After 30 years of facilitating programs at Mercy by the Sea, Mauryeen O’Brien, O.P., has made her last offering this spring. Over those many years, through her bereavement programs, Sister Mauryeen tended graciously and compassionately to the hearts and spirits of some the most vulnerable seekers crossing our threshold.
A critical concern of the Sisters of Mercy is “to stand in solidarity with immigrants and to address policies that push people to flee their countries.” This commitment is what motivated me to invite Mary Lesser to share her “Immigrant Journals” exhibit in our art gallery. I thought the exhibit would also be thought-provoking in light of the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric and policies that are being activated in our country.
As a daughter of Irish immigrants, I can see myself in some of Mary’s haunting photos.
As I look at spring emerging after the winter—the daffodils smiling from the overgrowth, the crocuses strong and sturdy, the renewed sense of energy all around—I am aware again that resurrection is an integral part of life. Poet and educator Kay Ryan writes that “Nothing is exempt from Resurrection!”
Ann Grasso, whose exhibit, “Begging Bowls, Offering Bowls,” is currently on display in our Mary C. Daly RSM Art Gallery, included with her artwork a poem by Stuart Kestenbaum called “Holding the Light”: