- "A Canonical Study of Lay As-
portunities for prayer and service, livered at the History of sociate Programs," 33 Studia
thereby strengthening my own faith Women Religious Conference, Canonica 442 (1999).
journey. Association is a way to for- Chicago, June 1998. Cited in
malize my relationship with the Sis-
ters of Mercy. My initial relationship
to the mission of educating young
women began years ago when I an-
swered a "call" to teach at Mercy
High School. With each year, I have
felt a growing relationship with and
understanding of Catherine's mis-
sion and I feel that now is the time
for me to formally become a part of
it.
-Mary E. Coyle, Associate,
Omaha, Nebraska (200 I)
The Sister-Associate Relationship
In and of the Church
Toni Gross
SATEMENTS BY
ASSOCIATES
First Years as an Associate Rarely have I heard any discus-
I have been an associate of the sion of what it is that associates I was born on Labor Day in 1950. I
Sisters of Mercy, Detroit region, give to the Mercy community, was the second child in a family of
since 1982. When I began the what reason there might be that eight; all the others boys. Was I
process of preparation for asso- its vowed members would have spoiled? Hardly. There were eight of
ciation I filled out an application us intimately involved with us in eleven years so there was no
them. The failure to have this time for that. I was, however, a tom-
form. The form stated that par-
discussion might be the reason boy.1 could shoot a basketball or hit
ticipation in the community as
for some of my later experiences a softball as well as most boys. Un-
an associate meant being in a re-
as an associate. fortunately, in the I 960s,girls' athlet-
ciprocal relationship and asked ics were not available, so I only
what I hoped for from the Sisters In my first couple of years as
an associate I was involved only played sports at home. My father
of Mercy, what benefit my being was of German descent from a long
in association would have on my by those who were delighted to
have me and the other associ- line of farmers. We were raised on a
life and ministry, and how my farm. Rural life is a culture and eth-
being in association would be of ates. Gradually, however, I be-
nicity all its own. Everyone not only
benefit to the Sisters of Mercy. I came aware that there was a large
knew everyone else, but also his or
contingent of Sisters who sin-
don't remember my response. her parents and grandparents. My
What is more important to cerely disapproved. This contin-
dad had gone to school with many of
me than my response, is the gent consisted of Sisters young the parents of my classmates. My
question. I have carried that and old, some have had posi- mother is of Irish descent. She has a
question in my head and heart tions of elected leadership, and flexible approach to things and al-
since I filled out that form. And I those who study current theolo- ways encouraged us to do our best.
have looked for answers to it for gies as well as those who don't. She had not been raised on the farm,
almost twenty-five years. In my Their disapproval of what I and so married life to a farmer provided
seeking, I have repeatedly found other associates believe is a call much adjustment. She was a regis-
to be part of the Mercy commu- tered nurse by profession and went
expressions of what the Sisters
hope to give to the associates. nity has challenged my thinking. back to work after a twenty-year
break to raise her family.
Both my parents had a strong
Catholic faith, which weathered
Gradually, however, I became aware that them through the hard times. They
put our needs before theirs and
there was a large contingent of Sisters who protected and sheltered us. By eco-
sincerely disapproved ... I wonder if some nomic standards we were poor, but
I didn't realize that and never felt
of the reason for that disapproval is that deprived or without the essentials.
Living on a farm provided us with
these Sisters saw associates as only gaining food, even down to the milk from
from them. our own cow. I was shy and sensi-
tive as a child. and still am. I would
15
16 Gross: The Sister-Associate Relationship
rather sit in the background and lis- I wonder if some of the reason 2005, are there specific ideas
ten than actively participate in for that disapproval is that these that one might carry to that
group conversation. Sisters saw associates as only meeting so that the determina-
I received good grades in high gaining from them. tions that are made then will en-
school, not because I was smart, but courage collaboration of all
I studied a lot and worked hard. I at- kinds in our Church?
Mutual Giving and
tended St. Xavier College in Chi- As a psychotherapist, I am
Receiving
cago, where I studied nursing. I grad- inclined to come to understand-
uated in 1972 and passed my state At the last conference for priests ing and make decisions based on
board licensing exam that June. My of the diocese of Kalamazoo, one my own experiences and the sto-
first job as an R.N. was in the emer- of the topics for discussion was ries of others. In this series ofre-
gency department at the University collaboration with the laity." A flections, I will, therefore, use
of Chicago on the South Side. I was priest friend, who considers both. Hopefully these stories will
only twenty-one and very na"ive. I himself open to collaboration, resonate with others' experi-
gained a lot of valuable experience, confided that he learned a lot ences and my conclusions will
but I wanted more than that for the from conversations with a lay augment this one-sided view of
rest of my life. I went to graduate woman (their conversations the sister-associate relationship
school at Loyola University in Chi- were open to the others at the reflected in an article by Joan
cago for an M.S. N. in nursing.
conference) about how limited Chittister: "Climbing the Eight
Shortly after, I met my husband Rich,
by his own behaviors and atti- Mountains of Religious Life."J
and we got married in 1977. We
tude his collaboration really is. While I found most of this article
wanted to start a family, but I was di-
agnosed with endometriosis. I went
His comments opened several refreshing, challenging, and in-
through the works of infertility
lines of thinking in me. spirational, I had some difficulty
treatments and surgery, without First, as the clergy look spe- with her discussion of the situa-
success. We were blessed in being cifically at their need for collabo- tion that she included under the
able to adopt two healthy children, ration with the laity in these days subtitle, the Mount of the
Joshua in 1982 and Rebecca in 1986. of diminishing priestly num- Beatitudes.
Today,our son is twenty-one and no bers, I am reminded of the ef- Chittister suggested that re-
longer lives at home. Our daughter forts of the last thirty years of the ligious women are being called,
is sixteen. RaiSing teenagers was Sisters of Mercy to be in collabo- perhaps, to become the spiritu-
more of a struggle than I ever imag- ration with associates. Some- ality centers oftheworld."2 She
ined! I have been a clinical instruc- thing of that story can, I believe, suggested further that those
tor and assistant professor of nurs- help us understand how we laity who enter and leave religious
ing at Mercy HoSpital, Des Moines, (both Sisters and associates) life now leave enriched, and,
Iowa from 1992 to the present, and might assist the collaboration with the riches they have re-
was a clinical instructor in past process from the other side of ceived, they live the spirituality
years at University of Nebraska the relationship. and charism they have learned
Medical Center, Harry S. Truman Second, as the Institute of and thereby enrich the whole
College in Chicago, and Lewis Col- the Sisters of Mercy of the Amer- Church, indeed the world. She
lege in Illinois. I wanted to become icas goes about its reimagining challenged religious to institu-
an associate to further the mission
and reconfiguring, there is a tionalize this reality as they wel-
and values of Mercy, especially of
need for all of us to look at the come people who come for
excellence and service to others
place of associates in the newly training for long periods or for
and to further develop my spiritual
designed figure. Might there be short periods, as potential
life.
new ways to facilitate our own vowed members, as purposeful
-Anne Citarella, Associate, Des collaboration? short termers, or as associates.
Moines, Iowa (2003) Third, as the Institute of the I had no argument with
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Chittister's suggestions. But I
prepares for its Chapter of found them incomplete. There
Gross: The Sister-Associate Relationship 17
was no comment on what persons the praxis of the friends of God member, and a group of Sisters
who come and learn will bring to and prophets to take place in and associates of the Cincinnati
the communities other than home and in other private Regional Community for whom
their neediness or their possible spaces, in workplace and in I had been invited to lead a
membership. If religious com- other public spaces, as vigor- weekend of retreat in October of
munities are to be truly inclusive, ously as in the sanctuary. This 1998. I will share with you shortly
they will be truly feminist in that tradition makes room for what I learned there. Meanwhile
they recognize that all of us to- women today, largely excluded let me continue with my story.
gether must live and serve and from official religious circles, to After these experiences,
worship in wholeness and in claim their own friendship with there seemed to be nothing
truth. All of us have gifts to share. God and a call to prophecy and more to do with my questions,
We must ask what those who to know that this is religiously the process I had developed to
come to learn and leave give to important.,,5 find answers, or the answers I
the communities in which they
spend precious months and
years. What do persons who join Could it be that associates are affiliated with
communities as associates give to
those communities? religious communities not just to receive
I have been encouraged in
the effort to discern the gifts of
training in holiness but to teach, in our turn,
associates to their communities about the holiness we have found in our own
by many who have happily been
companions on my associate-sis- sacred places?
ter journey. I have also been en-
couraged by the writings of
many whose thinking I respect, This religious Sister speaks had learned. I simply continued
including Joan Chittister, who eloquently that holiness is as to lead my life as an associate of
has spoken eloquently and pas- deeply possible in lay life as in Mercy, a wife and mother, a
sionately for inclusivity and a the convent and that influence member of my parish commu-
reverence for the other," not in the church is to be sought nity and a professional psycho-
only in the above mentioned ar- among the laity as much as therapist. As an associate, I be-
ticle but in book-length form. 3 among the clergy. came, after the 1999 Chapter, a
Could it be that associates member of the Coordinating
are affiliated with religious com- Body of the Commission on
Democratization of Holiness munities not just to receive train- Women in and of the Church
ing in holiness but to teach, in and then the chair of the re-
Authors who have focused on
our turn, about the holiness we source group on women in and
what has been called the democ-
have found in our own sacred of the church in the Detroit Re-
ratization of holiness have espe-
places: the kitchen, the sick- gional Community. There was a
cially inspired my search. Since
room, the marital bed, the fam- lot of work for me and the Sis-
she is a laywoman as well as a
ily car, and wherever it is that we ters and other associates in-
theologian, it is perhaps not sur-
sit in silent contemplation? I volved in the projects of these
prising that Elizabeth Dryer' s
took this question to three differ- groups to attend to. I lost my
Earth Crammed with Heaven
ent settings in which Sisters and focus on the question of the sis-
would speak to me. 4 Elizabeth A
associates of Mercy had gath- ter-associate relationship and
Johnson in FTiends of God and
ered: the National Mercy Associ- deepened my focus on the
Prophets wrote, "The wisdom tra-
ate Conference in April of 1998, clergy-laity relationship, a rela-
dition widens the playing field
a gathering group of Sisters and tionship associates share with
for discourse about the commu-
associates of which I am a Sisters. Could it be that we could
nion of saints insofar as it allows
written statements. Here is what

