Office of the Prioress of the Congregation
Dear Benefactors, Sisters, Sponsored Institution Leaders, Associates, and Coworkers,
How ironically descriptive of this past year is the theme of this year’s annual report, “Welcoming Thresholds: Behold, New Things Have Come!” To be honest, some of the “new things” were unwanted for sure: the downturn in the stock market and loss of retirement funds, bank and business failures, reduced hours of employment, and the even greater hardships of unemployment for so many families and some of our Sisters. Perhaps the hardest of all was facing the knowledge that in our country the greed of lenders and irresponsible assumption of debt by borrowers caused greater poverty and suffering for people in all the countries of the world. Many of the new things that came were most unwelcome.
It took a while to perceive the welcoming thresholds of this past year. Pope Benedict XVI speaks to them in his recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate:
- The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly—not any ethics whatsoever; but an ethics which is people-centered (#6);
- The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practice this charity in a manner corresponding to his vocation according to the degree of influence he wields (#7).
How blessed we are to hear a call to focus our attention on how what we do touches all others. We are blessed in our faith in Jesus and the teachings of his God-centered and people-centered Gospel. This past year has only renewed our commitment to serving those in need, to deepening our awareness of the community of peoples in our global world, and to finding ways to better care for our Earth.
Finally, we are most blessed in our relationships with each of you. We thank you for your support of our Sisters and our ministries. It is our collaboration with you, with our Associates and employees, with the leaders of our sponsored institutions, and with our many friends that makes spreading of the Gospel a reality.
May the coming year find you welcoming wonderful new things, thresholds to holy and happy days for you and all in your family.
Blessings and prayers,
Sister Patricia Mulcahey, OP
Prioress of the Congregation