In honor of Mater, I ask you to look at the painting or at a statue of Mater with new eyes. I invite you to look deeply and do what Mary has done in the representation.

By Lori Wilson, co-chair, Associates Leadership Team Hiking the Esker,  I am aware of living my life clinging to the edge of a ridge. It’s a hard reality to recognize, much less admit out loud. I choose to keep myself on the flat of that ridge But I can’t always do it on my own. I have scaffolds - My favorite meal -  Rice (light brown with a pat of butter and a pinch of sea salt, with Roasted brussels sprouts and onions tossed in olive oil and parmesan!)

By Carole Sargent, Associate, Washington, D.C., and Catherine Kestler, Associate, Chicago At the August 2021 hiking retreat in coastal Massachusetts, six participants stayed at a retreat house near White Horse beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Three Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) remained at their house ­– a rambling former rectory complete with ghostly echoes of past occupants and a friendly bat, 40 minutes away in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

By Molly McGettigan Arthur, Associate, San Francisco The Associates gathering July 6-7, 2021 was revelatory and transformative for me. For the two days, I met in a small group with all Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) who I had not met before: Marina Hernandez, Helen O’Regan, Ann Taylor and Marie Louise “ML.” The talk given by Carol Zinn, SSJ, executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), held clarity and insights about being an Associate that opened my own identity as an Associate.