I made of their statements and
I am convinced that the questions of even some of their own words.
relationship between Sisters and associates I) Sisters and associates see each
and between the clergy and the laity are other as supporting each
other in living the Christian
bound together. life in the form that each has
chosen. An associate wrote: I
learn together how to be heard nancial responsibilities that feel my relationship with the
in our patriarchal church? are theirs and often live, of Sisters has already deepened
A few weeks ago a Sister of necessity and joyfully, in me spiritually-I'm sure there
my regional community ap- poverty and simplicity; will be more bonding and
proached me at a workshop, > bring a presence that chal- sharing and we all support
which the Resource Group on lenged Sisters to look more each other, my husband and I
Women/Church sponsored and deeply into the nature of and the Sisters.
said, "I want you to know that I their own vocation and re- One Sister said, "From associ-
appreciate what you do for our commit to that vocation. ates, I receive my primary sup-
community, even if it hasn't al- port in living my life and in
ways seemed as if I do." Bam! I I am struck by these responses.
ministry in my local setting."
was right back to the issue of the They indicate that the Mercy
community recognizes the pres- Clearly the relationships are
relationship. And what is more, I
ence of a deep spirituality in in many cases mutual and give
am even more convinced that the
their associates and that there- those involved the assistance
questions of relationship be-
fore a mutual learning about ho- of friendship in living their ev-
tween Sisters and associates and
liness can be taking place. There eryday lives.
between the clergy and the laity
are bound together. I will share is a possibility, too, that the gos- 2)The process of preparation
with you now the answers to the pel values of poverty and sim- for association assists the po-
issue of relationship between Sis- plicity of life are recognized in tential associate to integrate
ters and associates that I learned both groups and appreciated prayer life, ministry, and
in the places I took my questions. there. Might there, then, be oth- life-choice responsibilities.
ers? In the expression of a felt This process continues as as-
challenge by the Sisters present sociates share prayer, oppor-
What Do Associates Bring? to plumb the realities oftheirvo- tunities for learning, and
cation, is there perhaps a reason conversations with Sisters and
At the 1998 Mercy Associate
why I sometimes felt unwelcome each other. Obviously the
Conference, I asked the ques-
in my regional community? training in spirituality that
tion, "What do Mercy associates
Challenge, especially identity ] oan Chittister expressed
give to the vowed members of
challenge, is not pleasant for any hope for had already been
the Mercy community?" Three
of us to deal with. happening for associates in
marketplace groups of Sisters
After the conference, I de- the Mercy community.
and associates formed to discuss
veloped a process around my
it. Their answers to the ques- 3)Both Sisters and associates
questions and took it first to my
tions indicated that they be- provide for each other exam-
gathering group and then, as I
lieved that associates: ples of prayerfulness, dedica-
said, to a retreat of Sisters and as-
> bring to the community sociates of the Cincinnati region. tion to the works of Mercy,
their own deep spirituality In both situations, the discus- and appreciation for the per-
sions were wholehearted, inspir- son of Catherine McAuley that
> bring an experience ofliv-
ing realistically with the fi- ing and enlightening. From both are mutually inspiring. Again
groups, I requested and received we see gifting on both sides.
4)Sisters and associates chal- 5) Sisters experience associates Mercy community, what it can
lenge each other to grow in as giving them hope that the mean to the Church and to the
each of these categories. charism of Mercy will be ex- world beyond, the following an-
pressed long into the future swers were given by both Sisters
In responding to the question:
and that they will have com- and associates.
"What do I receive from associ-
ates?" A Sister made this felici- panionship into old age. I)The more of us there are and
Again an expression of gifts
tous summary: the more diverse our settings,
received from those who had
the more we can bring Mercy to
» challenge of men and been seen as the receivers.
women hungry and desir- those who need it. This is a ser-
ous of more and deeper 6)Both Sisters and associates are vice oriented response, obvi-
learning about God's ways ously, and echoes the desire of
meaning and spirituality,
with us. For example, both every Mercy heart. There is wit-
and men and women walk-
ing with us in the midst of groups have come to realize ness here on both parts to a de-
all the questions and ambi- that associates experience sire to live the Mercy charism.
guities of association and their relationship to the com- 2)The more of us there are and
munity of Mercy as a specific
its developing (but un- the more diverse our settings,
call from God. There is also a
known future) in Mercy the more impact we can have
recognition gained by some on institutions, both those
and in the Church.
that there is a call to the single
» challenge of men and sponsored by the Mercy com-
women to invite them into life that is distinctly different munity and those not. Our en-
from the call to vowed celibacy
my life, not to keep it to ergy and ability to cause
in a religious community.
myself or lourselves systemic change increases as
» challenge of being open to our numbers increase. It may
A Sister wrote: "Single life is
being reshaped in ways as be that the system we can help
really a vocation, not just a time to change is the Church itself.
yet unknown to any of us
of waiting until a real decision
and not even envisioned Some of this is expressed in
gets made."
when I entered Mercy another set of responses.
At greater length, an associ-
some forty years ago. 3)A small number of Sisters and
ate said, "With C. and]. who are
» challenge to see and expe- associates understood that the
both fi'ee to become vowed mem-
rience Mercy as a gift of gift of the associate-sister rela-
bers of the community if they
and for the Church and
wish, but who choose not to do so, tionship to the Church, cer-
world.
I have learned about the call to tainly, and to the world,
In this wonderful statement, be- lay life, the call to th,e single life as possibly, is the witness of the
sides the joyful look it gives us specific and beautiful. They have relationship as such. An asso-
into the open heart of a brave helped me to value my own place ciate commented: We can wit-
woman, there is glimpse again of in the Church and the place of ness to the Church (and
the challenge that may cause single men and women." perhaps beyond, depending
strain in the sister-associate rela- Clearly these Sisters and as- on our diversity) with its patri-
tionship. It suggests the difficul- sociates are on a shared journey archal structures, to our
ties of ambiguity about associa- in which they learn together. ethnocentric states, to our re-
tion itself that has been present source-controlling world. We
from the beginning. These diffi- can witness to unity in diver-
culties, which do not go away in The Relationship of Sisters sity, and, hopefully, to a unity
the face of reconfiguring, have and Associates for Mercy that is egalitarian.
caused differences in expecta- Community and Church
tion and thus some conflict in A Sister wrote, "[The sister-asso-
In response to questions about
the relationships. ciate relationship 1 can bring a
what the relationship of Sisters
lessening of violence and divi-
and associates can mean to the
siollS. [It is a] living example of ~ VVhether one expects it or VVhatever is done at the
living in harmony with various not, both parties in a rela- chapter regarding association, I
kinds of people. [We] continu- tionship will gradually come know there is much yet to be
ally challenge ourselves to inclu- to recognize the gifts the shared between us. I am aware,
sion [and] become temples of ac- other brings that support because of my long relationship
ceptance." It seems then that we one's values and the living with the Sisters of Mercy, that re-
could take our experience of re- of one's chosen way of life. ligious know how to find spiri-
lationship between two diverse tual sustenance in many places
Given these realities, it is per-
groups as gift to the clergy of our outside of parish life and the for-
haps time to ask how the sis-
Church as we seek mutuality in mal celebrations of the liturgy.
ter-associate relationship, now
relationship with them. They know that one can develop
almost three decades old, can
prayer forms and exercises that
lead to spiritual development.
Many members of the laity are
A relationship between persons of differing not even aware of the possibility.
I am aware, too, that I and
life choices will almost certainly lead them to most of my associate compan-
reassess their own choice and provoke ions know about parish life. We
know how to serve there and be
anxiety and some irritability. nurtured there. I also know that
vocations to religious life are
Some Chapter 2005 Issues best be supported. In the mostly coming out of the par-
Looking first at what my own ex- reconfiguring of regional com- ishes rather than out of educa-
munities, groups with differing tional institutions. Yet I see voca-
periences and those of my com-
views of what association is are tion personnel concentrating
panions in Mercy have taught
coming together. Is it perhaps great energy on seeking voca-
me, I recognize several factors
that might be helpful for our re- time to further unifY our under- tions in colleges and universi-
standing of association? Is it ties. Laity can, I think, help reli-
lationship in the future and for
the relationship between laity time to have an Office ofAssocia- gious Sisters plumb the richness
tion at the institute level just as of parish life and together they
and clerics.
there is a Justice Office and a can then work to overcome the
~ Time spent together at- Mercy Corps Office? One of the barriers that separate them as la-
tending to the work questions about association con- ity from the clergy.
needed for building the cerns the mutuality of the rela-
kingdom of God leads tionship. For example, is it ap-
gradually to mutual under- propriate for associates to
standing and appreciation. assume that their call to associa- The Analogy of
~ The ambiguities of the sis- tion might be a call to minister to Sister-Associate and
ter-associate relationship the religious community itself as Priest-Laity
and of association itself has well as to work alongside Sisters
caused difficulties in the As we look at the question of the
in Mercy ministries and to be in-
relationship. relationship between the laity and
spired by them to bring mercy to
~ A relationship between the clergy of the Roman Catholic
other venues? This is happening
persons of differing life Church, I am reminded of the
already, of course, in the work of
choices will almost cer- learnings the Commission on
associates on committees at both
tainly lead them to reassess Women in and of the Church re-
the institute and regional levels.
their own choice and pro- corded in "Analysis of Foeus
The Chapter of2005 might be a
voke anxiety and some Group Data."6 Included in tllis
place of privacy for a discussion
irritability. study are several important ideas:
of this question.
~ The success of the relation- to them effectively of what hin- In our effort to develop more sat-
ship between a pastor and ders our working together to isfYing lay-cleric relationships, we
those laity who work with build God's kingdom. Perhaps can expect annoyance. We can, I
him either as employees or we will find more ways to support believe, reduce the annoyance.
as volunteers depends in women, both Sisters and associ- We can do so first by identifYing
great part on who the pas- ates, who labor in the vineyard of each others' unique gifts and call
tor is and the extent to the official Church. Perhaps, at so that neither is obliterated. Sec-
which he allows mutuality least, we will continue the work of ondly, we can open ourselves
in the relationship. the Commission on Women in fully to the mutuality of the rela-
~ There is a need for those and of the Church so that these tionship. We can also become
who would increase the discoveries have an ongoing more hopeful in the midst of the
openness of clerics to mu- place to be made. annoyance if we realize that the
tuality to learn to engage mutual relationships we have al-
respectfully and firmly with ready lived successfully are gifts
a cleric, expressing one's Conclusion to our patriarchal institutions
displeasure and asking for Kathleen Norris, a friend of the and even nations. As Sisters and
what one desires of the Benedictine community, writes, associates of the Mercy commu-
relationship. "Our idol of the autonomous in- nity, we can especially rejoice that
» Surviving the rigors of the dividual is a sham; the truth is, our relationship appears to be
relationship between laity we expect everyone to be the one of God's gifts to our world in
and clergy is facilitated for same and dismiss as elitist those this age.
women by the support who are working through a call
groups they form formally to any genuine vocation. It may
and informally and by the be that our culture so fears the
encouragement they re- necessary other that it has grown
ceive by seeing one an- unable to identifY and name real
other succeed in the differences without becoming Notes
relationship on both parish defensive about them. A call, on 1 Joan Chittister, "Climbing the
and diocesan levels. the other hand, is pure process; Eight Mountains of Religious
» There are groups of Life," National Catholic Re-
it cannot be measured, quanti- pm·teT, Feb. 20, 1998.
women who feel alienated fied, or controlled by institu- 2 Joan Chittister, Hemi of Flesh
and unvalued in their tions. People who are called (Grand Rapids: William B.
Church. One of these tend to violate the rules in an- Erdmans Publishing Com-
groups is lesbian Catholics. noying ways. ,,7 pany, 1998).
Another is those who have 3 Ibid.
We have reflected on the an- 4 Elizabeth A. Dreyer, Emih
been treated unjustly or noyances experienced by those Cmmmed with Heaven: A SpiTi-
abused by clergy. called to different ways who tuality ofEve'yday Lift (New
My hope is that the Chapter of meet on the same path. We have York: Paulist Press, 1994).
also seen that in the light of 5 Elizabeth A. Johnson, Friends
2005 will work with these realities of God and Prophets (New York:
to discover ways to improve the shared values and shared goals Continuum, 1998), 43.
relationship between the laity those annoyances can fade. I 6 Commission on Women in and
and clergy and to discover ways have learned, indeed, that out of of the Church, "Analysis of Fo-
to bring our marginalized les- the fertile soil of willingness to cus Group Data," Institute of
respond to one another's ges- the Sisters of Mercy of the
bian Catholics to a safe center Americas, Silver Spring, MD,
among us. Perhaps we will dis- tures of welcome deep and last- 2003.
cover ways to learn the language ing friendship can grow. 7 Kathleen Norris, The Cloiste,.
of and best methods of ap- In our effort to continue to Walk (New York: River Head
proaching our brothers who are live the sister-associate relation- Books, 1996), 41.
also clerics so that we may speak ship, we can expect annoyance.
"Expand the ropes of your tent ..." (lsa 54:2)
Reflections on New Forms of Mercy Commitment
Mary Kathryn Grant and Katherine Ann Hill, R.S.M.
I
saiah opens chapter 54 with a song of celebra- Outside of the evangelical religious life, other
tion, a promise of fruitfulness and blessing, forms of committed service have always existed.
and a call to lengthen the ropes and expand The Beguines came into existence at a time when
the space of the tent, to be ready to burst out and Rome withheld approval of new forms of religious
not hold back. This is followed by an admoni- life. Individuals such as Angela Merici, Louise
tion-do not be afraid or worry-God's faithful deMarillac and Vincent dePaul, felt the traditional
love will last forever. God's faithful love has in- enclosed lifestyle would prevent them from directly
spired women and men throughout the ages to serving the needs of the poor; they initiated new
lives of service and mercy. These words of hope expressions of committed life.
should inspire us as we examine what expanding Writing on this topic of new forms, Maria
the ropes of the tent of religious or committed life Casey, R.S.J., also quotes from Isaiah: "Here and
might mean today. What might it mean in the now I am doing something new; at any moment it
community of mercy to widen the tent to include, will break from the bud! Can you not see it?" (Isa
enclose, and embrace newer forms of commit- 43:18-19.) She refers to this type of development
ment, participation, and contribution? as a "new form of consecrated life." "What is criti-
A vocation is a very personal experience; it cal," she writes, "is that the notion of consecration
can be a persistent, nagging notion, an irritating perdures and the means by which individuals and
yet irresistible invitation, an energizing, compel- groups enact that consecration change with time.
ling call. Whatever form it takes, it cannot be de- In this new millennium, there are new needs, as
nied, suppressed, or ignored. A vocation is a sa- never before; it is not only possible, but imperative
cred invitation to follow God's call, to acknowledge that more new forms be permitted to emerge, to
and act on one's deepest longings. In some cases, break from the bud."]
this call, this vocation, is an unmistakable invita- The call in Catherine McAuley'S heart was a
tion to a life of gospel service. call to serve the poor and uneducated and only re-
Throughout history, women and men have re- luctantly, facing the possibility that the work of her
sponded in different ways to this call. In apostolic little group might not endure did that call take
times, followers of the Christ-the Lydias, Priscas, form in vowed consecration. In order to preserve
Susannas, Marthas, and Marys-lived out the her original vision into the future, Catherine estab-
teachings of] esus in organizational structures that
varied from community to community, such as
house churches, missionary networks, deacons, What might it mean in the
deaconesses, and the order of widows. Over the
centuries, men and women who dedicated them- community of mercy to widen
selves in stable forms of vowed religious life came
moved from desert hermitage to independent
the tent to include, enclose, and
monastery to diocesan associated centers to ab- embrace newer forms of
beys and convents. The life form has evolved over
time with many manifestations-monastic, men- commitment, participation, and
dicant, apostolic, missionary, and the many mixed contribution?
expressions today.
22
Grant and Hill: Expand the Ropes of Your Tent 23
lished a religious congregation. And this was only teristic of the call being responded to by compan-
on the condition that the charism of service form ions is: fidelity to an apostolic spirituality,
the heart of the new congregation. Thus, the Sisters grounded in prayer and the sacraments; commit-
of Mercy take four vows-with the implicit under- ment to building and being a community of per-
standing that poverty, chastity, and obedience are sons with the same purpose; and intention to hold
linked with the fourth vow of service to those who one another in fidelity. There is no doubt that in-
are poOl~ sick, or ignorant. 2 dividuals could live this commitment individually
and personally, but this is not part of the vision of
companions. They yearn to be nurtured in the ap-
ostolic spirituality of Mercy together with the com-
The call to Mercy service,
munity of Mercy, signaled by a public commitment
echoing across time, is today to these actions through a private (noncanonical)
vow of Mercy service.
responded to in different ways.
Answering this call may take
Mission
forms other than vowed
Mission is perhaps the most central elements of the
evangelical life. three: a deep call to live the gospel in the spirit of
Catherine. Mission is the magnet, or in New Sci-
ence langnage, the "strange attractor." drawing
This call to service, specifically the call to Mercy women and men to lives of service. Prominent au-
service, echoing across time, is today responded to thors reflecting on religious life itself speak to the
in different ways. Answering this call may take forms need to reestablish the centrality of mission in this
other than vowed evangelical life, such as cove- postmodern era. Howard Gray, S.]., writing in a
nanted association, Mercy Volunteer Corps, and volume of collected essays, Living in the Meantime:
more recently a form known as companions in Conceming the Transformation ofReligious Lifo, chal-
Mercy. While all forms of committed service will be lenges religious leaders on the issue of "mission or
touched on in this papel~ the main exploration will maintenance." His argnments articulate the desire
be the newest form: companions in Mercy. of those seeking deeper communion and relation-
The foundations of this call are simple: apos- ship in ministry. He writes of three principal ele-
tolic spirituality, mission, and community. ments: 1) formation in the spirituality and charism
of the congregation, 2) community of heart and
purpose, and 3) apostolic action. 3
Apostolic Spirituality
Catherine Harmer, Medical Missioner, issues a
Companions seeking vowed commitment to a life strong challenge to religious to "be very open to a
of Mercy and service burn with a desire to live the variety of ways to live the committed life."4 She as-
gospel in the spirit of Catherine McAuley and in serts that "religious congregations ... could be a
mutuality with the Religious Sisters of Mercy. They conduit and a support" for those seeking a commit-
seek to share in the spirituality of Mercy, to live ted life. "Associate programs are a first step, but it is
lives of service, to be and bring God's mercy to our possible that the future will see a more radical step,
world. They do not feel called to do this in the con- one that recognizes different forms of membership5
text of the evangelical counsels, yet want to orient [italics hers], including core members and other
their lives to God and to the service of the poor and members ... " She concludes by acknowledging
needy in a public way that recognizes their relation- there would need to be "clearly delineated policies
ship to the Mercy congregation and fulfills the pas- and practices, clarity about rights and responsibili-
sion and commitment of their hearts. ties," and more significantly a "recognition of an
At baptism, all Christians are called to live a equality of commitment."6
gospel life. How this is expressed in each individ- Harmer looks ahead to a time when the mis-
uallife is one's vocation or calling. What is charac- sion is the central focus and essence of the commit-
24 Grant and Hi!!: Expand the Ropes of Your Tent
ted life, and things such as retirement, voting, and offered. None adequately capture the heart of be-
leadership, which are so often raised as obstacles to longing and relating.
welcoming newer forms of connection, inclusion, Searching for a metaphor to describe how vari-
and ministry, disappear altogether. ous new responses relate to existing structures
yields two quite different examples of sewing/knit-
ting together into some kind of whole, that of a
Community and Inclusiveness quilt or of a weaving or tapestry. A quilt has unity
Companions seek inclusiveness within a commu- through a thematic pattern, color, motif, or other
nity of Mercy. They seek no offices, no rights be- unifYing vehicle. Each distinct part is carefully
yond that of belonging in spirit and action to the crafted and can stand alone. The parts are ulti-
ministry of service expressed so well in the fourth mately sown together to make a whole. A weaving,
vow: service to persons who are poor, sick, or uned- on the other hand, has internal integrity; the warp
ucated. They seek to be a part of and still apart from and woof ultimately holding the cloth together as a
and to self-differentiate within the larger context of single fabric. No part can stand alone; no piece or
the Mercy congregation. This is a new form devel- part has meaning outside of the whole. Both meta-
oping in relationship to an already existing form phors could be used to describe or situate forms of
(vowed religious life) of which there is other re- "membership," which can be a piece, sewn into the
cently established forms-association and Mercy fabric of the Mercy community or it can be an
Volunteer Corps. Praying and celebrating with, be- integral component, inseparable from the whole.
ing called upon for their individual gifts and tal-
ents, and ultimately being accepted within the
community as integral "members" are public mani- Companions seek to be a part of
festations of this broader community, united in and still apart from and to
heart and mind.
Holding lightly to and still respecting bound- self-differentiate within the larger
aries, companions describe their deepest desire to context of the Mercy
be accepted and recognized as viable, committed,
dedicated, and faithful to the call of Mercy. Con- congregation. This is a new form
ceiving of community in the broadest sense, not of a
community of place, they seek a community of pur-
developing.
pose and common passion for service. They only
ask that the ropes of the tent be expanded ... Looking back to the foundations of the Sisters
In this respect, one is reminded of Dietrich of Mercy, one might argue that Catherine's vision
Bonhoeffer's theory of community as being formed most resembled a weaving, where individuals-
by attachment to the center. Those participating vowed, volunteer, even donor-were all part of the
come from various points/space(s) of distance and vision of serving the poor in a seamless fashion. She
what holds each one and the group is their attach- attracted women and men who responded to the
ment to the center. 7 call to serve the poor and not as ordained or vowed,
cloistered religious.
At the heart of the call are the gospel and the
Charisms and Strange Attractors attractiveness of the life of Catherine McAuley.
When a single charism is like a magnet attracting Beyond that, lifestyle, personal commitments and
various forms of response-vowed, committed as- obligations, professional responsibilities, and per-
sociates, dedicated coworkers, volunteer corps, sonal discernment shape the various modes of re-
and companions-the challenge is to describe sponding. "We fear both ambiguity and complex-
how these disparate parts relate to one another. ity ... because we still focus on the parts, rather
Images of an umbrella with many spokes, concen- than the whole system ... We still believe what
tric circles, a tree with many branches have been holds the system together is point to point connec-
tions that must be laboriously woven together by
Grant and Hi!!: Expand the Ropes ofYour Tent 25
us. Complexity adds to our task, requiring us to reflect mercy to the world." 11 The challenge is to do
keep track of more things, handle more pieces, so in a variety of ways of serving, belonging, and do
make more connections. As things increase in this mirroring the creative energies of the universe
number or detail, the span of control stretches out in all its diversity and complexity.
elastically, and, suddenly, we are snapped into
unmanageability."s
Employing more contemporary theories- Boundaries: Skin or Barrier
systems theory, quantum physics, chaos theory- Often the argument of boundaries is made: stress-
all tell us that we are united; we are one with the ing how important it is to keep distinctions clear
universe, with the past and the future; that there is and defined. No one would argue against this.
meaning in chaos; that the whole is contained in Both Mercy associates and companions seek not to
each part. The image that begins to emerge from destroy boundaries, but, in respecting them, seek
this seeming chaos is one of a community in ser- to treat them as permeable when appropriate. If
vice, of many individual players contributing their the frame of reference were a community of Mercy ,
gifts to building the reign of God on earth in the with the gospel and Catherine's life as central, asso-
tradition and charism of Catherine McAuley and ciates, coworkers, companions, candidates, former
the Sisters of Mercy. The intent becomes one of members, volunteers, and others all sharing the
understanding the new movement based on a same mission and values, consider how far the
deep respect for the web of activity and relation- reach of Mercy could be extended, expanded, and
ships that comprise the system. The intent is not enriched. The space of the tent opened wider.
to push and pull, but rather to let go and to give Emphasis on boundaries has at times lead to in-
form to what is unfolding. accurate and sometimes hurtful misunderstandings
and assumptions. Boundaries may be viewed as skin
or as walls. 12 When viewed as the skin of the self,
Both Mercy associates and boundaries are essential: they breathe, protect, ab-
sorb light. Boundary, as border or wall, on the other
companions seek not to destroy hand, separates and divides. This meaning of
boundaries, but, in respecting boundary has been common in religious life in the
past. The vows were often used as a border or wall
them, seek to treat them as separating vowed persons from others. The struc-
tures of religious life-convents, horaria, ministry,
permeable when appropriate. vows, and habits-were all boundaries used to iden-
tify an individual with a group. They were some-
times a means of encouraging inner "structures" of
identity but often that reflection was guided by
Creative Reordering and Evolving boundaries imposed from without, for example,
Recalling that Catherine's initial vision was to "You keep the rule and the rule keeps you."
gather persons of the same mind and heart, willing
to live the gospel, to pray and support one another,
to sacrifice and strive to alleviate poverty, oppres- Evidence of Chaos
sion and their causes, one begins to understand the Some things must be lived and then defined and
roots of the Mercy charism. "Charism," Mary Jo described, not the other way around. This is par-
Leddy describes as "an energy, a dynamic, a power ticularly true of evolving realities, and the diffi-
which cannot be contained or possessed ... but must culty sometimes gives rise to misunderstanding.
be shared."9 Or as the Mercy Constitutions reads "By The most commonly heard negative comments
collaborating with others in the works of mercy, we about the call to deeper participation in the Mercy
continually learn from them to be more merciful." 10 mission include: "You are trying to have your cake
And even stronger "we rejoice in the continued invi- and eat it too," "You're just Sisters-of-Mercy-
tation to seek justice, to be compassionate and to
26 Grant and Hi!!: Expand the Ropes ofYour Tent
wannabes." Fears spoken in terms of these com-

