April 5, 2023

Dear Colleague,

Blessings to you and those you hold dear in these holy days. This week, we are invited into the depths of Jesus’ suffering and death and the joy of the Resurrection. The liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday represent the human experience we know for ourselves and those we serve in our health ministry. These are rituals which help us to proclaim that death does not have the final answer and that hope is eternal.

As you prepare your hearts and homes to embrace the fullness of the Easter Triduum, I invite you to reflect upon the words of author Wayne Muller as he reminds us that “perfection is in the repetition.”

“Over the course of a lifetime, there will be the sad Easter and the joyous Easter, the thoughtful Easter and the hopeful Easter, the transformative Easter and even the boring Easter. This is not about progress; it is about circles, cycles, seasons, and the way time moves, and things we must remember, because with ever-faster turnings of the wheel, it can become easier to forget.

Ritual calls us back to the center...with each candle, song, and prayer, we are loosed from the anchor of the habitual concern, and rest in the rhythm of eternity, enormous sweeps of time that bear us up in the divine inhale and exhale.”

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives
Wayne Muller (1999, pg 90)

May you be reminded of the ways, big and small, that we are called to celebrate with joy, for we are an Easter people, and “Alleluia!” is our song.


Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM
President & Chief Executive Officer