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Nine years ago, I finished my ministry as a Director of Religious Education and pondered what was next in my life. I discovered an organization that welcomes immigrants and introduces them to their new homes and lives. Now I join other volunteers and visit immigrant families each week.

Over the years, I was asked or offered to move into all sorts of unfamiliar ministerial situations. Having lots of physical and imaginative creative energy, I was quick to respond and act - to do anything, go anywhere. I inherited the spirit of my parents who emigrated from Germany for the adventure of America. The adventurous spirit in all the Theresa and Caroline stories helped to attract me to SSND. My life in SSND has always felt adventurous.

Teachers in Haiti are gaining new tools and support to strengthen math instruction, thanks to the leadership of Sister Sharon Slear, SSND, and the expertise of Lisa Pallett, Associate Professor of Elementary Mathematics Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Ordinary Time is not ordinary at all... in the Church, Ordinary Time highlights Jesus' ministry of healing and teaching and speaking the truth.

I had the honour of visiting Leipzig, Saskatchewan, a quaint and once active village now reduced to two major buildings. The magnificent St. Paschal Roman Catholic Church, built in 1913 by German immigrants, and the beautiful Notre Dame Convent. It was the first SSND mission in western Canada, which opened in 1927 to teach and minister to the German immigrants.

First, Ordinary Time is called “ordinary” not because it is somehow lesser than the other liturgical seasons, but - according to church historians - simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. The Latin word ordinalis refers to numbers in a series. It marks a time when we are neither feasting nor fasting. (Wikipedia)

We mourn the loss of innocent life taken in a devastating act of violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota during a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church. As School Sisters of Notre Dame, we have had the joy of celebrating Mass with our students, fellow teachers, and their families over decades of dedication to Catholic education. We recommit ourselves to advocating for an end to the gun violence which plagues our nation. To the Annunciation Catholic School community, especially the families who have suffered loss, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul Minneapolis, and the people of the Minneapolis area, we pray for you and mourn with you.