ments are understandable yet misplaced, often
voiced to impede or obstruct the emergence of The "wannabe" comments cut
new forms asking to be born. The promise of the deeply. Companions do not
Christian life is life in abundance-abundance
that invites all to participate and partake and is want to be Sisters of Mercy.
characterized by rich diversity. They do want to be part of a
The "wannabe" comments cut deeply. Com-
panions do not want to be Sisters of Mercy. They do larger community of Mercy in a
want to be part of a larger community of Mercy in a distinct and evolving form of
distinct and evolving form of committed life. They
seek intentionally to orient their lives to the gospel committed life.
and to the charism of Mercy, ultimately to be faith-
ful to their own unique vocation.
congregations, which reported 27,400 associates,
In attempting to diffuse some of the misunder-
with an additional 2,700 in formation.
standings and addressing some of the concerns,
Writing on this movement several years earlier,
one might be guided by Henri Nouwen's thought-
Paul Philibert, O.P., calls for "more apostolic op-
ful commentary on moving from hostility to hospi-
tions ... this is God's doing and not just an unfortu-
tality. "Hospitality is not to change people, but to
nate consequence of our inability to keep business
offer them space where change can take place. It is
as usual functioning (relative to numbers of voca-
not to bring men and women over to our side, but
tions [to evangelical life] and institutional sup-
to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines ...
ports). The time has come for us to be in serious di-
to open a wide spectrum for choice and commit-
alogue ... about [an] understanding of this new
ment ... the opening of an opportunity for others
moment in church life." 15 Thus it is imperative to
to find their God and their way.,,13 Nouwen sees
widen the ropes of the tent.
this conversion as an essential dimension of
When the patterns of this new call are ob-
genuine spiritual development.
served, insights emerge. Two of these are: 1) new
forms of committed life are a unique, contempo-
The Heart of the Matter rary charism in the church and 2) mission is the es-
sence of the call. Margaret Brennan, I.H.M., has ar-
One thing is certain, the Spirit is alive, the call is be- gued that religious life itself should be viewed as a
ing heard, and the paradigm is shifting. One knows charism in the Church;16 perhaps the time has
that it is impossible to reverse a paradigm shift. In- come to recognize dedicated, committed lay life as
stitutional religious life has experienced a dra- a comparable charism.
matic reduction in numbers of vowed members What individuals desiring to "enter the tent"
and, at the same time, experienced a dramatic in- seek are acceptance, welcome, and a share, insofar
crease in associates, in volunteer organizations, in as appropriate, in the mission, the ministry, the
individuals wanting to be connected to the charism spirit and spirituality of Mercy. In essence, this is a
of the congregation. moment to return to Catherine's original design to
Data suggest that the numbers of individuals have a tent big enough to include" all sorts of peo-
seeking association, comembership, and other re- ple," 17 people whose deepest desire is to meet the
lated forms of inclusion in the life and spirit of a needs of the poor and to extend the reign of God
congregation are growing rapidly, more rapidly in on earth by following in her footsteps. Our chal-
most cases than the numbers of vowed religious. A lenge today is not to be afraid to expand the ropes
recent study by Kathleen Wade, Onlinary People, Ex- of the tent and allow our God to continue to do
tmonlinal) Lives: The Associate Movement in Religious something new.
Communities, gives some details of alternative
modes of relating and expanding the ropes. 14 The
author cites a recent 2000 study of 11,000 religious
Grant and Hi!!: Expand the Ropes ofYour Tent 27
Notes 9 Mary J 0 Leddy, Reweaving the Future of Religious

Life, (Mystic, CT.: Twenty-Third Publications,
I Maria Casey, R.SJ., BTeakingfi'orn the Bud: New 1990),61.
Forms of Consecmted Life, (Burwood, NSW: Sisters 10 Mercy Constitutions, § 6.
ofSt.Joseph NSW, 1805),34-35. II Mercy Constitutions, § 84
2 See Sheila Carney, R.S.M., "The Constitutions: 12 See also Sandra Schneiders, I.H.M., Relig'ious Life
Our Corporate and Corporeal Word, The MAST in the New Millennium, Volume I, Finding the TTea-
Journal, 2004, vol. 14, no. I, p. 4. SU1'e: Locating Catholic Religious Life in a New
3 Howard]. Gray, SJ. "The Challenge to Religious Ecclesial and Culture Context, (New York: Paulist
Leadership: Maintenance or Mission?," in Paul]. Press, 2000), 360-363.
Philibert, O.P., Living in the Meantime: Concerning 13 Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out, (New York:
the Tmnsformation of Religious Life, (New York: Doubleday Press, 1975).
Paulist Press, 1994), 51. 14 Kathleen Wade, Ordinary People, ExtmoTilinary
4 Katherine Harmer, Religious Life in the 21'/ Cen- Lives: The Associate Movement in Religious Communi-
tury, (Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, ties, (Cincinnati, OH: OPEL Press, 2003).
1995),66. 15 Paul]. Philibert, O.P. "Editors Afterword," Living
5 For many, the term member should be reserved in the Meantime, op. cit, 221.
only for those in consecrated life. Harmer is using 16 Margaret Brennan, I.H.M., Living in the Meantime,
it here more broadly and the authors of this arti- op. cit., 153-52.
cle prefer to do the same. 17 Mary C. Sullivan, Cathe1ine McAuley and the Tmdi-
6 Harmer, p. 67. tion ofMercy, (Notre Dame: University of Notre
7 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christ the Center, (San Fran- Dame Press, 2000), 3-4.
cisco: Harper, 1960),60-61.
8 Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science,
(San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1999),
109-111.
THE MASTJOURNAL, begun in 1990, is published three times a year by the Mercy Association in Scripture and
Theology. Members of the Editorial Board are Sisters Eloise Rosenblatt, Editor (Burlingame), Doris Gottemoeller
(Cincinnati), Mary Sullivan (Rochester), Patricia Talone (Merion), Mary Daly (Connecticut), Carol Rittner (Dallas),
Kathleen McAlpin (Merion) and Maureen Crossen (Pittsburgh). Institute liaison, Helen Marie Bums, R.S.M. Subscrip-
tions correspondence to Marilee Howard, R.S.M., Managing Editor, at 8300 Colesville Rd., #300, Silver Spring, MD
20910, e-mail mhoward@sistersofmercy.org.ManuscriptsubmissionstoEloiseRosenblatt.R.S.M .• atI600 Petersen
Ave. #40, San Jose, CA 95129, e-mail erosenlI21@cs.com.Layout.design.andprintingbyBIBALPress.animprint
ofD. & F. Scott Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 821653, North Richland Hills, TX 76182. Back issues at $5.00 may be or-
dered from BIBAL Press at (888) 788-2280, [email protected] or www.dfscott.com.
September 20, 2001
Dear Mercy Associates,
In the wake of the heart-rending tragedy that has literally consumed us all this past week, I begin
this letter to all of you, our dear and cherished associates. The depth of our sorrow and anguish for
all those who lost their lives and all those they left behind knows no bounds. I am sure for all of us, it
wasn't the collapse of images of the towers, or the destruction of the Pentagon (those symbols of
power and might) that touched our hearts and emotions, but the faces and families of our countless
dead as well as the heroism of those responding. We hold them all in our prayers and loving
thoughts, even as we reflect on our own priorities and take personal responsibility for changing the
world from one of hate to one oflove and peace.
I believe you will have already received the lovely Mercy Day Letter, 2001, by the time you re-
ceive this, but I, too, want to join with our regional team in wishing you all a blessed Mercy day. May
it be a day for all of us to thoughtfully and prayerfully reflect on the word MERCY and the profound
meaning of the word at this sad time in our history. Mercy, according to Webster's definition, is "re-
fraining from harming, a disposition to forgive or be kind, a blessing." And, in the words of Shake-
speare, "Mercy is not strained. It drops as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is
twice blest. It blesses the person who gives, and the one who takes. It is an attribute of God himself,
and earthly power is most like God's when mercy seasons justice." It is a quality of behavior that
strikes at the very heart of how we will respond as individuals and as a nation to the violence inflicted
on us this past week. We hope that mercy and love will prevail over hate and retaliation. As we all
know, violence only begets more violence and perpetuates the cycle of war and hatred. May our
hearts, our prayers and reflections on this 2001 Mercy Day be about the beautiful quality of mercy
and its power to change our world
Another very special purpose of this letter is to invite and encourage you to attend either of the
two fall area meetings (Omaha-November 2-3 and Portland-November 9-10). I do know dis-
tance, time, family commitments and many things make attendance impossible at times, but a focus
of this meeting is going to be on Mercy association, our relationship, and our future together. So, we
would like as many of you to attend as is possible ...
May your hearts be filled with God's mercy, peace, and love in these uncertain times of our lives.
With love and affection always,
Sheila Devereux, R.S.M.

