The Institute is Founded on Calvary The address given by Rayleen Giannotti, RSM on Vocations at the Mercy Northeast Assembly in November 2005 What are we going to do with our one, wild creative life?" Sister Linda Werthman's question, for me, was a great way to begin our time together. These past two years have found me seriously asking myself, at the core of my being,

a similar question. Words and phrases such as "diminishment," "the end of vowed membership," and "something totally new and different" have made me ask, "Is this where I want to spend my one, wild creative life?" My questioning, prayer and conversations with sisters have caused a resurgence of both hope and passion. In spite of the words and phrases that are actually being used, I now "hear" words like death, resurrection, new life and transformation. These words, these paschal mystery realities, are the source of my passion and hope. After all, in the words of Catherine McAuley, "The Institute is founded on Calvary, there to serve a crucified Redeemer." As Sisters of Mercy, we know the crucified Christ to be women, children, people who are sick, people without homes, those in need of education, immigrants, those most in need and, yes, the Church. We have come to know that we are not in the business of service by the world's definition. More than service, we are about ministry, the mission of Jesus Christ. As Sisters of Mercy, we quickly come to know that there is saving grace for both served and server. In fact, the server becomes the served. We are redeemed, saved via transformation by/in/through receiving the Christ in the other and being served by the Christ. Ours is a two-fold mission. We are about a God quest. It is this God quest that impassions us, emboldens us to serve in Love. Our ministry, if it is to be ministry, is dependent upon our transformation and our transformation is dependent upon our ministry as Sisters of and sisters in Mercy. For those of us vowed to service, both are totally intertwined. It is this that gives me hope and passion! When I consider the ways God has worked and continues to work in, with and through me, I am awed. I am not the person who back in 1989 dialed 333-6333. I have drunk of life deeply. This way of "drinking of life deeply," I believe, is what we have to share. In fact, for those of us who have tasted its sweetness, we are compelled to share it. My sisters, we are richly satiated. Perhaps, we are experiencing a bit of a death at this time. However, do we believe that God can resurrect this body? Do we believe that if our work is of God, God will draw others to drink of this well? I do believe. In fact, Catherine's spirituality encompassed Cross and Resurrection. Angela Bolster said of Catherine that she had "a depth that indicated assiduous delving into salvation history, a confidence that was unshakeable, a faith that was radical and dynamic and a love that was total…" My hope and my passion were and are in the same resurrected Christ. My hope and my passion are fueled by you, my sisters and her daughters, because you have the same "depth," the same "unshakable confidence," the same "faith" and the same total love. I came to the Sisters of Mercy because of it and I stay because of it. As we consider the energy of this weekend and the future we are creating, let us consider how you and I are going to share the way we drink deeply of this life. How can I support the new vocation ministers? How can you support them? Perhaps it can be as simple as offering your gifts for a day of reflection or making phone calls to invite others to prepare the food for a weekend of prayer. It may be inviting the ministers to consider your local community for a potential "evening of dinner and prayer" with a woman. The majority of us did not "come to see" because of a vocation minister. We came "to see" because of individual sisters. We came because of the Consiliis, the Mary Brendas, the Rosamonds, the Elizabeths. We came because we saw Catherine's words embodied. The sisters' lives were "continual act(s) of praise and prayer." Our legacy of "union and charity," of service centered in God with each other through our vows, is what gives me hope and passion. My prayer is that, in the words of Sister Mary Pendergast's song, "our dying and our rising be for the healing of the world."