1 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

April/May 2012

Mercy Volunteer Corps attracts people of all ages who are drawn to fixing a broken world. With fresh energy, they want to house the homeless, feed hungry children and find healthcare for pregnant women. They are inspired to challenge unjust systems.

How does this changing group of volunteers communicate the Mercy charism year after year? Since the founding of Mercy Volunteer Corps (MVC) in 1978, more than 900 women and men have been called to compassionate service in 122 different sites in 24 states and in Guyana, South America, and Honduras, Central America.

Sisters who have worked with MVC members see them up close from the beginning. “Placement at a site is a mutual discernment process,” said Angie Carlton, West Midwest MVC coordinator, “involving the supervisor (often a sister) and the applicant, who expresses three site choices.” Once the volunteer is placed, the

supervising sisters are aware as the volunteers learn to live in community, pray together and buy food on a tiny budget. Often the young volunteers are homesick.

“Coming from totally different backgrounds, families, schools and experiences makes living together a challenge,” said Sister Sheila Devereux, who served as West Coast MVC coordinator from 1993 to 2011. But the volunteers embrace their work. Sisters in ministries in which MVC members have served are enthusiastic. “The MVCs have made themselves invaluable,” said Sister Mary Ellen Howard, executive director of Detroit’s St. Frances Cabrini Clinic which brings healthcare to the uninsured poor. "They have doubled my output." The clinic has had a volunteer for the last four years serving as an administrative assistant covering the front desk, helping patients in need, and keeping medical records in order.

But each volunteer has done more. For example, part-time volunteer Robert Wotypka organized the clinic’s move to larger quarters which then made it possible to accept a full-time volunteer. Nate Megel helped develop and implement patient registration software, and trained volunteers on a new pharmacy system. Siobhan Dobbs brought an interest in environmental issues, helped formulate institutional policies and organize an online volunteer schedule. This year, the bilingual skills of Xochitl Rocha are a tremendous help.

But how important are the volunteers to the ministries?

Sister Libby Fernandez counts on her MVC members as full-fledged staff members at Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento. Each month, 1,000 volunteers come to help at the ministry founded in 1983 to feed the hungry and house the homeless, but the

Mercy Charism shines through MVC members

Sister Mary Ellen Howard (L) and Mercy Vol-unteer Corps member Xochitl Rocha (R) with a volunteer at Cabrini Clinic last Christmas.

ContentsLetter from Sister Michelle Gorman p. 3Dreaming by Sister Mary Waskowiak p. 4 From Auburn to Africa p. 5What I'm Reading! p. 7Mercy Moment in History p. 8Faces of Mercy p. 9

continued next page

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Mercy Volunteer Corps.

MVC members are constants in the flow.

“They dedicate their full-time ministry here,” said Libby, “and they are as valuable as a director of a program. They have a listening ministry to our guests.”

But it’s not just the work they do, the food trays they serve, or the cases they manage that make them essential. “They add a whole dimension, the charism of Mercy, works of Mercy,” said Libby. “They talk about community, and their actions speak Mercy. They really bring the presence here.”

Often MVC is a gateway to vocation, in some cases to religious life. Sister Cathy Manderfield taught at St. Peter’s School in San Francisco in 1997-98, the first year MVC members were at the

site. But Cathy did not find her way to the Sisters of Mercy Community because of MVC. She already had a deep sense of Mercy charism. Her MVC experience teaching physical education and computers to the children in San Francisco’s Mission District took her further down her own path.

“I believe it was my time on staff with the (MVC) program that gifted me with a longer look at the way of life that led me most directly,” she said. “ I felt a part of something greater than myself.  It was an experience of church that felt inclusive and attentive to the Gospel message of love.” 

Although MVC estimates that in the last 20 years six to eight volunteers have become sisters and 20-30 are now associates, the majority do not enter religious life. Many, however, continue to be involved in the Mercy charism. “A commitment of a year’s service here opens up the path where God is calling them for the rest of their lives,” said Libby. “The majority who work here want to pursue a master’s degree afterword in social work, which is exactly the works of Mercy.”