Director of Associates
28
A Comfortable Cup of Tea
A Symbol of and for the Sisters of Mercy
Therese B. Di Lisia.
When CathB1'ine McAuley was dy- elry, logos on T-shirts, and the tionship with God, Catherine
ing, many of the sisteTs gathB1~d like) are likely to appear any- McAuley, one another, the hu-
amund heT bedside to say good-bye
and to pray the prayeTs faT the dy- where that Sisters and associates man family (especially the poor
ing. Not long befom she died, at the of Mercy are found. relatives, women and children)
end of a long day of waiting, she Why do Mercy Sisters and as- and the world.
said to one of the sisteTS: "Be SU1~ sociates surround themselves so Tea things are commonly
you have a comfmtable cup of tea thoroughly with these "tea used to create ritual environ-
faT them when I'm gone." EveT
since, the comjmtable cup of tea things" (teacups, pots and re- ments by their placement on al-
has been a syrnbol ofthe wan/! and lated objects and images)? If you tars and in prayer spaces. For
cU1'ing mlationships which wem at ask them, as I did, many will say women in particulal; altars and
the heU1t of Cathe1'ine McAuley's that "a comfortable cup of tea," sanctuaries are places set aside,
Men;y vision. 1 symbolizes love, friendship, con- not for sacrifice, but for the ex-
versation, gathering, sharing, pression of relationship with
ther than the Mercy caring, comfort, relaxation, re- God and others. 5 Tea things
O Cross, 2 which symbolizes

the embeddedness of the
Mercy tradition within the
fi-eshment, healing, warmth, wel-
come, acceptance, inclusion,
equality, generosity, grace, gra-
also playa major role in the so-
cial ritual of gift giving, not only
for specifically Mercy events
larger Christian tradition, "a ciousness, hospitality, the spirit of and occasions (such as anniver-
. . . .
comfortable cup of tea," is per- Catherine McAuley, Mercy heri- sanes, commlsslOmngs, recep-
haps the most popular and ubiq- tage, identity, unity, and commu- tions into the community, tak-
uitous of Mercy symbols. Actual nity. 3 In a word, the cup is all ing vows, moving into new
teacups, pots, and associated about Telationship. 4 The primary ministries, and transitioning
items, as well as their images and function of tea things within into positions of leadership),
likenesses in photography, art, Mercy culture is to initiate, culti- but for general occasions as well
and artifacts (such as candles, vate, nurture, maintain, acknowl- (such as birthdays, Christmas,
pins, refrigerator magnets, min- edge, affirm, enable, enrich, ex- house warmings, and special ac-
iatures, figurines, plaques, wall press, extend, empowel; imagine, complish- ments).6 Tea things
hangings, stamps, stickers, jew- remember, and celebrate rela- are also a regular feature in the
printed media with which
Mercys communicate and ritu-
Tea things are commonly used to create ally interact with one another
(such as in stationary, note
ritual environments by their placement on cards, graphics on various pub-
altars and in prayer spaces. For women in lications, correspondence, no-
tices, invitations, announce-
particular, altars and sanctuaries are places ments and printed materials
set aside, not for sacrifice, but for the used in connection with Mercy
gatherings, celebrations, wor-
expression of relationship with God and ship, and rituals).7
others.
29
--- - ------------------------------
30 Di Lisio: A Comfortable Cup of Tea
Not unlike crosses and me- a teacup magnet; an acrylic certain enjoyable, lighthearted,
norahs, tea things are deeply stand-up frame holding a and even playful quality about it.
embedded in the everyday mate- piece of graphic art created Several Sisters and associates
rial world of Mercy community and given to me by Sister Vir- with whom I have been in con-
members. Tea things tend to gInia Farnan (Brooklyn), versation in connection with this
blend into the local scenery, bearing a transparent teacup study have taken particular de-
even as they help to color and with Catherine McAuley'S im- light in reminding me of the "in-
texturize it. To offer a case in age inside of it, and the super- side story" that a "comfortable"
point, I have just inventoried my imposed text: "The cup was no cup of tea means, among other
own home, which I share with a longer separate from herself. . . things, that the tea is "spiked"
Mercy associate. This, to my own the poor . .. no longer sipped from with Irish whiskey!9The fact that
surprise, is what I discovered. the cup in her hands. They feasted a splash oflevity is mixed in with
Living Room: a miniature tea- from the brewed cup ofher life! Be the deeper meaning of the sym-
sure everyone has a comfortable bol in no way dilutes-but en-
pot that lives on my piano with
cup of tea. "8 hances-the rich flavor of Mercy
other "favorite things."
Most of these items were gifts carried in the cup. Catherine
Dining Room: a classic style Royal herself is remembered and
from Mercy Sisters and associ-
Albert china teapot with two much beloved for her good hu-
ates. We also have an inventory
matching cups and saucers; a mor, clever wit, and willingness
"Boyd's Bears" figurine of two of a half-dozen teapots, cups,
to play. In her letters to her Sis-
candles, and pins (purchased
female bears having a tea party; ters, she reminded them to
another Royal Albert teapot opportunely at bargain prices)
"dance every evening! "-not
to be given away as gifts some
shaped like a comfortable easy just to keep warm, but to build
time in the future. My home is
chair occupied by a bear hold- among them a relationship of
not atypical. All except one of
ing a tiny teacup; four small tea- unity and community in the
the Sisters and associates who re-
cup and saucer prints on the "comfort" of one another's hos-
wall; a miniature crystal tea ser- sponded to this study reported
pitable good company. These
that they have one or more of
vice, a miniature porcelain tea qualities oflife, among the many
these types ofitems "on display"
service, a miniature cup and meanings symbolized by "a com-
saucer on a stand; one Irish-im- in their homes, have either given
fortable cup of tea," aremateTial-
or received such things, or that
port teacup, three teacups and ized in the way the symbol is both
they "collect" them as objects of
saucers of different shapes, col- "played with" and "prayed with"
delight. Things associated with
ors, and desigus. in material Mercy culture and
"a comfortable cup of tea" are
Kitchen: two full-sized teapots in ritual practices.
simply part and parcel of our
the shapes of different kinds According to Mary C.
multitextured, multicontextual
of houses; two miniature tea- Sullivan, R.S.M., "The offering
material lives .
cups and saucers; two mugs of hospitable tea to guests," in
and tea bag holders on which the literal sense, "is a longstand-
are printed: "Catherine's ing, worldwide tradition of the
Good Humor and Joy
Comfortable Tea;" a small Sisters of Mercy.dO The bodily,
gold teapot tea bag holder; a The giving, receiving, display- sensory, and social experience of
ing, and using of tea things has a drinking and sharing "a com-
small pewter teapot magnet
on the refrigerator; our every-
day teapot always on the stove.
Office: a miniature teacup and Things associated with "a comfortable cup
saucer; teacup note cards of tea" are simply part and parcel of our
(some designed by Mercy art-
ists), note pad and stationary; multitextured, multicontextual material lives.
Di Lisio: A Comfortable Cup of Tea 31
fortable cup of tea" materially

grounds and reinforces the sym-
bolic significance of material ob-
The bodily, sensory, and social experience of
jects and images associated with drinking and sharing "a comfortable cup of
that experienceJ 1 Sister Paula
Diann Marlin (Baltimore) recalls tea" materially grounds and reinforces the
that when she was a Heritage symbolic significance of material objects
tour guide at the Mercy Interna-
tional Centre in Dublin, a and images associated with that experience.
"morning tea/prayer ritual was
part of every retreat experi-
ence." Associate Rita Retzlaff full, we drank tea from the new the creation of a ritual that in-
(Brooklyn) writes about an eve- ones we chose while we talked cluded, among other things, a
ning ritual she experienced as a about our memories of tea and
the significance of it in our tea party.
retreat guest at the centre, one Everyone brought their own
life. The common themes
she found to be "especially were warmth, hospitality, fa- teacup. The planners provided
meaningful"-and enjoyable. miliarity, family, comfort. We tea bags with homemade
We had spent time reflecting took them home with us as a "tea-tags." The tags contained
and touring "Catherine's gift from one to the other. On
the last day, we found the per- quotes such as "Life is a cup to be
house." We ended up in filled, not drained;" "Tea
"Catherine's parlour," which son whose cup we chose and
was set up for tea. At each of had tea with them while we lis- quenches tears and thirst;" and
our places was a " cup 0 f t ea " tened to their story about the ''A woman is like a tea bag. It's
and "words of wisdom" on cup and why they chose to only when she's in hot water that
place cards. Then Catherine [a bring it and also we talked at
that time about what brought you realize how strong she is."
likeness, I p,~sun!e J, came to The ritual included an introduc-
serve us tea. VVe each read our us to and what keeps us a part
of Mercy13 tory conversation about coming
words of wisdom to each other
and then "danced" to~ethelc together, a blessing-prayer be-
We had a fabulous time. 2 fore the tea, a reading from IfTea-
Women's Gathering cups Could Talk (in which Barnes
"A comfortable cup of tea" has
writes that the whole experience
been drunk from-literally, On another occasion, Patricia of "preparing and enjoying tea is
symbolically and ritually-in a Black and Eileen Lennon, two a ritual in itself" and a way to re-
variety of imaginative ways. As- former Sisters of Mercy who fresh the spirit); the serving of tea
sociate directors Maureen King were the planners-to-be of a to one another; a sharing of sto-
(Brooklyn) and Kathleen Schiro Mercy Feminist Network gathering ries and memories while drink-
(New Jersey) shared their joint in Brooklyn, happened to be ing the tea; their reflecting to-
recollection of a teacup ritual shopping in a mall when they gether on the fragility of teacups
that took place at a regional as- spotted Emilie Barnes's popular and oflife and of the necessity to
sociates conference in the sum- book, If Teacups Could Talk.14 take risks anyway (as did
mer of2000: This book includes not only tea- Catherine McAuley); and a clos-
We brought a teacup with us time recipes, but also the stories ing prayer focusing on the two el-
when we arrived, we put the of women's lives and their mem-
teacup at one of six tables that emental essentials needed to
ories associated with teacups. brew a cup of tea: fire and wa-
were set up for "a tea party."
No one knew at that pomt Patricia recalls, "When I saw the ter-symbols of Catherine
whose teacup was whose. The display, I immediately associ- McAuley's "fiery passion" for the
next day after Sheila [Carney] ated it with Catherine's comfort- poor, and of the "river of Mercy"
spoke about Catherine, we able cup of tea." Patricia and
had to walk around and find a that is her continuing legacy. In
Eileen bought the book and, this ritual of remembering, bless-
teacup that we liked and sit at
that table. Once the table was months later, used part of it in ing, serving, and sharing-remi-
niscent of the action that takes confessed that she might not use in a way that could potentially
place in Eucharistic liturgy- the teacup symbol in her book in weaken its power as a Mercy sym-
participants experienced Cath- this way if she were writing it to- bol. In Sheila's view, a teacup can
erine's spirit in the sharing of "a day. Sheila expressed concern be potent as a Mercy symbol only
comfortable cup of tea." that the teacup can become too insofar as it points beyond itself
trivialized ifwe are not very care- to the deeper Mercy story. Sheila
ful with it.1 6 She believes expressed the hope that, within
Contemplative Prayer Catherine McAuley's gesture of the larger Mercy community, the
Teacups have also been used in- offering "a comfortable cup of teacup symbol can be thought
teractively and as environmental tea" ought to be the primary fo- about more seriously, carefully,
symbol-objects for contempla- cus of attention, rather than the and consciously by "pausing over
tive prayer. In their 1996 book, cup itself. The gesture is impor- it a little while to consider what it
Pmying with Catherine McAuley, tant, says Sheila, because really means." After saying this,
which features the image of a ... even as Catherine lay dying, Sheila began to chuckle. When
steaming hot cup of tea on its her thoughts were turned to asked why, she told me she had
cover, Sisters Helen Marie other people. The kind of gen- just swung her desk chair
erosity that characterized her around, as we were talking, and
Burns and Sheila Carney offer life did not leave her, even in
primary source readings, sto- that she noticed something of
this extreme situation ... It is
ries, prayers, and questions for true that the teacnp is a symbol which she had become totally un-
reflection on various topics re- of hospitality, but there is more conscious. Attached to her metal
lated to Christian spirituality in to it. ... The teacnp represents radiator in her institute office is a
a rich gesture within the tradi- teacup magnet, and next to it, a
general and to Mercy spirituality tion and we don't want to stop
in particular. In each chapter, magnetic sign that says: "Women
too short of understanding
following some text by or about what it means as a symbol of are like tea-they get stronger in
Catherine McAuley, the reader generosity, relationship, and hot water." Catherine also cared
is invited to "pause" and "pre- concern for community ... We deeply about Mercy but was very
can use the teacnp any way we much" of the world" and "in the
pare a comfortable cup of tea want, but the important thing is world" and never took herself too
seriously. I could almost hear
her, too.
Teacups have also been used interactively
and as environmental symbol-objects for Hospitality
contemplative prayer. Among all the things said to be
symbolized by the "comfortable
cup of tea," hospitality, in the in-
and think of a time in your own to 1~flect on who Catherine was
and what she was doing, both in terpersonal as well as broad so-
life when you . . . (experienced cial, spiritual, and ethical sense
her life and at the time of her
God's compassion; waited for death ... and to be Ifuided by of the term stands out over and
God; found God in humor; ex- that in our own lives. 7 above, and is inclusive of, them
tended hospitality, etc)." Ac- all. In 1979, long before it had
Sheila shared her concern that
cording to the authors, the tea- become the popular object-sym-
teacup jewelry, magnets, station-
cup is employed in this way to bol it is today, Mary Cleophas
invite the reader to enter into "a ary, miniatures, images, and the
like have become quite trendy, Costello, past president of
comfortable, centered space in Mount St. Agnes College, deliv-
commercialized commodities in
which to meet oneself and our ered a speech about hospitality
gracious God."IS today's popular culture. IS She
thought these items could rein- to her Baltimore Province and
In my telephone interview entitled it "A Comfortable Cup
force appropriation of the teacup
with Sister Sheila Carney, she
of Tea." Mary Cleophas said to the development of healthy long-term health facilities,
her Sisters: communities and afford- rehabilitation centers, and
"A Comfortable Cup of Tea," able housing; family care and outreach
the words of Mother McAuley, ~ seeking ways to change so- centers, making them one
continue to challenge all of her cial, political, and eco- of the largest health care
daughters whenever we hear nomic systems that create providers in the United
them . . . They are a typical and perpetuate poverty, States;"
phrase to describe the kind of
woman she was: a practical per- through the Institute Jus- ~ going to, gathering up and
son who set to work on the most tice Ministry, which "works taking in poor, sick, uned-
obvions task in any situation ... for social justice by facili- ucated persons (especially
for the alleviation of any hu- tating access to informa- women and children)
man need that demanded a tion and resources; through community out-
remedy. She began with what
was on hand, what was on the collaborating with other reach services, mental
surface to alleviate human suf- justice coalitions ... mobi- health clinics; shelters and
fering; but the impulse to begin 1izing for public witness transitional housing facili-
at all was a deep flame that and corporate voice; and ties; family and children's
sprang from her lifetime devo- making available tools for services, and a broad spec-
tion to that humanity she had
learned to revere in the cruci- advancing the work of so- trum of human services as
fied Jesus ... No wonder ... cial justice," and making varied as are human needs;
that she speaks so forcibly to us heard the voices of poor ~ operating "retreat centers
today when we have become so and marginalized people; and houses of prayer where
conscious of human destitution ~ educating hundreds of people can come and stay for
... More and more . .. the Sis-
ters ofMerc~ are answering that thousands of students from a few hours or a few weeks;"
challenge. l preschool to graduate lev- ~ on a less grandiose but no
els in a way that "nurtures less important scale, Mercy
Hospitality is the principal char-
growth of the whole per- hospitality means treating
acteristic of Mercy identity, spir-
son-spiritually, intellectu- every individual, in the
ituality, and mission. In light of
ally, and morally;" most ordinary of daily situa-
the example of Catherine
~ sponsoring or tions, with respect, accep-
McAuley, Sisters and associates
cosponsoring six health tance, and acknowledgment
broadly understand hospitality of their human digni ty. 20
systems and "approxi-
as an individual and collabora-
mately 140 health-related
tive way of being, believing, and
facilities throughout the
behaving in relation to God and Sentimental Rather Than
United States [and more in
others in the world, in practical Sacramental?
Belize, Guam, Guyana,
response to today's human
Peru, and the Philippines) Can so delicate a symbol-object
needs. In the Americas alone, on
including hospitals, as "a comfortable cup of tea"
the institute level alone (which
does not include the separately
sponsored works of each re-
gional community), Mercy Hos- Sisters and associates broadly understand
pitality means:
hospitality as an individual and collaborative
~ selling Mercy property to
create McAuley Institute, a way of being, believing, and behaving in
national non-profit agency relation to God and others in the world, in
that provides low-interest
loans, technical assistance, practical response to today's human needs.
information, training and
public policy advocacy for
the cup of tea to men and women

