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.

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Reflection on the Sixth Sunday of Easter

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / May 5, 2024 /

At the Catholic Worker at Mass we took turns preparing a homily. One day the homilist forgot, and so she said, “The Gospel speaks for itself.” Well, yes, and this…

Waste, Fraud and Deceit – Tax Dollars at Work

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / April 24, 2024 /

The F-35 fighter plane seemed like a great idea at its inception. The Air Force had its own plane, the F-15 which was agile (could fly straight up for a…

Reflection on the Third Sunday of Easter

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / April 14, 2024 /

In the first reading, Acts, Paul is angry and he says to his listeners, “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.”…

Local Kentucky Family Gets Water

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / April 10, 2024 /

An older woman with white hair stands in the doorway of a shed holding a broom looking at the camera.

Judy Popp, who lives at the Motherhouse, started working with a local dad and his daughters, 11 and 14, last September to get them water. They live in a trailer…

Reflection on the Third Sunday of Lent

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / March 3, 2024 /

We have two complete accounts here today, the recitation of the commandments and the cleansing of the temple. They are each so familiar and so solidly constructed that I had…

Boycotts – Shopping for Justice

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / February 14, 2024 /

a colorful banner that features an indigenous symbol in the middle with the words "Solidaridad" and "The Loretto Community" underneath it.

In the same way that boycotting grapes and lettuce in the 1970s was part of a larger campaign to support unionizing farmworkers, here are some boycotts today that have big…

Reflection on Christmas Eve

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / December 24, 2023 /

Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. What was God thinking? I walked around the dining room several times preparing for this homily, looking at all…

Reflection on the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / November 5, 2023 /

Colorful banners reads, "Be light into darkness — The Loretto Community."

Last Wednesday, Halloween, Roberta and I carried dinner to 15 men in prison to celebrate Wicca with them. Wicca is the ancient worship of the goddess, honoring sky and trees…

Nuns Against Gun Violence Call to Action

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / November 1, 2023 /

Large sculpture of a gun with the barrel tied in a knot, it is placed behind many flags of the world.

We stand Full of sorrow, full of tears Full of fears, Twisting in the wind, reeling in horror; We stand with mourners; We stand with first responders; We stand against…

Motherhouse welcomes retreat on mysticism

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / November 1, 2023 /

A man and woman sitting together with assorted mics and a display screen behind them. They are smiling for a picture with papers in their laps, likely preparing to present something with the display screen and microphones.

The Motherhouse September retreat masters invited all of us participants to practice mysticism. The title of the retreat was “Mystics in the Heart; Monasticism for the World.” Mary Ellen McElroy…

Jemez Pueblo Food Pantry

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / August 30, 2023 /

Loretto Co-member Karen Knoll manages a food pantry on the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico. She purchases about $450 worth of food each month, enough for 15 boxes for seniors.…

Reflection on the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Mary Ann McGivern SL / August 20, 2023 /

Midrash is expansive exposition, interpretation and explanation of the text. The facts might be a little misremembered, but the teaching is true. That’s what I remember learning in Scripture class.…

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.