Perhaps the point is two-fold. First, drawn by the Mercy mission and the examples of the sisters, they are a Mercy presence in spirit and works during the time they serve. "I was surprised by their willingness to share their spirituality," said Mary Ellen, "and how much it means to them to be part of Mercy. They are wonderful young men and women who want to make a difference with their lives."

Second, as Mary Ellen suggests, they may be the future of Mercy in the world. Sheila agrees. “As a Community, I wish we could give more attention to this wonderful group in our midst and to our future,” said Sheila.

“I love who and what the MVC nurtures in our youth today," said Sister Jean Umlor, who has worked with MVC members in Michigan. "We can nurture the seeds planted by God in the volunteers. Then we must let go and trust that Mercy will grow and produce fruits in its own time and place. It is that ‘letting go or releasing’ that challenges all of us. Easter time reminds me of that message and fruit.”

MVC member Bridget Haug (second from right) works on the serving line at Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento.

2010 MVC members David Anderson (left), and Katie Gallagher Anderson and Megan Carolin (far right) flank Sister Renée Kettering and Sister Jean Umlor.

3 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

I can no longer say 'nobody is entering religious lifeanymore.'

When I was teaching, long, long ago, one of my students introduced me to the music of Jackson Browne. A line in one of his songs, “Fountain of Sorrow, Fountain of Light,” says, “What I was seeing wasn’t what was happening at all.” I’ve been thinking about that line during this Easter Season. The journey through Holy Week appeared to end in chaos. With Peter’s mistakes and Judas’ deception, the disciples saw the end of everything they had hoped for. Yet on Easter morning, Mary Magdalene saw Jesus risen after first thinking he was the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus saw a stranger whom they befriended, and it was indeed Jesus. On the Sea of Galilee, who was that person asking them for something to eat? It was Jesus.

In our reconfigured WMW Community, what are we seeing these days? Have our eyes been opened to the potential new life that we hoped for when reconfiguration was a challenge, a promise, a “necessary” step in our evolution as Sisters of Mercy? Recently, at our Institute Leadership Conference meeting in Burlingame, we spent a whole day on new membership. Each Community Leadership Team shared information regarding the women entering their Community and those in the incorporation process. My eyes were certainly opened when I saw the composite picture of women being called to vowed life in the Institute. I can no longer say “nobody is entering religious life anymore.”

A few weeks ago in Omaha, the WMW CLT had the opportunity to hear from two women, Taryn and Luz, one requesting to make first vows and the other requesting to enter the Community. Were not our hearts burning within us as they recounted their experience of the Risen Lord in their lives? We saw on their faces the light and joy that radiated through their experiences—experiences of amazement, incredulity, fear, and anxiety as they continue to discern this call and its transformational impact on their lives and ours. In casting their lot with the Sisters of Mercy, they are witnessing to the power of life over death. While Mercy Associates are also reconfiguring their structures, new associates are making their Covenants on a consistent basis. In Detroit during our Consultation Network meeting, I was able to witness the ceremony where Kathleen Taylor made her Covenant and six other associates renewed theirs. Many commented on how Kathleen has been transformed by this new step in her life. Mercy Volunteer Corps members and Companions continue to respond to God’s call, too, through the lens of the Mercy charism.

So what reality am I seeing and allowing to shape my view of the world and my hopes for the future of Mercy? Can I rejoice in this Alleluia time that life is always overcoming the death that seems an inevitable part of our lives? As that wisdom figure, Leonard Cohen, says in his song “Anthem,"

Ring the bells you still can ring; Forget your “perfect” offering;There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.

May the light of the Risen Christ penetrate through the cracks in our walls ofdisillusionment and discouragement. May our eyes be opened in amazement and joy to see the great hope to which we are called, and to know the surpassing greatness of God’s power in raising Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:18 ff.).Easter blessings,

Sister Michelle Gorman for the Community Leadership Team

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Dreaming Together Into the FutureBy Sister Mary Waskowiak

I was grateful for the approval from the West Midwest Community Leadership Team for sabbatical time upon leaving the Institute Leadership Team at the end of July 2011. I would like to share an experience and a dream from these months that invite me to wake up and to seek others, like those of you who read this story, to share dreams and desires that could shape the future for us and others.

