Author archive

Mary Ann McGivern SL

Mary Ann recently moved from St. Louis to the Loretto Motherhouse in Kentucky. She is searching for entry points into Marian County, Ky., civic life — funding the day care center, improving jail services, helping stop a pipeline through Bernheim Forest. She is on the roster of homilists at Loretto Chapel’s Sunday Communion service. Mary Ann has been a Sister of Loretto since 1960.

Home » Archives for Mary Ann McGivern SL

Reflection on Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / April 13, 2025 /

I came to Loretto on Sept. 15, the feast of our Sorrowful Mother, and it went over my head. But back then our other major feast day, the celebration of…

Photo album: Loretto members tirelessly pursue justice and peace

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / March 10, 2025 /

A group of protesters gather with signs on a cold day

Explore the rich story of Loretto’s peacemaking history in the Winter 2021 issue of Loretto Magazine. 1990s We are called to be missionaries of peace. … It means making space…

Reflection on the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / March 2, 2025 /

Today’s readings are full of sound advice. The same way we wait until the pot comes out of the kiln, we listen to the whole speech. Don’t rush to judgment.…

Reflection on the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / January 5, 2025 /

Back when I was a fairly serious gardener, my overwhelming experience of spring was promise. The apricot tree would wait to bud until after the last hard freeze; the strawberries…

Reflection on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / December 9, 2024 /

When I was about 9 and my mother was pregnant and told me she was carrying a child in her womb, all of a sudden I recognized the word womb…

A joyful Loretto transition

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / November 7, 2024 /

Seven women standing while holding candles on the front stage for an induction ceremony.

On the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Friends of Mary at the Foot of the Cross (the Loretto Community) thanked our retiring Community Forum, Barbara Nicholas, Mary Margaret…

Considering Life and Death

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / October 30, 2024 /

A bronze statue of lady justice wearing a blindfold and holding scales up.

Kaitlyn Marie Wise was killed on Valentine’s Day, 2023. She was 29 years old and lived in Lebanon, Marion County, Kentucky. On May 13, 2024, more than a year later,…

Reflection on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / October 6, 2024 /

Kaitlyn Marie Wise was killed on Valentine’s Day 2023. She was 29 years old and lived in Lebanon, Marion County, Ky. On May 13, 2024, a year later, Dailin Marquez…

Reflection on the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / September 1, 2024 /

Today Deuteronomy, Psalm 15, James and Jesus according to Luke tell us to act from our hearts. Not to murder or lie or cheat but to do good. I think…

Reflection on the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / July 14, 2024 /

Two monarch butterflies sit atop a red flower.

Prophecy in Scripture means telling the truth, not telling the future. And the kind of truth-telling none of us like comes from people we think are not as good as…

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Review

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / June 26, 2024 /

A Sadakao statue: a young girl with a pony tail holding up a book with a bird emerging from the open book, and a plain white wall background.

The Loretto Peace Committee decided last August to promote Eleanor Coerr’s historical novel for children about an 11-year-old named Sadako. Sadako [Sa da’ ko] is a healthy girl, a runner on the middle school track team,…

Reflection on the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / June 9, 2024 /

Pity the poor snake. The other scriptural account of creation says God saw it, and it was good. It seems that Scripture writers had their own opinions and prejudices, not…

The Loretto Community consists of the congregation of the Sisters of Loretto and Loretto Co-members. The congregation of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross was founded in rural Kentucky in 1812. Today, our Sisters and Co-members continue to live out the Loretto Community’s mission to “work for justice and act for peace because the Gospel urges us.” In the United States and throughout the world, Loretto Community members serve in many fields, including education, healthcare, elder care, environmental stewardship and advocacy.