doing works of Mercy ... 22
It seems a virtual certainty that Catherine
It seems a virtual certainty that
McAuley did not think of "a comfortable cup Catherine McAuley did not think
of "a comfortable cup oftea" as a
of tea" as a symbol carrying the many symbol carrying the many mean-
meanings attributed to it today. ings attributed to it today. Then
again, the same can be said for
was. I don't see the CCTas hav- the traditional Eucharistic sym-
really carry the meaning of all of
ing these wonderful paradoxes bols of bread and wine and other
this? Can a cup of tea really
and powers. It feels flat to me, liturgical symbols and practices
"continue to challenge all of not something I would return upon which theologians over the
Catherine's daughters [and sons]" to again and again to learn centuries have heaped multiple
to meet today's complex "hu- from and reflect upon, as I
would with another symbol. meanings having mythical and
man needs demanding a rem-
When I have seen it used in questionably historic ongms.
edy," as Mary Cleophas Costello
Mercy gatherings I have found These Eucharistic symbols are
said Catherine's words could? it not to be an engagement of a not rendered "flat" and power-
Sister Cynthia Serjak (Pitts- potent meaning (anamnesis) less on account of this interpre-
burgh) does not think so. She of- but rather nostalgic, perhaps
sentimental, even "cute,"
tive activity. Likewise, the liveli-
fers this challenging perspective: ness of "a comfortable cup of tea"
The CCT idea has been in- I don't find Catherine's words as a Mercy symbol need not turn
vested with meanings that I'm in this instance to be compel-
on the question ofwhether or not
not sure Catherine intended. It ling in a metaphorical, sym-
bolic or even spiritual way. Her Catherine McAuley expected a
has been asked to bear a sym-
bolic weight that it is not capa- legacy and her ministerial ex- teacup to carry the multiple (and
ble of doing ... It is as if we've ample are very compelling to polyvalent) meanings it holds for
latched onto something con- me-I just don't think the CCT many today. Lives lived in the
crete, limited culturally and carries the same weight. Per- spirit of Catherine continue to in-
contextually, and now use it to haps I am missing something
by not appreciating the "Irish" fuse Catherine's special blend of
express some significant piece
or local custom to which she re- contemplation and action with
of Mercy life. I believe hospi-
tality is important, of course, fers. Perhaps I need more" exe- fresh flavor each time the symbol
but I think there are many ways gesis" of the scene. 21 is encountered and interpreted
in which Catherine showed us anew. Without such continual re-
Sister Donna M. Ryan (Omaha),
a very radical, extensive hospi-
who works in a church as a pasto- newal, symbols simply die. 23 Fur-
tality-one being the House of ther, insofar as the spirituality
Mercy itself, the complete ral minister expressed similar
spending of her inheritance! implied by the "comfortable cup
concerns.
The CCT does not match the of tea" is one of being both empty
weight of all that for me. I really don't think in looking and full, of receiving and giving,
over Catherine's life, she would
So, it's a nice symbol, but where of filling up and spilling over, the
have used that symbol much-
is its challenge? If a symbol is a she was too busy. . . . I person- symbol is capable of carrying par-
doorway to deep mystery, ally am comforted by the cup of adoxical tension.
where is that in the CCT? The tea, but I am aware that it could The more compelling and
symbols we use in Catholic rit- cloister me in comfort so that I critical questions raised by
uals are multivalent-the fire no longer have to be passionate
of Pentecost comforts and chas- Cynthia Serjak and Donna M.
to take risks, or move with soci-
tens, the waters of baptism wel- ety of the local church as we Ryan have to do with whether or
come and threaten, the bread move into the twenty-first cen- not and to what extent "a com-
and cup of Eucharist are nour- tury. [Although, Catherine's] fortable cup of tea" has the
ishing and are invitations into style of ministry ... was to be in power to provoke deep thought,
the fullness of the paschal mys- collaboration with the laity ... so
tery-they challenge us to be to facilitate encounter with mys-
today she would have offered
broken and poured as Jesus tery, and to challenge someone
to the kind of bold risk taking relates "a comfortable cup of ship offi'iendship, then the cup
that Catherine's own brand of tea" to Mercy identity, spiritual- of tea will be as symbolicforyou
as the foot washing was for the
hospitality entailed. The evi- ity, and mission: early disciples.
dence suggests that "a comfort- When Catherine McAuley was
able cup of tea" does, in fact, The comfortable cup of tea can
dying, many of the sisters gath- be a gauge of how you are do-
have the power to help draw ered around her bedside to say ing. If you are not in a position
many, though obviously not all, goodbye and to pray the to have it, you can ask your-
carriers of the Mercy charism prayers for the dying. Not long selves why not? Aod what
before she died, at the end of a would have to change before
into contemplative encounter long day of waiting, she said to
with "deep mystery"-that tran- you could have the comfort-
one of the Baggot St. Sisters: able cuppa? Can you change
scendent mystery that paradoxi- "Be sure you have a comfort- it? Are you willing to change it?
cally dwells immanently near in able cup of tea for them when I Why are things this way?
the midst of our loving, compas- am gone." Ever since, the com-
fortable cup of tea has been a Anna states, "This simple text
sionate and just relationships telling symbol for the Sisters of both inspired me and has
and activities in this world, our Mercy and those who uphold
shaped the way I see the com-
material world. As theologian the Mercy charism. There is
nothing pretentious about a fortable cup of tea. The ques-
Karl Rahner explains, holy mys-
cup of tea. Having a cup of tea tions that it asks continue to
tery can be encountered in the
with someone is a simple challenge me out of my comfort
things of this world, insofar as all homey gesture of hospitality zone, especially the one that
matter is drenched in God's which implies a certain ease of
says, why not?"
grace-filled presence. 24 Mystery relationship. The comfortable
cup of tea is a way of expressing Exegesis-and hospitality-
can be let loose in the liturgy of
how w~ are together. It is a way may begin in one's own kitchen,
our ordinary, daily lives through
of shanng a common space. It is but they need not and do not end
the most ordinary and even a way to include others. It is a there. When the power of "a com-
"cute" things. "A comfortable way to give our time, our pres-
fortable cup of tea" is truly en-
cup of tea" can have the power to ence, our love. If you are get-
ting it right in your ministry, gaged, Catherine's identity, spiri-
help challenge complacency,
you will be able to have a com- tuality and mission have been
help impel people to action, and
fortable cup of tea together. If demonstrated to spill over into
help empower creative, practi- you are implementing policies the lives of persons within and
cally responsive ministries of that are just and charitable, if
you are living the basic human beyond the Mercy community,
hospitality. Cynthia Serjak is
virtues ofintegrity, honesty, and and to excite them as collabora-
quite right, though. For this
trustworthiness, you will feel tors in ministry. Anna Nicholls
power to become activated,
free to share a comfortable cup took a copy of the above text to
some "exegesis of the scene" of tea with business colleagues. the Mercy College in which she
needs to take place. If you are really trying to live
teaches and hung it in the staff
out the gospel imperative that,
in spite of the inequalities that kitchen. "For the next few weeks
Mercy Charism exist between you and others, you would see people stopping
you can experience a relation- and reading and commenting ...
Anna Nicholls, a Mercy from
New Zealand, sees "a comfort-
able cup of tea" as a symbol of
"the hospitality aspect of our The evidence suggests that "a comfortable
Mercy charism, an aspect that cup of tea" does, in fact, have the power to
has been a big factor in my
Mercy journey." Anna's story in- help draw many, though obviously not all,
cludes a laminated text that carriers of the Mercy charism into
hung on the wall of the kitchen
of the first Mercy house in which contemplative encounter with "deep
she lived. This text directly
mystery."
For our staff, the comfortable cup She was terrific ... Maureen Mission Team will start the
met with the Board of Direc- year off with a prayer memo-
of tea has become a Mercy sym-
tors, Executive Cabinet, Cabi- rial for September II. It is still
bol that they can embrace." Anna net (directors of the various in process, but will have "the
also has a teacup pin that she departments and programs), comfortable cup oftea" as part
wears to school. She reports that and individual staff members. of the celebration. This comes
the staff commented on it so She also gave presentations to from the team . . . they have
the various departments. She taken this on as a peace-filled
much that teacup pins were or-
gave Catherine McAnley's con- symbol that all staff can iden-
dered for each of them as gifts to cept of mission and expanded tify with regardless of race,
celebrate Mercy Day. "Many still on the role of the lay people color, or creed.
wear them today," she says. The working hand in hand with the
We also have found out that a
teapot pins, quite apparently, religious ... It was through this
few staff members have teapot
serve as symbols of solidarity in renewal type of experience for collections and bring these
the agency that we talked more
mission and ministry.25 very special teapots to our
about Catherine McAuley, the
In response to Anna's story, gatherings. They have taken
history and the spirit that we
on the symbol and find much
Dolores Liptak, R.S.M., com- want to keep alive-hence the
bonding in this experience ...
mented: "Still another genera- story of Catherine on her
All I can say is that the whole
tion of Mercys has been helped deathbed telling the Sisters to
idea has taken hold with our
make sure they had a comfort-
(in fact, excited) to understand staff and hopefully will con-
able cup of tea when she was
how [Catherine's] words and ac- tinue. Catherine's spirit comes
gone. This story was a favorite
alive through this "comfort-
tions reflect and challenge all of for our staff. They saw the able cup oftea."S
us to be the true Catherine-the warmth, the caring, and the
true Mercy. The new symbols we sharing at such a critical mo-
ment in Catherine's life ...
come up with need the same
kind of recovery and develop- You probably know how popu- Pastoral Settings
lar teacups and teapots are to-
ment. They must come from who The "comfortable cup of tea"
day. So it was very easy to get
Catherine was. "26 graphics from the computer, can and does spill over into
Such "recovery and devel- napkins, and all kinds of paper non-Mercy ministry environ-
opment" efforts were under- goods with the symbol. This ments as well. Sister Rosemary
taken in earnest at St. Mary's made it easy for us to elaborate Hudak is the director of pastoral
Children and Family Services, a on the comfortable cup of tea at
ministry at St. Joseph's R.C.
simple prayer services to com-
sponsored ministry of the memorate the feast of Our Church, a 6,OOO-family parish in
Brooklyn Regional Community. Lady of Mercy in September Toms River, New Jersey. Sister
St. Mary's offers "full service," and Foundation Day, Decem- Rosemary depends on the col-
on and off-site hospitality to ber 12. These were the two laboration of more than two
troubled children and their fam- events that we have tried for the
hundred parishioners, many of
last two years at St. Mary's. One
ilies. 27 Sister Francene Horan, year we had the video of the his- whom are women, in order to ef-
director of mission effectiveness tory of the Sisters of Mercy and fectively perform her various
at St. Mary's, shared this story followed it with tea and scones. church and outreach duties. She
about how the St. Mary's staff A year and a half ago, we recently wrote an article about
came to thoroughly "buy into" formed the Mission Team, a her ministry and "a comfortable
the story and symbol of "a group of staff of various pro- cup of tea," which begins with
comfortable cup of tea." grams whose focus is mission this quote from Catherine
effectiveness on a daily basis. McAuley: "You cannot fail to be
Three years ago the Brooklyn They meet about every six
Region was interested in as- weeks and plan simple ways to happy while the spirit of your vo-
sessing mission effectiveness in keep the mission alive for staff. cation animates all your ac-
our Mercy high schools and At the meetings, we have a pic- tions." Rosemary recalls:
agencies. We hired S. Maureen ture of Catherine McAuley, a
Lowry, R.S.M., from the Mercy candle and a cup and A few years ago I planned an
Merion Region to meet with us saucer on display. This year the evening for women and called
over a two-year period of time. it "A Comfortable Cup of Tea."
It gave me an opportunity to erine's tea leaves, tea bags, tea greater the number of these in-
tell Catherine's story and en- bag holders, teacups and saucers, gredients one can taste at once,
courage women to continue tea mugs, miniature tea sets, tea-
the tradition of Mercy hospi- the more powerful the punch of
tality. The Rosary Altar Society cup pins, a variety of Catherine's the tea-with or without a splash
continues to sponsor this pro- tea note cards and gift baskets ofIrish whiskey.
gram each year. I was asked to containing any combination of
speak on women's spirituality the above. The Tea Store's web
at the last one, and you can site tells this story:
imagine my delight when I Marking the Years
heard one of the Rosarians tell Our tea is not just another com-
the story of Catherine's "com- mercial product. Catherine's Once "a comfortable cup of tea"
fortable cup of tea" prior to in- Comfortable Tea is a symbol of resonates with someone, it reso-
troducing me. I felt like a compassion and dedication to nates for a very long time, even
proud parent!29 women in need. Throughout though the emphasis in its sym-
her entire life, Catherine
Also working in a non-Mercy pas- McAuley devoted herself to bolic meaning may shift. Con-
toral ministry environment is Sis- serving others. Even on her sider a group of former Sisters
ter Lalemont Pelikan (St. Louis), deathbed, she urged her follow- from the Detroit Regional Com-
who says the Eucharistic cup and ers to "be sure you have a community who gathered this sum-
Catherine's "comfortable cup of fortable cup of tea for them mer to celebrate what would
when I am gone." With her
tea" are "the symbols of my Mercy spirit in mind, the Catherine have been their fortieth anniver-
heritage and my Christian heri- McAuley Center created saries of entrance into the com-
tage." In her office at the Diocese Catherine's Comfortable Tea. munity. On the table in the cen-
of Lubbock Catholic Pastoral Proceeds from the sale of the ter of the room where their ritual
Center, where she works in the tea benefit the Catherine took place, sat a teacup with a
McAuley Center . . . Learn
Office of Christian formation, about the Catherine McAuley shamrock on it. 32
Sister Lalemont displays a teapot
set in front of her Mercy calendar
from the Mercy International
Centre in Dublin. She reports The "comfortable cup of tea" can and does
that "there are numerous teacups spill over into non-Mercy ministry.
on the bookshelves in my office,
too, and the rest of the staff at the
center are well acquainted with
Center organization and dis- Finally, consider the story of
their meaning.,,30 cover how Catherine McAuley's
Members of the general Susan Manion, a former member
compassion lives on through
public who are not directly en- each cup of tea we sell. 3! of the St. Louis community who
gaged in ministries with Sisters cannot remember when she first
and associates of Mercy can also The fact that "a comfortable cup
heard of the teacup symbol be-
support those ministries with "a of tea" has the power to chal-
cause "it seems to have been
comfortable cup of tea." For ex- lenge some people to participate
around forever." For Susan,
ample, The Catherine McAuley in Catherine McAuley's charism,
drops of meaning from American
Cente?' in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, op- spirituality, and mission lies in
culture, from Irish culture, from
erates a transitional housing pro- the fact that this simple cup is
filled with the following essential secular and spiritual culture,
gram for women and an adult ed-
ingredients: narrative (Catherine's from personal, professional and
ucation program for women and
men. In conjunction with this story), memory (as remembered), ministry-related relationships,
ministry, they also operate text (as told), material object (as from the charism of Catherine
Catherine's Tea StaTe, from which sensed), experience (as lived), in- and her community, from life ex-
anyone who happens to be in the te1pretation (as reflected upon), perience before, during, and af-
neighborhood or has an internet and imagination (as creatively ter Mercy membership all co-
connection can purchase Cath- and actively engaged). The alesce in a single teacup.
cup of tea, what it means to