I felt my heart open on Nov. 17, 2011, as I crossed the state line from Arizona into California after a two-month contemplative time at the Desert House of Prayer. I, an experienced world traveler who makes herself at home almost anywhere, felt my heart opening to a deep homecoming. To what, I wondered, was I opening? Certainly, ministry discernment was beckoning. I also was anticipating a return to the Burlingame area, the place I call my

heart’s anchor. I entered and began to learn the Way of Mercy in Burlingame. The “boat” of my life has allowed me to sail many seas, and the rope holding my anchor has been incredibly long. However, when I drop anchor, as it were, I drop to deep places of home.

Yet, Burlingame, like all our former motherhouses or centers, is different. What new dreams can come from familiar places that, for a variety of reasons, have changed over the years? Blessed with the gift of sabbatical time, I have been able to listen more carefully, read a bit more broadly, and connect with others who I find have dreams and desires for the future.

I find that others – sisters, associates, co-ministers, companions --are talking about how to allow Catherine’s vision and the gift of Mercy to shape fresh ways of rooting ourselves in spirituality, sharing anew in community and moving outward in service to others most in need. These conversations cut across age, gender and expression of Mercy commitment.

We in the West Midwest have available space in a variety of our buildings. Witnessing and listening to the signs of the times in the beginning of the 21st century’s second decade, I wonder to what God’s creative Spirit might be calling us.

How might ideas from the WMW Leadership Team to create intergenerational Mercy Life Centers become a real opportunity? Might we create new ways to respond to God’s call to live and be Mercy in light of the Chapter 2011 Declaration? What are you dreaming about to take Mercy into the future?

Words from Brazilian Archbishop Dom Helder Camara seem a way to invite dreaming among all of us: “When we dream alone, it remains only a dream. But when we dream together, it is the beginning of reality.”

Mary invites your answers to her questions above. Please click here to respond:http://inside.westmidwest.org/Lists/Dreams/Threaded.aspx?RootFolder=%2FLists%2FDreams%2FMary%20Waskowiak%27s%20Dreams&FolderCTID=0x01200200CBDC756201FF5442BE4B746C3B0466DE

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From Auburn to Africa: My Ministry in Uganda

How did you begin your mission in Uganda?

My first connection with the African culture was through my volunteer work at the Catherine McAuley Center, Baggot Street in Dublin from 2002-2005. It was there that I was drawn to working with African women in particular. During these years in Ireland, many refugees and asylum seekers were entering the country at an enormous rate, coming from, not only African countries, but also from Eastern Europe.

My first visit to Uganda from 2009-2011 was initiated by Mary Moran, director of the St. Francis Family Helper

Program in Mbarara, Uganda, which also had a counseling component. My skills as a professional marriage and family counselor were much needed in Uganda, and I saw an opportunity. If I were able to share those skills, I would be able to create sustainability by training the students to continue the counseling program on their own. As the director of the counselor training institute, established 10 years earlier, I was also to be teacher and trainer of students who would be getting certificate, diploma and bachelor degrees in counseling psychology. This institute was accredited with the Ugandan Martyrs University (UMU), Nkozi, a university which was established in 1995.

I felt my job was to put these students forward and empower them to envision themselves doing this work on their own. At no time did I have the mindset of a long-term stay or take-over of their program. This required, to some degree, a distancing or a detaching relationship for me, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t.

How did you come to live relatively easily in a different culture?

It was by no means easy. I was a minority in a very different culture, very visible because of skin color, and therefore, there was nowhere to hide! Not knowing the local language was very disempowering. Language is a way of communication so basic for most of us, that if it is taken away, a sense of vulnerability sets in. We are left to survive the best way we can.

For the most part, the students taught me much about the culture and local practices, as well as more general traditions of African culture. Beata Birungi taught a course on nar-rative therapy, which included African philoso-phy and psychology. I took part in this myself as often as she gave the course, and I always learned something new. An openness to and acceptance of the culture helped me change my attitude that West is best. It became easier when I came to an acceptance of what is without having to change anything. I often found myself ‘sitting on my own wisdom,’ as it were, and watching from the outside when culture and new counseling methods got all mixed up as if it were a ball of multicolored clay. It would be impossible to remove the

Two students became very important: Staff member Beata Birungi (left) was one of six who had just completed her master's in counseling psychology. Bena Okirikizi (right), bachelor level, showed much skill and potential for future sustainability for the program.

