Living With Catherine McAuley
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Why Catherine McAuley? The woman, Catherine McAuley, was and still is a disciple of Christ in the minds of her followers. For me, Catherine McAuley is a role model of what a Christian should strive to be. I have been affected substantially by her sense of humility, compassion and unconditional love for all human beings, especially, the ones condemned by societal standards. She was a woman of personal sacrifices. Her deeds of servant-like love engendered and nurtured throughout her basically short life span of 63 years, overpowered temporal time. Catherine’s impact on a way of life is still strongly in existence today, 169 years after her death. My journey with Catherine McAuley under God’s Providence is a journey anyone can make. It is based on selected universal values; it is a placing of trust in a way of life that mirrors a Christian approach. Whether a journey is “Living with Catherine McAuley”, or with any other spiritual mentor, it becomes one well worth pursuing because it creates a purpose in doing “the ordinary, extraordinarily well” as Catherine McAuley would say. Following the path of Christianity can bring each one of us closer to our God-intended self. I have found that in the complexity of modern chaos, peace will reign when guided by the beautiful simplicity of Jesus’ statement: “Love one another” (John 16:17). This universal mandate can help spread unconditional love, creating a purposeful existence – for when unconditional love is present, conditioned hate is absent.
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About the Book
This work is a novel approach to the charism of Catherine McAuley. It is an inspirational view of how a life can be influenced by a strong workable philosophy. It centers around the qualities of compassion and unconditional love. Although it has a pedagogical thrust, it is applicable to anyone pursuing a meaningful way of life. This reflective work can initiate a self analysis which can prompt a clearer understanding of life's journey.
About the Author
LIVING WITH CATHERINE McAULEY is an inspirational work prompted by my experience, for the last 23 years, in a Mercy school in Kentucky. I had taught English for a total of 33 years, spanning a spectrum from junior high to senior year. It was in the Mercy school that I became aware of the Mercy charism, and in my retirement, that I was able to reflect on its effect on my life. At the end of my teaching career, I was left with two indisputable values: compassion and unconditional love. These two values, I realized, would create for me, not a retirement but a “recycling” of a more meaningful journey, yet to be taken. Through this work I hope to impart a hopeful approach to life that translates doubt into faith. Being born in the Ukraine, and fleeing with my parents during world War II, required a lot of faith on my parents' part. I would not be here today, enjoying freedom, if they had not had the courage to persevere. Growing up as a DP (Displaced Person) left its plus and minuses. Today, I understand more clearly how all my experiences, good and bad, have contributed to my formation: I can accept life as is ; I can choose to act with compassion and extend a loving hand.