Appeal: Annual Fund

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 

Dear Friends of CTU,

Writing to you at Easter time is very different for me this year.  In the midst of Lent, on Tuesday, March 2, my dear little sister Miriam died after a brief illness.  She was 58 years old.  I always referred to her as my “little” sister because she had Downs Syndrome and all her adult life she was a mysterious blend of a dependent child and a wise woman.  She was the heart and soul of our family.

 

Miriam lived her last 14 years at Misericordia Home in Chicago.  What a beautiful home it was for Miriam—a place full of beauty and compassion, a place that unfailingly treated God’s most vulnerable people with respect and love.  My sister loved her name “Miriam.”  As she knew, it is the Hebrew form of the name “Mary”.  The Blessed Mother, Miriam would say earnestly, was called “Miriam.” 

 

When thinking of Miriam and Misericordia, I was reminded of a beautiful title that the Church gives the Mother of Jesus—Porta coeli—“Gate of Heaven.”  When I reflect now on Misericordia and its lovely and fragile residents, I think: “Gate of Heaven”—that’s what it is.

 

Every family has its moments of loss and sorrow and gratitude, as my family experiences now.  And I am thinking of this as I write to you again this Easter season.  

 

There are so many compelling needs and compelling causes—where does CTU fit in?   Crushing losses in Haiti.  Millions throughout the world without enough to eat.  The plight of exploited migrant families.  People facing loss of jobs.  We all know the list.

 

In supporting CTU, as so many friends have done, you help us prepare the men and women who will be on the front lines dealing directly with this litany of human suffering: the teachers, the aid workers, the counselors, the youth ministers, the soup kitchen managers, the chaplains, the pastors.   Our graduates serving around the world—good priests and dedicated lay men and women—embody Christ’s compassionate presence in the midst of human suffering.   In supporting them, your generosity is multiplied.

 

But there is something more…   Porta coeli – “Gate of Heaven.”  What we are trying to do here at CTU is not only to educate and train skilled pastoral workers who can carry on the Church’s works of mercy, but also to form and foster men and women of holiness.  People who believe with all their heart in God’s love for the world.  Men and women who are so in harmony with the Risen Christ that they will champion—and love--the most vulnerable of God’s creation.  People who by their character and the quality of their lives give witness that love is stronger than death, and who believe that because of God’s unfailing love life endures beyond death.  In a world that often seems to lose its way, we need people of strong faith like this. Thank for any support you can give our mission.

 

I pray that this Easter season will be a time of renewed hope and joy for your family, a time when even in the midst of loss or setback you may find deep comfort in the reality of God’s love for us.  Happy Easter.

Sincerely yours,
Fr. Donald Senior, C.P.
President

 
  

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