Sister Frances Walshe describes her ministry in Mbarara, Uganda from 2009-2011 as director of a counselor training institute, motivated by Critical Concern for women.

continued next page

Six masters students and Sister Frances outside the African Hut in 2008 when she first visited there. “The Hut was our classroom which held about 25 students sitting in a circle. This is was my first teaching experience there. The Hut provided a very cool and sometimes breezy environment (especially before the tropical rains) most welcome in a very humid climate.”

6 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

different colors without destroying the whole ball! My biggest challenge was not trying to fix things and offer them a ‘better way,’ when what they knew was serving them quite well.

However, the students are very hungry for new knowledge and ideas. They are curious and excited about what is happening in the Western hemisphere. Education is very important for them, and this is one way they can empower themselves in their communities. But change happens very slowly, especially in the rural areas. Women students who graduated with a diploma or certificate in counseling often found it very challenging to continue living with husbands who demanded that they not change, even in the smallest way. One of my biggest challenges was the gender inequity which seemed so egregious for the most part. When I experienced this myself, I was even more empathetic with the women with whom I worked or visited in the villages.

African culture is also an oral culture, which also requires getting used to. Accountability with written documents is not the default program! Word of mouth is the norm there, and we know that a narrative passed on by word of mouth can become quite different from where it started.

Also, professional counseling training challenges many of our dysfunctional thought patterns and behaviors. This was also a tricky area when it came to assimilated cultural cognitive distortions. For example, ideas associated with witchcraft and superstitions were often in complete contradiction to what was being taught in a course such as cognitive processing therapy for trauma. How did we deal with that? Mostly not by negating the cultural beliefs, but by compartmentalizing them to some degree or giving them less energy or voice.

What do you hope to accomplish?

The Volunteer Mission Movement (VMM), Ireland, is extending my time in Africa as a volunteer missionary. I hope to be doing more training and teaching in creating sustainability, which is a millennium goal for VMM’s partner projects in East Africa. VMM also sees a great need for pastoral ministry for their own volunteers who often suffer from ‘burnout’ or vicarious trauma, after working many years in the same project. The volunteers themselves have requested that they have a safe place/person where they can go from time to time and feel they can be understood and heard. This project is in the beginning stages, and since I am the only professional counselor among the volunteers, its shape is evolving. I would be required to visit the East African countries where volunteers reside, or I will be stationed mostly in Kampala, as most of us work in partners in Uganda.

I see myself offering counseling services/spiritual direction to the volunteers who requested it from time to time. This will be a more structured ministry when it is more firmly established by Emer Kerrigan, overseas operational manager of VMM, and Dublin.I also see myself continuing to teach counseling psychology courses, as well as training master’s students in clinical supervision out of a center in Kampala. This training would qualify these six students and 14 more from Kisubi University, Kampala, to start their own counseling centers and to create a more sustainable future for the counseling profession in Uganda.

"Nakivale Refugee Center is located about an hour's drive from Mbarara. Visiting there one weekend, we encountered what has become now a settlement of peoples mostly from the DRC (Congo) as well as from Sudan. The poverty was quite evident, as many had taken shelter inside their churches. St. Francis' counselors offered services to the refugee children who came for trauma issues." -- Sister Frances

My Ministry in Uganda, cont.

VMM also sees a great need for pastoral ministry for their own volunteers who often suffer from ‘burnout’ or vicarious trauma

7 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

What I'm reading!

WMW Access

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WMW prayer list is? Are you looking for a list of jubilarians?

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Or a WMW newsletter?All are available on the

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Latest Institute news?www.sistersofmercy.org/

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Joseph, like other lads his age, was reluctant to share his secret thoughts, except to his best friend Aaron. To Aaron, he could talk freely about his hopes, dreams and the sighs of his heart when he sees his beloved Mary walking about in the village or drawing water at the well. This was the girl he was expected to wed.

