December 16, 2025

Dear Sisters and Associates,

As we approach the sacred feast of Christmas, my heart turns with gratitude to each of you – Sisters and Associates who bear the spirit of Providence into a world longing for hope.  In this holy season, we gather once more around the mystery of Emmanuel, God-with-us, whose coming brings a peace the world cannot give yet always seeks.

This year, with the immigration crisis, wars, shootings and other tragedies happening in our world today, my Christmas greeting to you comes with a brief reflection on the theme of peace. Not a passive or fragile peace, but the deep and courageous peace born of trust in God’s abiding presence.  Bishop Ketteler, whose vision continues to inspire us, once reminded the Church that true peace cannot exist where the dignity of the human person is ignored.  He taught that peace grows when justice and compassion take root – when we recognize Christ in every person and act with the love that flows from that recognition.  In the spirit of Bishop Ketteler, we are reminded this Christmas that peace begins with a courageous “yes”:
            a yes to seeing God’s Providence even in uncertainty.
            a yes to lifting up those whose voices go unheard.
            a yes to building communities where tenderness, mercy, and justice heal what is broken.

Hopefully each of us embodies this call through our ministries, our prayer, and our daily witness. By doing so we make visible the quiet miracle of Bethlehem – God choosing humility, compassion, and presence as the pathway to peace.

May the Christ Child, Prince of Peace, renew your hearts with the serenity that comes from trusting God’s loving design.  May you feel the steady companionship of Providence guiding you into the New Year.  And may your lives continue to proclaim that peace is possible – because God dwells among us and works through us.

Christmas blessing and Happy New Year!

One with you in God’s loving Providence,

Sr. Barbara McMullen, Congregational Leader