them, and how it functions
Once "a comfortable cup of tea" resonates symbolically in their lives.
Thirty women (21 Sisters, 6 as-
with someone, it resonates for a very long sociates, and 3 former mem-
bers) participated in this
time, even though the emphasis in its study.
4 Colleen McDannell has made
symbolic meaning may shift. an unparalleled contribution to
the study of North Ameri-
can-Christian material culture
in her book entitled Material
Although I am no longer a beyond Catherine's community, CI!1istianity (New Haven: Yale
vowed member of the R.S.M.s, creating a unique blend and dis- University Press, 1995). She be-
I still cherish the comfortable tinctive flavor that is "Mercy." gins with the observation that,
mp of tea ... I entered the St. The taste lingers. "Material culture in itself has
Louis Province in 1968, but no intrinsic meaning of its own
grew up around Mercies, as an ... Objects become meaningful
aunt of mine was an R.S.M. within specific patterns of rela-
Also, I am originally from New tionships." Ibid., 3-4.
Orleans, where coffee or tea 5 "In making their altars, women
Notes assemble images that represent
shared among family or
friends is a sacred time . . . 1 http://www.mercyworld.org// the power of and need for
Macrinia Whittaker has a nzlwellington/h_symbols.htm!. good relationships and positive
prayer that talks about sacred In a letter to Sister Mary Ce- affiliations. As a visual testi-
time with her mother baking cilia Marmion dated Novem- mony to the emphasis that
bread. For me, sharing a mp of ber 12, 1941, eyewitness Mary women place on creating links
tea or coffee (good old Ameri- Vincent Whitty reported between people, between
can that I am) is the same. This Catherine McAuley'S deathbed things, and between realms,
is true whether it is an early mp wish: "Will you tell the sisters the altar specifies a context for
of coffee with my boss at the to get a good cup of tea-I building and sustaining rela-
Community Mental Health think the community room tionship. A center from which
Center, where I work with the would be a good place-when women can advocate their
poor, or with friends or my I am gone & to comfort one worldview, the altar is both a
partner after dinner or for another-but God will comfort model of and an instrument for
breakfast. The comfortable them." According to Mary C. relationship. It is a place for
cup has deep meaning for me Sullivan, R.S.M., it was Sister understanding the presence of
with regards to Mercy mis- Mary Austin Carroll who at- the Other, certainly in the
sion/identity/ministry. It sym- tributed the phrase "comfort- sense of knowing the Divine,
bolizes the same at ease able cup of tea" to Catherine's but also in the ethical sense of
sharing of equals, the hospital- dying wish in Carroll's biogra- connecting to otherness and
ity that I grew up with in the phy, The Life of Cathe,ine others as a goal of human liv-
deep South, and the lack of hi- McAuley (1866). Mary C. ing." Kay Turner, Beautiful Ne-
erarchy that accepts al!. I was Sullivan, Cathe1'ine McAuley and cessity: The A,i and Meaning of
given a Belleek [Irish china1 the Mercy Tradition (Notre Women's Altan (NY: Thames
cup and saucer as a part of my Dame, IN: University of Notre and Hudson, 1999), 79; cf.:
exit of community. On the one Dame Press, 1995),243. Material Ch,istianity, 34-35.
hand, I would like to add to it 2 The Mercy cross, designed by 6 On the subject of gift ex-
to make a set to share wi th Catherine McAuley, was an eb- change in Christian material
guests. On the other hand, its ony cross representing Jesus, culture, Colleen McDannell
uniqueness is symbolic of the with an inlaid ivory cross rep- adds her own observations to
precious connection I will al- resenting the members of the those of anthropologist Mary
ways share in Mercy.33 Mercy community. Douglas: "Like goods in tribal
3 In June, 2002, the author ex- societies, religious objects 'are
In the teacup, spirit meets spirit, tended an open invitation to used for paying compliments,
story meets story, and experi- Sisters and associates of Mercy for initiating marriages, estab-
ence meets experience across to share their insights, obser- lishing or ending them, for
vations, experiences, and re- recognizing relationships, for
time and space, both within and flections about "a comfortable all celebrations,
compensations and affirma- 15 Helen Marie Burns and Sheila material side of existence
tions whatever.' [citing Mary Carney, Praying with Catheline which yields a much richer
Douglas, "Goods as system of McAuley (MN: St. Mary's Press, idea of social meanings ... "
communication," In The Active 1996). Joyce Rupps' The CUi} of Mary Douglas and Baron
Voice (London: Routledge and Life: A Guide For Spiritual Ishelwood, The World of Goods
Kegan Paul, 1982),24] The Growth (Notre Dame, IN: Ave (New York: Basic Books,
social exchange of religious Maria Press, 1997), is much in 1979), 59-607.
goods can strengthen friend- the style ofthe Burns/Carney 19 My thanks to Sister Virginia
ships as well as provide finan- book. Farnan (Brooklyn), who pro-
cial support for churches and 16 The widespread usage and fa- vided me with a printed copy
church organizations. Reli- miliarity of a symbolic object is of this speech.
gious goods not only bind peo- not necessarily an indicator of 20 All of these "works of Mercy,"
pie to the sacred, they bind its "desacralization." Consider, and many others, are included
people to each other." Material for exalnple, "emblems," "to- under the banner "Creating a
Cillistianity, 45. tems," and other such objects Spirit of Hospitality" at the web
7 "All communication depends that operate within religious site of the Institute of the Sis-
on use of condensed symbols, groups as sacred signs (or sym- ters of Mercy of the Americas.
and they can be classified in bois) of membership, identity, http://www.sistersofmercy.org/w
numerous ways, from the most and spiritual power. See, orks.html.
precise to the most vague, Emile Durkheim, The Elemen- 21 E-mail of June 20, 2002.
from single reference signs to tary Fonns of Religious Lift 22 E-mail of June 5,2002.
multi-reference symbols." (1918), trans. Karen E. Fields 23 Paul Ricoeur, "The Symbol ...
Mary Douglas, Natural Symbols: (New York: The Free Press, Food For Thought," Philosophy
Explorations in Cosmology (Lon- 1995),111-126; W. Lloyd Today 4 (1960) 196-207.
don: Routledge, 1996), 10. Warner, The Living and the 24 See Karl Rahner, NatuTe and
8 This text is excerpted from a Dead, A Study of the Symbolic Lift Grace, translated by Dinah
reflection written by Carmelite ofA17le11cans (New Haven: Yale Wharton (New York: Sheed
Sister Diane Gauthier, "A University Press, 1959); The and Ward, 1963).
Comfortable Cup of Tea," Liv- Family of God, A Symbolic Study 25 E-mail of June 5, 2002.
ing Prayer (1993) 9-10. of Cillistian Life in Amelica (New 26 E-mail of June 8, 2002.
9 Sister Mary Celeste Rouleau Haven: Yale University Press, 27 St. Mary's Children and Fam-
(Burlingame), one of the insti- 1961); Milton Singer, "Em- ily Services, provides an
tute's most respected authori- blems of Identity: A Semiotic on-campus school, group resi-
ties on the subject of Exploration" in Fernandez, dences, mental health testing
Catherine McAuley, was Spiro and Singer, On Symbols and therapeutic services;
among those who mentioned in Anthropology (CA: UCLA De- off-site residential facilities
the whisky connotation, al- partment of Anthropology, and services; foster care ser-
though she added this dis- 1982),73-133. vices; community based pro-
claimer, "I don't vouch for the 17 Telephone interview of June grams; and preventative
authenticity of thatl" e-mail of 20,2002. services for New York City and
June 5, 2002. 18 Mary Douglas and Baron Long Island children and fam-
10 Sullivan, Catherine McAuley and Ishelwood offer a positive, al- ilies suffering the effects of do-
the Mercy Tradition, 385. ternative perspective on mate- mestic violence, alcohol and
11 Mary Douglas has been a prin- rial commodities: "Instead of drug abuse, mental illness,
cipal proponent of the view supposing that goods are pri- and poverty.
that symbols are fundamen- marily needed for subsistence 28 E-mail of August 2, 2002.
tally based on physiological plus competitive display, let us 29 Rosemary Hudak, R.S.M., un-
processes and experiences. assume that they are needed titled, Connections 2:7 Guly,
See Mary Douglas, Natural for making visible and stable 2002),3.
Symbols; and Purity and Danger the categories of culture." 30 E-mail of June 5, 2002.
(London: Routledge, 1995). While it is true that goods have 31 Catherine McAuley Cen-
12 E-mail of June 19, 2002. practical value for meeting ter-Gifts:
13 E-mail ofJune 23, 2002. material needs, "at the same http://www.catherinestea.org.
14 Emilie Barnes, If Teacups Could time it is apparent that goods 32 Reported by Ann Dillon, De-
Talk: Sharing a Cup of Kindness have another important use: trait associate director, tele-
with TTeasured hiends (OR: they also make and maintain rela- phone conversation of August
Harvest House Publishers, tionships. This is a long tried 3,2002.
1996). and fruitful approach to the 33 E-mail of June 22, 2002.
What Makes a Mercy College
Rev. Victor Lee Austin
T
he landscape of American higher education and presenting him to our view face forward. She
is littered with small colleges that were thus welcomes the visitor by offering the fruit of
founded with a religious vision and sus- wisdom. To her side is the historic edifice now
tained by sacrifice to further their religious mis- known by the pedestrian title "administration
sion, but which today have distanced themselves building," in which there is an abundance of statu-
from the specifics of their founding vision and ary, mostly of the Italianate Catholic variety. The
seek, instead, to find their mission and vision-and classrooms and the halls throughout the campus
their respectability-in terms that have little to do are marked by the visual symbol of our redemp-
with those of their founding. Some of these colleges tion: the crucifix. The chapel is a large presence, if
with religious roots are now giants of the secular not centrally placed-although it rests atop the
academy; one's mind turns to Yale as a symbol of English department, which rests atop occupational
the group. But many are small boats in the aca- and physical therapy, so it is hardly marginal. The
demic sea, struggling for survival, unmoored from chapel chimes are heard across the campus
their founding distinctiveness. throughout the day. A residence for nuns, most of
Is such a future the destiny of all religious col- them elderly or retired, is placed near the chapel.
leges in America? Is the evolution from religious One almost ineffable element of a college edu-
founding to secular respectability inevitable? As a cation is the formation students acquire from the
catholic-minded Anglican, I pray not. I have my physical architecture of the place. Buildings,
doctoral degree from a Catholic university; both adornments, furnishings, and their arrangement
my children have attended Catholic colleges; and and use convey a meaning to the developing mind.
now I am an assistant professor at a college Students at Mount Aloysius College are not likely,
founded and sponsored by the Religious Sisters of most of them, to be able to distinguish the statue of
Mercy. VVhat follows are reflections upon praxis, my Saint Aloysius from one of Saint Philip Neri. But
reflections upon this praxis. That is to say, it is not they will pick up, in ways more subconscious than
my intention here to provide a review, much less a explicitly conscious, that this is a Catholic college.
critique, of the literature on this question. Since I And they will intuit the implicit premise of the sig-
am most immediately concerned with the school nal adornments: that this college holds there is
where I teach, Mount Aloysius College, I place some sort of unspoken yet crucial connection be-
these reflections under the rubric, "VVhat Makes a tween Christ and the subjects studied in the
Mercy College." However, if my reflections are classrooms.
valid, they will be true, mutatis mutandis, for any If these symbols were to recede into the back-
college founded in response to a religious vision. ground-if, say, the crucifixes started coming
down from the walls, or if the chapel became more
a place of assembly than a place of worship, or if
Symbols, Their Use, and Questions They new construction were to be done with disregard
Raise for the continuing and living use of these symbols
VVhen you enter the drive of Mount Aloysius Col- and spaces-then Mount Aloysius would be dilut-
lege, you are greeted by a statue of Mary. She is Our ing the effectiveness with which it has carried its
Lady of Mercy, holding the Christ child at her side Catholic faith.
40
Austin: What Makes a Mercy College 41
The Surprise of the Acceptance That Invites sight: an architectural icon that speaks. "If you're
Faced with this symbolic language of Catholicism, seeking, you might look here."
the non-Catholic student who comes to Mount
Aloysius arrives, often, with some apprehension.
"Will Catholicism be forced down my throat?" is
an extreme way the student might voice her con- It is the goal of the religious
cerns. More moderately, she may wonder whether studies program at Mount
she will feel an outsider. Many non-Catholics do in
fact have this apprehension when they begin their Aloysius to offer every student
studies here. assistance and encouragement
But what they find, usually with surprise, is that
they are welcome and accepted as they are. In my to take on ultimate questions,
informal surveys, senior students tell me of many
occasions in which they were encouraged in theiT
again without an effort to make
own faith journey. Some speak of a retired nun who converts to the Catholic faith.
likes to greet them with warmth and, after talking
with them about how their student life is going (and
not asking about their faith), inevitably ends with,
"I'll pray for you." A Baptist tells me that she goes
to the chapel twice weekly to pray in the silence.
Non-Christians indicate they have space to remain
A Christian Anthropology
what they are. Students seem to infer that the Ca- The education that Mount Aloysius offers is princi-
tholicism is there for them if they want it, but they pally in the helping professions. Nursing is our
do not perceive it as imposed. largest major. We have a sign language program
It is the goal of the religious studies program at that's so old it holds the title-deed to the abbrevia-
Mount Aloysius to offer every student assistance tion "IT" ("Interpreters' training"-the upstart in-
and encouragement to take on ultimate questions, formation technologists are forced to make do with
again without an effort to make converts to the another acronym). We care to offer a college educa-
Catholic faith. On the other hand, the curriculum tion to persons who are of various ages, often with
is oriented, if not towards Catholicism, then to- restricted educational opportunities and many
wards Christianity. The department retains the times coming from cultures that do not value edu-
word "theology" in its rambling title ("Religious cation. A large number of our students are the first
Studies, Philosophy, and Theology"), which recol- in their family to attend college. Our philosophy
lects that the study of God is borne out offaith. The statement states our aim: that we encourage our
introductory course is a study of "Christian theol- students "to synthesize faith with learning, to de-
ogy," thus focused neither more narrowly on Cath- velop competence with compassion, to put talents
olic doctrine per se nor more broadly on the gen- and gifts at the service of others, and to begin to as-
eral questions of religion. And all students must sume leadership in the world community."
take one or two courses in this department. Behind this commitment to preparing stu-
Similarly, in the overall life of the college, students to serve others (and to offering an education
dents experience not only the surprise of accep- to those who have been educationally deprived) is,
tance, but also a standing invitation to explore fur- it seems to me, a Christian anthropology. The
ther. It is, as far as I can tell, rarely if ever bishops of Vatican II taught that] esus Christ,