But he said nothing to Aaron of the crushing pain in his very soul when Mary began to look very much like a woman with child. Alone in his tiny alcove at the rear of his humble carpenter shop, he wept, and tried to imagine every possible reason for Mary’s condition and the possible consequence. Was she attacked by hoodlums on her journey to see her cousin Elizabeth? No, Joseph had escorted her there himself, to protect her. When she sent for him for the return trip, he left at once to protect her on her journey home.

Mary says nothing of her pregnancy, as she seeks God’s will about when and how to explain everything to Joseph. When she did speak, her words were tender, but they did not satisfy Joseph’s yearning to know the truth.

The author skillfully brings it all together in delicate, flowing language that suggests it all could have happened exactly as Sister Louise imagines it. While much of the story is fictional, it is true to the customs and culture of the times. She unlocks the mystery surrounding Joseph and “fills in the gaps” about the human Joseph, who had no voice in the scriptural version. This 145-page, paperback is a real page-turner.

Joseph: A Guiding Light by Sister Louise Sweigart, cgsReviewed by Associate Beverly Garges

Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life - By Father James Martin, SJ - 2011Reviewed by Sister Lois Burroughs Even before you open this “charmer,” you’ll smile. Why? Because the cover of the book jacket itself features the faces of Thomas Merton, John XXIII, Mother Teresa, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri - and they’re all laughing! Lest you write this off as a joke book, Father Martin assures us to the contrary. He writes: “There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the place of lightheartedness in religion in general. Contemporary faith-filled Christians recognize that joy, humor, and laughter are at the heart of our spiritual life.” In between chapters are reflections on the Old and New Testament, highlighting why the author of the Book of Psalms, St. Luke and St. Paul thought it important to talk about JOY. “Rejoice always!” writes St. Paul, for example.

Father Martin goes on to say that “joy, deeper than happiness, is a virtue that finds its foundation in knowing we are loved by God !!” He even argues that “a Jesus without a sense of joie de vivre, may be close to heretical!”

So let’s go ahead and open this treasure, inviting God to lighten our hearts so that we can enjoy a little heaven on Earth.

8 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

Sister Terese Tracy of Omaha is in the second row third from the right of the St. Louis University class in hospital administration in 1965. Notice the number and variety of women religious in this class.

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Graduations of the past...

Sisters have taken education seriously, both their own schooling and the education of others. For many, school has helped them blaze trails. On the left is a class graduating from Russell College in Burlingame in 1964.

9 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

WMW Tech Tips

Important Tech Questions about the Gathering:

How can I possibly go four whole days without checking my email? What do I do if I need to look something up on the internet? How will I print my boarding pass??? Don’t worry; the Technology Committee for the 2012 Gathering is planning on setting up a separate room with four computers, two printers, and wireless internet access to address these very needs. Because the room will have wireless access, you can also bring your own laptop or tablet to use there, so you won’t have to pay the per guest room fee of $12.95 each day for internet usage. Wireless

internet access is available in the hotel lobby, too.

Will your cell phone work? Sure, but if you see a ROAMING signal on your phone, you will be charged international rates. This will happen if your cell phone picks up the cell tower signals across the river in Canada, less than one mile away. The roaming option can be turned off so you won’t have to worry about it. If you do go into Canada, you will need a passport to return to the U.S. And if you are using a Smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, etc.) you will want to turn off your data plan to keep from being charged international rates if you receive emails while visiting Canada.

If you need assistance with this, stop any one of the Technology volunteers at the West Midwest Gathering. The Technology volunteers for this meeting are Lane Andresen, Nancy Pepper, Sister Rose Schoolcraft, and Mary MacDonald.

§ Address by Sister Sandra Schneiders, IHM§ Panel Reflections on Mercy Life by a Vowed Member. Mercy Associate, Companion, and Mercy Volunteer Corps member§ Celebratory lunch with Mercy entertainment§ Reflections on the future by Sister Pat McDermott and Sister Judith Frikker§ Daily Faith Sharing § Mercy Marketplace § Transforming Mercy Mercy Transforming Art

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 1. Click HERE http://www.nixregistrar.com/events/433

10 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

Sister Maria Juanita van Bommel

Sister Mary Loretta Dowd

Art was not Sister Maria Juanita’s first vocation after she was professed in Burlingame. She ministered in education for many years before she discovered brushes and paint. She was religion coordinator at St. Anthony’s elementary and junior high school in Oakland, CA. She worked as housing advisor for the homeless. She taught English as a Second Language to refugees and worked as a tutor at Vision and Literacy in the San Clara County library system, teaching students reading, English pronunciation and conversation, as well as basic math. Part of the program was in the Santa Clara County Jail.

