We’ve Only Just Begun

Thank You, Sister, the letter campaign in support of women religious, has ended.  Over 300 letters were sent in and posted at www.thankyousister.com.   In the coming weeks, these letters will be sent to Mother Mary Clare Millea, Cardinal Franc Rode, Cardinal Francis George and Pope Benedict XVI as well as leadership teams of communities of women religious in the US.

Although this letter campaign has ended, our gratitude and support for women religious is never ending.  A quick glance through just a few of these letters proves the great impact women religious have had on our lives.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in the campaign.  If you did not get a chance to send in your letter, please leave it as a comment below and we’ll make sure it gets to the right people.

Finally, let us say one last time (on this site): THANK YOU, SISTERS!

Quiet Impact

Bruce Kaatz
Eau Claire, WI

There are few people as a group that have had the quiet impact that the women religious of this country have had in my life and in the life of the Church as I know it.  Their lives of witness, prayer, service, and faithfulness to the Gospel is inspiring. 

Quiet Saints

More than any religious person in my life, Sr. Pat, in Los Angeles, California, represented for me, the purity and goodness of my Catholic faith.
I  had the privilege of meeting Sr. Pat in 1988 when she was working with Catholic Charities in Venice, California.  Twenty one years later, I benefit, still, from the impact that this extraordinary nun had upon my life.  

Committed to Social Justice

Linda O’Brien
Washington, D.C.

I am writing to express my family’s sincere gratitude for the influence of Sister Seton, Sister of Notre Dame, in our lives.  She is the Director of Service in Campus Ministry at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.  Sister Seton is one of the kindest, most compassionate people we have ever known and we are sincerely grateful for her friendship and for her presence on our campus.  She is committed to social justice and helping those who are less fortunate, and has endless energy and enthusiasm for her work.  She is respected and admired by all who know her:  faculty, students, and members of the greater Washington community.  In everything that she does, she models what a true, loving follower of Jesus Christ should be, by her word and example.

How to Live Justly

 

Susan J. Scott, OSUA

Louisville, KY

I thank the Sisters for their example of walking in Jesus’ footsteps.  They show us how to live justly, love abundantly and imagine a better world through the light of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

Inspiration for Goodness

Stephen D. Aloia, Ph.D
Linda McRee Aloia

Thank you sisters – For all you did for the me, my wife, and the generations of the 1950s and 1960s. America would not be the same without you.  You were the inspiration for goodness. You were the ones who gave us the faith and hope for life and the skills to be successful. More than simply the knowledge and skills transmitted, were the beliefs and values that have shaped our lives and the lives of a significant part of American culture. How thankful am I for these American Saints? I still write to my 8th Grade nun, Sister Philomena – St. Thomas School, Riverside, California.  I am currently a professor of education and I educate teachers – the values, the dedication, and the commitment that I have for my profession comes directly from all the Nuns who have given so much. God Bless You all.

Spiritual Sanctity

Courtney McGrath

Having never taken the time to contemplate the impact sisters and religious orders have had on my life, this is the opportune time to reflect on these aspects and to say thank you for all you have done in your special and simple ways.  I am disheartened and shaken by the secret investigations into the United States Religious Orders.  These investigations are not measuring the true impact these women have by truly following living and following Jesus.  They are the light in this world in their simple actions and deeds. It is St. Theresa of Liseux whose short life taught that it is the little ways to holiness that provide spiritual sanctity.  The sisters that have touched my life follow this everyday.

An Invitation, Not a Command

Sr. Katie Eiffe, CSJ

I am a Sister of St. Joseph…because I taught with them, and was attracted by their joy.  I had struggled with the notion of vocation for a number of years…but when I experienced their dedication to ministry, their love of the people of God, and the joy with which they served, I experienced vocation as an invitation rather than a command.

I Cannot Imagine

Peggy Garrity

I was privileged to have sixteen years of teaching by nuns of three different orders; School sister of Notre Dame for first through eighth grade at St. John Nepomuc , Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at St. Mary’s Academy High School, and Sinsinawa Dominicans at Rosary College. I cannot imagine those years without them. In St. John’s grade school, a single nun taught two grades together in a single classroom, somehow managing up to sixty-four kids at once while imparting essential lessons in a room where you could hear a pin drop. They coached us to compete in state spelling bees and win.
The FSPA nuns I had in high school showed me the importance of serious scholarship and the accomplishments in life which we as young women owed ourselves. It was here more than anywhere that I was moved by the cause of justice which ultimately led me to a thirty year career as a civil rights trial lawyer.

It’s a Beginning

How do I begin to express my thanks, love and appreciation to the Sisters who have impacted my life, and how can I keep it short and sweet?  Here goes:

Thank you Sister Mary for starting Outreach ministries at Our Lady of the Snow.  Thank you for changing broken young lives to successful productive ones when you opened Mercy Center Ministries.