suggested to a student that she might want to be a God's only Son, is united, in some manner not ex-
Catholic. But she will receive invitations to mass plicated and perhaps not explicable, with every
on the major feasts, to spirituality workshops, to human being [Gaudium et spes, § 22]. This means,
faith-in-action service clubs, to prayer vigils on as Pope] ohn Paul II has put it, that every human
September 11, and so on. The chapel is there, not being is an icon of Christ, worthy of reverence [" In
in the center of things yet neither hidden out of every child which is born and in every person who
42 Austin: What Makes a Mercy College
lives or dies we see the image of God's glory. We construed. The college's goal is to nurture the
celebrate this glory in every human being, a sign spirit of service while also providing the intellectual
of the living God, an icon of Jesus Christ" and practical education to carry it out.
(Evangelium vitae § 84.2)]. The pope holds that
quite apart from whether a person has Christian
faith, every human being is an icon of Christ, who Conclusion
is himself the true imago Dei. If my reflections upon praxis are valid, the follow-
In other words, if a Mercy college educates stu- ing generalized theses may be ventured:
dents in the helping professions, it does so because
those whom the students will eventually serve are 1. A Mercy college takes care to foster the symbolic
living icons of Christ. Moreovel~ those students language of the Catholic faith in its architecture and
themselves are living icons of Christ, as are the fac- appointments and in their arrangement and use.
ulty and staff of the college. In its emphasis upon 2. A Mercy college welcomes students of varied
the helping professions, a Mercy college faiths, and those with none, to explore their own
instantiates this profoundly. convictions and traditions through questioning
and through deeper appropriation. At the same
time, and without any desire to proselytize, a
Importance of the Fourth Vow Mercy college gently invites its students to ex-
The Religious Sisters of Mercy are distinguished, plore the Catholic faith.
in canon law and in charism, by taking a fourth vow. 3. A Mercy college intends its graduates, in what-
This distinguishing vow, following upon the tradi- ever major field, to be informed in their work
tional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, is a and life by the humanist principles of Christian-
vow of "service to the poor, sick, and ignorant." ity. The college believes that each person has
The work of the Sisters, nationally and internation- worth and inherent dignity, bestowed by God in
ally, is marked by this solidarity. creation and in the recreation in Jesus Christ.
Thus the academic excellence of a Mercy col- The college wants its graduates to acquire a
lege is not that of the great research institutions. It proper reverence for the imago Christi that is ev-
is a commitment to service focused now as a com- ery person. Similarly, the college intends to treat
mitment to teaching. Students come above re- its members-students, faculty, staff, adminis-
search. Yet the academic limitations of their stu- tration-in ways that embody the same respect.
dents need not imply a slackening of academic
standards. One of the reasons for having a college 4. Beyond this general respect for the dignity of ev-
that serves students who have not had great oppor- ery human being, the college intends its gradu-
tunities is to offer to them, and to challenge them to ates to carry on, in a way appropriate to their own
yearn for, the high calling of our intellectual tradi- faith commitments and vocations, the mission of
tions. Just as those who are hungry should not be Catherine McAuley. And again similarly, the col-
served scraps from a bountiful table, so our stu- lege itself-particularly in its admissions, mar-
dents should not be offered watered-down wine, keting, and curriculum-intends to continue its
but deep draughts from the well of truth. The fruit mission to serve those who are (in the traditional,
of wisdom is a gift offered to all who enter here. if dated, language of the Sisters' fourth vow)
This Mercy mission informs not only the loca- "poor, sick, and ignorant."
tion and "target audience" of a Mercy college, but Attention to theses such as these would give hope
the content of the education. The college hopes that there need be no inexorable evolution away
that its graduates, in their various fields of study, fi'om founding religious vision in American
will have a desire to carry forth the Mercy mission higher education.
in their own lives. This is to say that Mercy gradu-
ates in whatever field-be it in health care, or psy-
chology, or education, or pre-law, or something
else-should have a heart for "the poor," broadly
Genocide in Rwanda
Complicity ojthe Churches?
Edited by Carol Rittner, John K. Roth and Wendy Whitworth
Review by Elizabeth R. Baer
When a nun asked a soldier in the forefront, as the field of perspective in their research and
how he could kill with a rosary Holocaust studies expands to in- that, as committed Christians,
around his neck, he replied clude genocide studies. Given they would be asking such a diffi-
that the Virgin was helping
him to discover his enemies. the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, cult question about the role of
Many interaharnwe militia and the genocide occurring at the clergy, the churches, and the
struck their victims carrying a this moment in Darfur, the insis- congregations in Rwanda. Al-
crucifix in one hand and a ma- tence, "Never again," a staple of most one million people, Thtsis
chete in the other. Murderers Holocaust studies, feels increas- and moderate Hutus, were killed
and victims prayed to the same
God. Killers attended mass be- ingly hollow. Scholars have come between April and July, 1994, a
tween massacres. to recognize the necessity of rate of death far more efficient
studying genocide in a compara- than the Nazi Holocaust, despite
tive mode for what that tells us the fact that no industrial meth-
L
eon D. Saur's long study about human nature and human ods of killing were used.
of the Holocaust, and institutions, such as govern- Rwandans were slaughtered with
now fresh study of the ments (usually the instigators of machetes, by hand; women often
Rwandan genocide, has led me genocide) and churches. As evi- suffered crimes of sexual vio-
to the heartbroken realization dence of this growing realiza- lence before they died. Many of
that the presence of churches tion, one might cite the pattern the dead were mowed down in-
in a country guarantees ex- of attendance at a recent Holo- side churches, where they had
actly nothing. caust studies conference at sought sanctuary. Ten years
In 1993, Carol Rittner and Brown University: When five later, many of these churches are
John Roth edited Different UJices: workshops were available, more memorial sites, still filled with
Women and the H oiocaust, a than half the attendees at the the bones of the dead.
groundbreaking anthology that conference crowded into one The shocking epigram
changed the field of Holocaust session devoted to methods of above, from Leon D. Saur's essay
studies, highlighting scholar- teaching comparative genocide. in this admirable anthology,
ship on gender. In this new vol- It is fitting, then, that makes clem- why the editors have
ume, Rittner and Roth, joined Rittner and Roth would also be asked the question they have
by Wendy Whitworth, are again moving toward this broader about complicity. Rwanda is the
most Christian country in Mrica,
with 90 percent of its population
Leon D. Saur's study of the Rwandan thus identifYing themselves:
62.6 percent as Catholics, 18.8
genocide, has led me to the heartbroken percent as Protestants, and 8.4
realization that the presence of churches in a percent as Seventh Day Adven-
tists. To respond in the most can-
country guarantees exactly nothing. did, thoughtful, nuanced, and
43
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--------------------------- --- - - - -
44 Baer: Review, Genocide in Rwanda
authentic fashion possible to the of the churches in Rwanda and 2. Bring people to justice.
question that they have posed, also wide-ranging suggestions
3. Correct church teachings as re-
the editors have constructed the for what those churches must do
gards the equality of God's
anthology in four parts: now. The former might be sum-
people; this should include
marized as follows:
I. The Church and Power providing moral guidance to
II. The Church and People 1. From the beginning of colo- officials of the Catholic Church
III. The Church and Responsi- nialism in Rwanda, the and rooting out all traces of
bility churches were complicit with racism in congregations.
IV. The Church and Complic- the imperial European powers 4. Maintain the memorial sites
ity? of Germany and Belgium in
that have been established in
establishing racial hierar-
Furthermore, they have invited church buildings where geno-
chies, which were sometimes
to contribute to the volume au- cide occurred.
justified with biblical stories.
thors who have on-the-ground 5. Endeavor to learn the lessons
experience in Rwanda and/or 2. The theology taught by some of the Rwandan genocide; i.e.,
significant experience research- churches laid the groundwork
was baptism too widely and
ing and teaching genocide stud- for a genocidal mentality.
quickly practiced without suf-
ies and/or theology and religion. 3. Clergy tolerated hostility be- ficient evangelization? What
The volume grew out of an
tween Hutus and Tutsi within about the issue of obedience to
international seminar, orga- church structures and congre- authority when that authority
nized by Dr. Rittner, called The
gations prior to the genocide, is corrupt? What about the re-
Church and Genocide: Rwanda lationship the Church main-
,held in London in March 2003. 4. In the midst of the atrocities,
tained with the government
The editors state their purpose church leaders were largely si-
lent about the killing. and its aspiration to power?
in the preface: This book is in-
tended to encourage more sus-
tained, more careful, and more
substantive research about vari- There is clear evidence that some clergy
ous challenging questions: Were
the Christian Churches com- were actively engaged in the killing.
plicit in the 1994 genocide in
Rwanda? If so, how and why? If
not, why is there such a strong 5. Worse, there is clear evidence 6. Denounce extremism in every
perception that they were? that some clergy were actively form.
What must be changed in terms engaged in the killing.
Such analysis is undoubtedly dif-
of church structures, authority, 6. In the aftermath of the geno- ficult to write, to edit, and to
teaching, and formation of ad- cide, some churches have en- read. Yet a text such as this is ab-
herents to prevent genocide deavored to shield guilty solutely crucial if we as a human
from happening again in the fu- clergy; others have empha- race are to grasp the deeply
ture, in Rwanda or elsewhere? If sized reconciliation to the ex- rooted and complex origins of a
the Christian Churches were clusion of justice. genocide in the service of pre-
complicit in the 1994 genocide venting them in the future. The
in Rwanda, can they ever re- Among the suggestions put
editors of this volume are en-
cover from such ethical and forth for the churches future
mission in Rwanda are: gaged in just such a task. By in-
moral failure? cluding essays addressing such
In what is a fair and balanced 1. Apologize: hold the churches diverse topics as the effective-
set of essays, providing various to a higher standard for ac- ness of papal and clerical pro-
perspectives, the authors outline knowledging its participation nouncements, the coverage of
both what one writer calls the sins in the genocide. the Rwandan genocide in the
Baer: Review, Genocide in Rwanda 45
British press, the link between the scholarly work in the volume with an essay by David P. Gushee
the genocide and alleged appa- to reach their own conclusions. that calls the churches to account,
ritions of the Blessed Virgin Finally, it should be noted "The Churches must teach their
Mary in Rwanda, and the convic- that the paratextual material in- members to stop their ears to the
tion of two Rwandan nuns as cluded in the book provides an siren song of any ideology, such
participants in the killing, the invaluable source for both teach- as racism or tribalism or xeno-
editors demonstrate their will- ers and students of the Rwandan phobia, that subverts the dignity
ingness to explore the complex- genocide. These include maps, a and equality of all people as
ity of the complicity question fifteen-page chronology of the made in the image of God and
they pose. unfolding of events in Rwanda therefore sacred in God's sight."
Included with analytical es- from 1885 to the present, bibli- These editors must be
says are personal narratives and 0graphies' a videography, a list- praised for their courage and
an interview conducted by Carol ing of relevant websites, an ap- conviction in publishing this
Rittner of a Catholic priest who pendix with the text of the U.N. book. It is this kind of candor,
went to Rwanda in 1996 seeking Convention on the Prevention commitment to socialjustice and
information about the deaths of and Punishment of Genocide call for institutional responsibil-
three Holy Cross brothers. Such and the Statute of the Interna- ity that our world so desperately
autobiographical accounts pro- tional Tribunal for Rwanda. needs at this moment.
vide primary source material Rittner, Roth and Whitworth
that readers can juxtapose with have chosen to end their book
Genocide in Rwanda
ISBN: 1557788375, paper, pages xiii + 319, index, notes,
bibliography, photos, 6x9"
Paragon House
2285 University Avenue West, Suite 200
Sl. Paul, MN 55114
Phone: (800) 447-3709 or (651) 644-3087
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Catherine McAuley
Announcing a New Book by Mary Sullivan
The Correspondence of Catherine McAuley, 1818-1841
Catherine McAuley (1778-1841) founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin in 183l.
Her letters are essential primary sources for readers interested in the life and works of
this remarkable Irish churchwoman and in women's history and Irish church history
more broadly. Whether McAuley is writing to family members, bishops, her solicitor,
priests, lay coworkers, or Sisters of Mercy in Ireland and England, her letters reveal
striking details about the church and society of her day as well as about her own spiri-
tual convictions and unstinting personal service to poor, sick., homeless, or unedu-
cated adults and children.
The CaTTespandence a/Catherine McAuley, 1818-1841, is a new, fully documented
edition of more than 320 surviving letters written by, to, or about McAuley during her
lifetime. Drawn from archives worldwide and arranged chronologically, the letters are
carefully transcribed and generously annotated, with brief narratives introducing
each group. In her letters as well as in those of the other correspondents, one sees a delightfully human, af-
fectionate woman; a compassionate, persistent servant of the poor and neglected; an astute business-
woman; and an unpretentious, humorous friend.
This edition of McAuley's correspondence is readily accessible to general readers and demonstrates
not only her important role in the founding and amazing spread of the Mercy congregation in her lifetime
(now numbering more than 10,000 members globally), but also her personal contributions to the pastoral
development of the church in Ireland and England. Scholars and other readers will gain fresh insights into
many prominent ecclesialleaders in the years 1828-1841, including Daniel Murray, archbishop of Dublin,
and Thomas Griffiths, vicar apostolic of the London District. They will also find in these engaging letters
one woman's grass-roots experience of certain social, economic, and ecclesiastical arrangements of her
time and place.
Mary C. Sullivan, R.S.M., is professor emeritus oflanguage and literature, and dean emeritus of the College of Lib-
eral Arts, at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is the author of numerous works, including Catherine McAuley
and the 'Ji'adition ofMercy.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