Then at about age 70, she ventured into a new world. “I thought I would like to try art,” she said. She took a class in watercolor at Berryessa Senior Center in San Jose and then a class in portraiture using graphite. She learned more techniques through books. Now at Marian Oaks, she paints gentle landscapes, bright abstracts and realistic portraits. The crafts room at Marian is full of her work. Watercolors are piled on the shelf and pictures hang on the walls. Nature, landscapes and trees, especially, are her favorite subjects. “One should paint every day,” she says, and she comes close to her goal. “But I’m still learning, and very much of a beginner.”

Sister Mary Loretta Dowd will celebrate 60 years as a Sister of Mercy this year. Gifted with an innate talent for administration and keen business acumen, she spent much of her religious life in the business side of healthcare, as well as being a local community superior. Before sophisticated accounting and bookkeeping systems were developed, she was in charge of payroll for Mercy Hospital in Redding, CA, for 10 years when all of the entries and accounting were done by hand.

She moved to Auburn in 1990 and continued to serve in a variety of leadership roles. She was particularly aware of the needs of the sick and infirm sisters and became their advocate and letter-writer to family and friends. She keeps up on West Midwest news and makes sure that others have a hard copy of all publications. Listening to her prayers of intercession, one realizes how widely read and attuned she is to the needs of suffering humanity.

11 Mercy Connection • April/May 2012

Sister Regine Fanning

Note: Faces of Mercy from Cedar Rapids, Detroit and Omaha will be featured in the next Mercy Connection

MercyConnection

April/May 2012

Sisters of Mercy West Midwest

Community

Mercy Connection is published by the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community Communications Office, 7262 Mercy Road • Omaha, NE 68124 • (402) 393-8225 • www.mercywestmidwest.org

Director of CommunicationsSandy Goetzinger-ComerEditorElizabeth Dossa

Contributing Writers: Patti Kantor, Mary MacDonald and WMW Tech Team, Melissa Pence , Sister Frances Walshe, Sister Mary Waskowiak

Graphic DesignElizabeth DossaPat Osborne PhotographySandy Goetzinger,

Copyright 2012 Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community • Mercy Connection articles may be reproduced with written permission from the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Communications Office. Direct reprint requests to: wmwcommunications@mercywmw.org

Sister Regine Fanning’s childhood included writing and producing plays complete with costumes and scenery for family and friends, making hand-crafted birthday cards and presents—all experiences which led to a fascination for writing, art and being creative. Educated from elementary to high school by the Chicago Sisters of Mercy, she fell in love with their joy for life and entered the Community in her senior year.

She taught kindergarten through high school, and she loved it even with classes of 60-plus. Vatican II found her teaching religion, English and moderating the Hi-Rays school paper at Mercy High. Her empathy for parents in the religious turmoil sent her to Mundelein where she earned a master’s in religious education. She spent 15 years as a CCD coordinator and then as a pastoral associate. She received a master’s degree in applied spirituality from the University of San Francisco and continued in liturgical ministry until age 75.

She completed a course in creative writing, did spiritual direction and created Spirit Script, a monthly letter of spiritual encouragement which reached about 500 and is now in book form, just waiting for the right publisher.

The years 1993-2005 were a busy, fulfilling time: publishing with Pauline Media, Seedlings, Nedder and Mercy periodicals. Writing “Kitty’s Tea Party,” a children’s version of Catherine’s life, was a delightful privilege. Twenty-three of her poems have been published, and she won first place in a California State poetry contest.

Presently living at a senior residence, Smith Village, she continues these projects, and is also in a scripture group of many years and an associate prayer group. “I have a contract with Paulist Press for a children’s psalm book entitled Circles of Joy,” she said. “I believe that I, too, am a Sister of Mercy with joy for life. A line from my 70th jubilee poem expresses it as “Celebrating what love does.”