Celebrating Catholic Sisters Week: CMN reminds me why I became a sister.

I knew I wanted to become a sister when I heard God’s call to love all in God’s name.

I entered the Congregation of St. Joseph in 1963 centered on teaching and parish ministry. Over the years, I came to recognize that at the heart of God’s call as a Sister of St. Joseph is to work in collaboration with others to change systems, restore dignity to all, and to heal the Earth. Today, we call this work “systemic change.”

After 60 years as a CSJ, my journey led me to Catholic Mobilizing Network, where I now proudly serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors and the CSJ Liaison. In many ways, being part of CMN’s work to transform the broken criminal legal system has reminded me why I became a sister in the first place.

It’s given me, and thousands of other sisters, a channel for building God’s vision of justice — a kind of justice that heals wounds and upholds the sanctity of life.

Members of my congregation, including renowned death penalty abolitionist Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ, helped found CMN in 2009 as a way to animate the USCCB’s “Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty.” Today, CMN is a founding member of the CSJ Mission Network and is seen as a core expression of our congregational charism to love God and the “dear neighbor.”

As Board Chair, I am so grateful for all supporters that advance CMN’s work through engagement, prayer, and advocacy.

To read more about this impact, be sure to check out CMN’s Q&A with Sr. Eileen Reilly, SSND published in honor of Catholic Sisters Week.