''A definitive edition of the correspondence of Catherine McAuley. Sullivan's contribution is not only
very impressive because of her meticulous scholarship and considerable learning, but significant because
she has established the crucial importance of McAuley in the making of modern Irish Catholicism."
-Emmet Larkin, University of Chicago
"In this new critical edition of the extant correspondence of Catherine McAuley, Mary Sullivan not
only draws a portrait of this woman of mercy in her own words but also provides a clear path toward insights
into Catherine's spirit. I know of no one who could match Mary Sullivan's exceptional gifts of research and
scholarship brought to bear upon this endeavor. We are in her debt once again for guiding us to Catherine
in this way. "-Sister Marie Chin, R.S.M., President of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Cloth 500 pages, ISBN: 0-8132-1395-9 Price: $ 49.95

See next page for ordering information.
Information on this page taken from http://cuapress.cua.edu!books/sales.htrn.

How to order
The Correspondence of Catherine McAuley, 1818-1841
by Mary Sullivan
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Hopkins Fulfillment Service (HFS) Eurospan University Press Group
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DON'T FORGET!
MAST Nineteenth Annual Meeting 2005
Burlingame, California, June 12-14
Reservations to Marie Michele Donnelly, R.S.M., Executive Director
[email protected]
A Reader Comments 49
On the left, below, is a comment in response to an article in MAST 14-2, titled ColO1'ed Vocations: Women of
Color in Religious Life by Maria Luisa Vera, R.S.M. To the right is the author's response.
A Reader Comments The Author Responds

I have been reflecting very carefully on the multicul- The first thing I would like to say in response to Sr.
tural thrust in our Institute. It is stated in the introduc- Theresa Mary DuRapau is that it is not the responsi-
tion to this area of the webpage that this year's Action bility of persons of color to educate persons who are
Plan Accountability is a reflection on our efforts to act white about racism. We each have to do our own
in solidarity with one another as we embrace our multi- work, our own study and reflection and even bring
cultural and interuational reality. our own prayer to this experience. If we agree that
Yet, my feeling is that we are dividing ourselves ac- the whole notion of race is a social construct put in
cording to national cultures rather than living in soli- place for the advantage of some and the disadvan-
darity in embracing our international realities and our tage of others, then it can be undone or dismantled
Mercy reality. Why do we need to discover how others by those advantaged and disadvantaged. The work
in our various regions are admitting, owning, and ask- of each, however, is quite distinct. This work is espe-
ing forgiveness for our racism as individuals and as In- cially challenging for members of a religious congre-
stitute? Should we not FORGIVE (actively), rather gation because we live with multiple layers of culture
than tell others they need to seek forgiveness? I forgive (primary culture and secondary culture) and multi-
myself and I forgive you rather than how are you asking ple processes of acculturation, enculturation, and
for forgiveness. inculturation.
Why do we divide ourselves into majority and mi- What we are really talking about in trying to look
nority? Those who are victims of racism and those who at racism in the religious community or in any group
are racists? Are we not all victims in one way or an- is the issue of "white privilege" (a topic for a whole
other? Are we not all racists in one way or another? Do other article). There are many ways to define "white
we want to choose a victim status, or should we just get privilege." Kendall Clark's definition states that
on with forgiving and living? "white privilege is a social relation, a right, advan-
Finally, can we not concentrate on our common tage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white
Mercy culture? What makes us Mercy? (Not, what persons beyond the common advantage of all oth-
makes us racists or what makes us different.) We can ers; an exemption in many particular cases of certain
spend emotional energy and precious time on our in- burdens or liabilities." All we have to do is reflect on
ternational cultures and our minority-majority status our U.S. history to find numerous examples that
or we can look to discover and continually define our prove the existence of white privilege. Most often,
Mercy culture together. Can we thank God for our dif- tl,e only times persons who are white have to think
ferences and then move on to our commonalities? Can about racism or "white privilege" is when they are
we just be together and discover Mercy together? My forced to do so.
feeling is that we are separating ourselves into groups I cannot speak for all members of the Alliance of
that divide rather than that we are moving toward soli- Sisters of Mercy of Color in the U.S. I can honestly
darity within our individual differences. "I forgive you say for myselfthat it has taken a long time, much sup-
and ask for your forgiveness," rather than "You are a port, love and hard work to be at home with integrity
racist and need to ask for forgiveness." In Mercy, we are in a predominantly white culture. I have had to ask
one. Love that oneness and discover Mercy together. myself this question many times: "How much of
yourself are you willing to give up or let go of in order
Theresa M. DuRapau, RSM to feel at home?" As I continue to grow and mature as
Our Lady of Holy Cross College a person, I continue to define myself and redefine
New Orleans, LA 70131 myself, always mindful of where I have come from
(504) 398-2241 (office) and where I am going. Since many people have in-
E-mail: [email protected] vested in my personal growth, I feel responsible, in
turn, to do the same for others.
x
I nearly threw in the toweL
It was May, my first year teaching.
Mter Algebra class, Carleen whispered in my ear
Sistel~ when are we going to learn what X is?
o Carleen, so many years later

I can tell you a lot more about X.
It not only marks the spot,
it symbolizes every unknown, any mystery.
It's the letter that everyone is looking for.
I've learned so much

since you stunned me with that question.
My answer right now would be "Never."
We are never going to learn what X is.
It is the nameless essence of an eternal search

the magnet pulling the evolutionary process
It is totally available and open to any brain
that needs a marker to hold on to
the infinite reality passing through.
We are never going to learn what X is,

but we will never stop trying.
Patricia Ryan, R.S.M.
~~ ~~ ~ O£l
119g~~~~
llg7!
~O@0'015
"
,~ '- Contributors
"~
_,
Il'
'I
Rev. Victor Austiu, a priest in the Episcopal Church, holds a Ph.D. in theology from Fordham University.
His dissertation was a study of the uses of Christ in the social encyclicals ofJohn Paul II. He has published
A Priest'sjo!!Tnal (Church Publishing, 2001) and edited The Anglican, a quarterly journal of the Anglican
Society. His articles appear in the Anglican Theological Review, Sewanee Theological Review, and Mid-Stream.
He was assistant professor of religious studies, philosophy, and theology at Mount Aloysius College in
Cresson, Pennsylvania. Presently he is theologian-in-residence at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, in
New York City. E-mail: [email protected].
Elizabeth R. Baer serves as professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus College, where she holds the Flor-
ence and Raymond Sponberg Chair of Ethics. During fall, 2004, Dr. Baer held the position ofthe Ida E.
King Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Holocaust Studies at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
She edited, with Myra Goldenberg, Experience and Expression: Women, the Holocaust and the Third Reich,
(Wayne State University Press, 2003), an anthology of essays. She is coeditor, with Hester Baer, of the first
English edition of The Blessed Abyss: Inmate #6582 in Ravensbmck Concentmtion Camp for Women, a memoir
by Nanda Herbermann, a Catholic woman arrested for her work in the resistance in Nazi Germany. Dr.
Baer also serves as a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches a course entitled
"Women and the Holocaust: Gender, Memory and Representation." She was the recipient of a Fulhright
Award in the summer of 2000 to study the history of Jews in Germany. E-Mail: [email protected].
Deborah M. Cerullo, S.S.N.D, is a School Sister of Notre Dame since 1985, a native of Rhode Island, and
received her J.D. from Boston University Law School in 1980. She was assistant district attorney in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts, for five years. In addition, she spent six years as an attorney in both sec-
ular and faith-based poverty law clinics in Boston. She later earned a J .C.L. (masters degree in canon law)
summa cum laude at the University of St. Thomas in Rome, Italy. Her thesis concerned the associate
movement. She has taught civil and canon law at University of Notre Dame and Boston College Law
School and published numerous articles on religious life, the lay associate programs, and public benefits
for members of religious institutes. Work for her own congregation has included chairing the committee
that oversaw the merging of two provinces. E-Mail: [email protected].
Sheila Devereux, R.S.M. (Omaha), born and raised in Iowa, has been a Sister of Mercy for more than fifty
years, thirty-four of which were spent as an elementary school teacher and administrator in Kansas City,
Missouri, Colorado, and California. She received a B.A. from Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee, and holds
an M.A. from Catholic University of America. She served two terms on her provincial leadership council.
Presently she is vice president for mission services at Mercy Hospital Sacramento, director of associates
for the Omaha Regional Community, and director of Mercy Volunteer Corps in the West. E-Mail:
[email protected].
Therese Di Usio (Associate, Brooklyn, N.Y.) is a doctoral student at Union Theological Seminary (New
York City) doing interdisciplinary work in systematic theology, theological ethics, and worship. She has
been an Associate in the Brooklyn Community since 1999. She is Episcopalian. E-Mail: td71@colum-
bia.edu.
Mary Kathryn Grant, Ph.D., (Associate, Detroit) is the executive director of the Conference for Mercy
Higher Education, a network of the eighteen colleges and universities of the Sisters of Mercy. She has ex-
tensive experience in Catholic health care and education focusing on sponsorship, mission and leader-
ship development, culture, and change management. E-Mail: [email protected].
(continued on page 53)
51
Discussion Questions
(Austiu) "In my informal surveys, senior students tell me of many occasions in which they were en-
couraged in theiT own faith journey. Some speak of a retired nun who likes to greet them with warmth
and, after talking with them about how their student life is going (and not asking about their faith),
inevitably ends with, ''I'll pray for you." A Baptist tells me that she goes to the chapel twice weekly to
pray in the silence. Non-Christians indicate they have space to remain what they are. Students seem
to infer that the Catholicism is there for them if they want it, but they do not perceive it as imposed."
Where might this respectful approach to diversity of religious denomination be located? Reflective
of Catherine McAuley's moment in history when Catholics were a minority in Protestant-controlled
Ireland? As an American affirmation of freedom of conscience and religion? As the expression of
Mercy charism,which treats every person with compassion and respect? As the face of the post-Vati-
can Church, which expresses its mission through a spirit of ecumenism, emphasizing what religions
share rather than what divides?
(Cerullo) "A new issue facing communities that have associates connected with them is the growing
desire among some associates to make permanent commitments as associates. Here the boundary is-
sue surfaces as the question becomes:
1. To what group do they desire to make the permanent commitment? Ifit is to the religious institute,
what is the nature of that commitment and what is the permanent commitment that the institute
makes in return?
2. If the commitment is to the associate program, does that group have enough of a unique identity
and indicia of permanence, such as resources and identifiable, long-term mission, to sustain perma-
nent membership?
These and other questions must be discerned by both membership and associates together in dia-
logue as these issues arise."
(Di Lisio) What aspects of Mercy history, charism, spirituality and mission are expressed for you in
the symbol of "a comfortable cup of tea" ? Does the image of tea service have a family or other per-
sonal connection for you? Or do you share the more modified view: "So, it's a nice symbol, but where
is its challenge? ... [Catherine's] legacy and her ministerial example are very compelling to me-I
just don't think the ceT carries the same weight."
(Grant) "What is characteristic of the call being responded to by companions is: fidelity to an apos-
tolic spirituality, grounded in prayer and the sacraments; commitment to building and being a com-
munity of persons with the same purpose; and intention to hold one another in fidelity. There is no
doubt that individuals could live this commitment individually and personally, but that is not part of
the vision of companions. They yearn to be nurtured in the apostolic spirituality of mercy together
with the community of Mercy, signaled by a public commitment to these actions through a private
(noncanonical) vow of Mercy service."
(continued on page 53)
52
" '-
,~
~;, Contributors (continued from page 51)
~1\ Toni Perior Gross (Associate, Detroit) has been in private practice as a psychotherapist since 1981.
She took first promises as a Mercy associate in 1983. She is married to Francis L. Gross,] r and had two
sons,] oseph and Matthew. She attended Our Lady of Mercy High School in Detroit and Mercy Col-
lege of Detroit, with a B.A. in 1962. She completed an M.A. and then the Ed.D. at Western Michigan
University in counseling psychology. Previously she taught high school, math, science, and religion
courses for nine years. From 1957 to 1969 she was a member of the Sisters of Mercy.
Katherine Hill, RS.M. (Detroit) has an M.A. in theology from the University of St. Michael's College
in Toronto, Canada. She received a certificate of advanced studies in spirituality and spiritual direc-
tion fi'om the Institute of Spiritual Leadership in Chicago, Illinois. Presently, she is in the doctoral
program at Chicago Theological Seminary for a D.Min. with emphasis on spirituality and spiritual
leadership. She is also studying with the Grand Rapids Dominicans in the second phase of their spiri-
tual formation program. She has served in administration and leadership positions for the Detroit
Regional Community and formerly taught religious studies and served as campus minister in
secondary schools. E-Mail: [email protected].
_ _ _,,,,m;ZY;=9_8&;Zy*;Z"','iiliij'&%0="_'_ _.;Z_=,;zr"2"=="'"'"",."_ _"',",_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,.'_ _ _ _'"

i:JJkii'i¥8!=_;z
Discussion Questions (continued from page 52)
1. If you are an associate, how do you distinguish your affiliation from what companions are
seeking?
2. If you are a vowed member, is companions' desire for affiliation with the community of Mercy
different from public identification with the Church?
3. Can either associates or companions have affiliation with Mercy apart from a relationship with
the institutional Church? What feelings about "the Church" arise?
(Gross) "Surviving the rigors of the relationship between laity and clergy is facilitated for women
by tl,e support groups they form formally and informally and by the encouragement they re-
ceive by seeing one another succeed in the relationship on both parish and diocesan levels ...
Perhaps we will discover ways to learn the language of and best methods of approaching our
brothers who are also clerics so that we may speak to them effectively of what hinders our work-
ing together to build God's kingdom. Perhaps we will find more ways to support women, both
Sisters and associates, who labor in the vineyard of the official Church."
What collaborations among women-Sisters and associates-would contribute to survival and
change within the institutional church?
53
l
Information for New Subscribers and Current Readers
New Subscription: The MAST Joumal is published three times a year by the
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Back Issues: If you are interested in obtaining a back issue of The MASTJoumal,
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Want to Write: If you have an idea for an article, or you have a talk or article you
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MERCY
ASSOCIATION
IN
SCRIPTURE
AND
THEOLOGY
MAST, the Mercy Association in Scripture and Theology, met for the first time in June 1987 at Gwynedd-
Mercy College in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. Called together by Eloise Rosenblatt, R.S.M. and Mary Ann
Getty, twenty Mercy theologians and Scripture scholars from fourteen regional communities formally estab-
lished the organization to provide a forum for dialogue and cooperation among Sisters of Mercy and associates.
The stated purpose of the organization is to promote studies and research in Scripture, theology, and related
fields; to support its members in scholarly pursuits through study, writing, teaching, and administration; and to
provide a means for members to address cun'ent issues within the context of their related disciplines.
MAST has been meeting annually since then, usually in conjunction with the annual meeting ofthe Catholic
Theological Society of America, and the organization now numbers fifty, wi
th members living and working in Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America,
as well as in the United States. Marie Michele Donnelly, R.S.M. currently serves as MAST's execu-
tive director. MAST will hold its annual meeting in Burlingame, CA, June 12-14, 2005.
Members work on a variety of task forces related to their scholarly discipline. Present task forces include:
Scripture, health care ethics, and spirituality. In addition, the members seek to be of service to the Institute
by providing a fOlUm for ongoing theological education.
Membership dues are $20 per year, payable to Matilee Howard, R.S.M., MAST treasurer, 8380 Colesville
Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Email: [email protected].
If you would like to be on the mailing list, call or write: Marie Michele Donnelly, R.S.M., Execu-
tive Director, Gwynedd Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437, (215) 641-5521, email:
[email protected]
Since 1991, The MAST Journal has been published three times a year. Members of the organization serve on
the journal's editorial board on a rotating basis, and several members have taken responsibility over the years to
edit individual issues. Matyanne Stevens, R.S.M., was the founding editor of the journal, and Eloise
Rosenblatt, R.S.M., currently serves in that capacity.
I
Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

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Vol 14 No 3 2004 Mercy Association

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The Journal

"Expand the. Ropes ·ofXQnr Tel1t" . (rsa54:2):R'cfl~e~iQ)js • QhN~~F6ttnS

Revi~\y:i~~~~¢j~el~~wanda:C(J11lPlicitY of the Churches?

Statement~ by Associates.' PatrickNJichael Ahaus. ,Mary.Adele RhbdesAu~r,

The phenomenon of lay associ- programs and earlier manifesta-

travel even more. I have fourteen

of Commerce. I have lived in the

are called to discover this answer

Notes their own unique state of life,

versity, graduating with a major in www.ewtn.comllibrary/ Schneiders, S. Finding the T1'Ba-

written statements. Here is what

wannabes." Fears spoken in terms of these com-

Notes 9 Mary J 0 Leddy, Reweaving the Future of Religious

With love and affection always,

Sheila Devereux, R.S.M.

O Cross, 2 which symbolizes

30 Di Lisio: A Comfortable Cup of Tea

fortable cup of tea" materially

the cup of tea to men and women

cup of tea, what it means to

Review by Elizabeth R. Baer

44 Baer: Review, Genocide in Rwanda

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

Cloth 500 pages, ISBN: 0-8132-1395-9 Price: $ 49.95

Information on this page taken from http://cuapress.cua.edu!books/sales.htrn.

A Reader Comments The Author Responds

o Carleen, so many years later

I've learned so much

It is the nameless essence of an eternal search

We are never going to learn what X is,

Patricia Ryan, R.S.M.

(continued on page 53)

_ _ _,,,,m;ZY;=9_8&;Zy*;Z"','iiliij'&%0="_'_ _.;Z_=,;zr"2"=="'"'"",."_ _"',",_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,.'_ _ _ _'"

Discussion Questions (continued from page 52)

I wish to subscribe to The MASTJournal for:

Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

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