Living Our Laments
God is culpable. There is no other way to come to terms with God’s character that is true to the Bible and our lived experience.
Avis Clendenen
May 15, 2026
God is culpable. There is no other way to come to terms with God’s character that is true to the Bible and our lived experience.
The cry that begins our lives is not the sound of despair, but of hope, a reaching toward connection, toward comfort, toward life itself. So
Persist in faith! / Swallow God’s / unconquerable Grace! / Let Evil strangle as / Grace dissipates!
Walking with the authors of what I have termed “memoirs of lament,” sensitizes me to their suffering and the suffering of others.
It is not my intention to eulogize Eloise; rather, I propose to give you some insight into this vibrant, committed, passionate Sister of Mercy.
The Church’s treatment of women contrasts strongly with Catherine McAuley’s understanding and practice of leadership and leadership development.
Growing up in a very small town, my first somewhat official involvement with the clergy and the structure of the Church was when I was
It is this legacy of strength and boldness that propels us forward as Catholic women religious, enabling us to continue meeting the needs of the
The Sisters of Mercy have responded to God’s calling in many ways throughout history. More recently, we have seen a change in the ministerial efforts
One of the marks of a good historical study is its ability to leave the reader wanting more. Paula Diann Marlin, RSM, has done just
This prayer was developed by the Institute Prayer and Ritual Committee in 2021 for communal and individual prayer for the Feast of the Assumption of
Sisters of Mercy and their colleagues and friends around the world owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Sister Mary C. Sullivan, RSM. Our gratitude
In this essay I wish to explore Catherine McAuley’s concepts of comforting and animating, by which I believe she defined both her own unique contribution
Somehow we know, beyond all doubt, that the eager enkindler of our personal and corporate vocation as Sisters of Mercy is, even now, steadily at
The “visitation” of the sick poor was one of the three central elements in Catherine McAuley’s vision of the merciful work to which she and,
The theme for our reflections is “Sowing Hope: Embracing Cultural Diversity,” and I have been asked to focus on Catherine McAuley’s legacy as it relates
The word “prophetic” is often used in relation to religious life: as an exhortation, a complaint, a compliment, an assurance, a definition, a description. In
If we wish to enter deeply into the prayer of Catherine McAuley, as a place where she and Christ may teach us, we may enter