Although this letter campaign has ended, our gratitude and support for women religious is never ending.  A quick glance through just a few of these letters proves the great impact women religious have had on our lives.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in the campaign.  If you did not get a chance to send in your letter, please leave it as a comment below and we’ll make sure it gets to the right people.

Finally, let us say one last time (on this site): THANK YOU, SISTERS!

There are few people as a group that have had the quiet impact that the women religious of this country have had in my life and in the life of the Church as I know it.  Their lives of witness, prayer, service, and faithfulness to the Gospel is inspiring. 
 
I feel especially blessed that women from so many different orders and congregations have been an important part of my life over the years.  Each has truly been gift of God at a particular point in time.  Their dedication to the Lord, the Church, their religious communities, and their ministries is such a very special gift that is so readily shared. 
 
Sinsinawa Dominicans and Servite Sisters of Ladysmith, WI made my summer ‘Bible Schools’ something to look forward to as a youth, when I’d have rather  been fishing than going to school.  Joliet Fransciscans helped with my science education and library skills in high school.  My college education was strongly shaped by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.   The Ursuline Sisters blessed me with my first extended retreat experience.  Benedictines from St Joseph, MN and Atchison Kansas gave me a theology background second to none in grad school, while the prayer ministry of the Poor Clares of Sauk Rapids sustained me through those challenging months.  Benedictions in Eau Claire, WI showed me how to truly live the Benedictine motto “That God may be glorified in all things.”    The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have supported me by their service, witness, and especially their prayer.
 
I thank God for women religious.  And I thank you, Sisters, for who you are and all you do.

I am writing to express my family’s sincere gratitude for the influence of Sister Seton, Sister of Notre Dame, in our lives.  She is the Director of Service in Campus Ministry at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.  Sister Seton is one of the kindest, most compassionate people we have ever known and we are sincerely grateful for her friendship and for her presence on our campus.  She is committed to social justice and helping those who are less fortunate, and has endless energy and enthusiasm for her work.  She is respected and admired by all who know her:  faculty, students, and members of the greater Washington community.  In everything that she does, she models what a true, loving follower of Jesus Christ should be, by her word and example.
Our sons have graduated from Gonzaga and continue to feel her influence.  As college students they have continued their service activities, which were inspired by Sister Seton, and continue to keep in close touch with her because of the respect and admiration they have for her and for her work. She truly helps the young men of Gonzaga High School to become “men for others” who are committed to social justice, and for this we are truly grateful to our wonderful Sister Seton.

Susan J. Scott, OSUA

Louisville, KY

I thank the Sisters for their example of walking in Jesus’ footsteps.  They show us how to live justly, love abundantly and imagine a better world through the light of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you sisters – For all you did for the me, my wife, and the generations of the 1950s and 1960s. America would not be the same without you.  You were the inspiration for goodness. You were the ones who gave us the faith and hope for life and the skills to be successful. More than simply the knowledge and skills transmitted, were the beliefs and values that have shaped our lives and the lives of a significant part of American culture. How thankful am I for these American Saints? I still write to my 8th Grade nun, Sister Philomena – St. Thomas School, Riverside, California.  I am currently a professor of education and I educate teachers – the values, the dedication, and the commitment that I have for my profession comes directly from all the Nuns who have given so much. God Bless You all.

There have been many great American generations, but only three with the designation of “Great:” The Founding Fathers, The World War II Soldiers, and the Catholic Nuns who shaped the moral values of American Culture. My character, my faith, my strong family values are all directly related to the examples of these Nuns. Thank You, Sisters!

My wife was taught by the Nuns in Oklahoma City and I, by the Franciscans in Riverside, California. We both are indebted to them forever. To borrow from Churchill: “Never have so few given so much to so many” – All for the sake of God!

Long may their memories remain.

Having never taken the time to contemplate the impact sisters and religious orders have had on my life, this is the opportune time to reflect on these aspects and to say thank you for all you have done in your special and simple ways.  I am disheartened and shaken by the secret investigations into the United States Religious Orders.  These investigations are not measuring the true impact these women have by truly following living and following Jesus.  They are the light in this world in their simple actions and deeds. It is St. Theresa of Liseux whose short life taught that it is the little ways to holiness that provide spiritual sanctity.  The sisters that have touched my life follow this everyday.

I grew up with three sisters in my life who are my mother’s first cousins and to whom I refer to as my aunts, a special honor and place.  They are spiritual and gifted teachers who make a difference everyday in the lives of many.  They are Sisters of St. Joseph.

These three women have worked with (and this is not the end of the list) – the poor, homeless, imprisoned, children, recovering addicts – all in the spirit of Jesus.  They truly walk in his path. During the time of my aunt’s dying, my aunt was a great source of faith and simple messages that provided comfort to me.  She did not do this knowingly or do it for her comfort but because she embodies Christ in her words and actions, I found peace in her discussions.

In Luke 10:25-28, a lawyer questions Jesus about how to “..inherit eternal life?”  Jesus asks him to interpret the law and lawyer replies “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself”.  Jesus replies that the man’s interpretation is right and to do this with his life.

Not only my aunts, but the women who taught me and teach my children everyday live their lives this way – loving their neighbor and God with their whole hearts, souls, strengths, and mind.  My children pray the rosary in school, they attend mass during the school day, they perform charitable works for others outside the school because these women encourage loving one’s neighbor.  My children have a deep faith that is strengthened everyday by these women.  In a time when the world is hurting and searching for peace and comfort, these sisters have provided the shelter and rock that my children need as a foundation for their faith.  In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said “Let these little children along, and do not stop them from coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs.”  These women bring my children to the feet of Jesus everyday in their teachings and practices.

Two days ago I watched over 150 Thanksgiving baskets of food collected and blessed for the poor in our area.  The Sister of the Holy Cross, who organized this collection in the past, passed away this spring.  Her spirit and heart were in these baskets.  The simple act of collecting food and giving to the poor at a time of need is a true testament to loving one’s neighbor as yourself.  To get a college community to do this, is an amazing feat.  This is a true legacy of a blessed woman and sister walking in the path of Jesus and providing to the less fortunate.

Please consider the message and impact these secret investigations have on the core faith of these special women and those who are touched by their work everyday.  The missions of these women are truly following the path of Jesus and his teachings.

I pray that those performing these investigations understand how hardworking and faithful these women are.  I pray that those performing these investigations ask themselves if they are working towards the path that Jesus wanted us to follow. I pray that those performing these investigations truly understand and are guided by the words that Jesus gave us.

I pray for the hearts and souls of the women investigated that they do not lose faith and hope in their missions because without them we are lost souls in the darkness of this world.

Thank you sisters for walking with Jesus and helping to guide us on the way to inherit eternal life.

I am a Sister of St. Joseph…because I taught with them, and was attracted by their joy.  I had struggled with the notion of vocation for a number of years…but when I experienced their dedication to ministry, their love of the people of God, and the joy with which they served, I experienced vocation as an invitation rather than a command.

My life has been enriched by so many of the Sisters who first befriended me, and then welcomed me into community…and who have shared their lives with me for over thirty years now.

I am who I am today, literally and figuratively, because of the influence of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet of the Albany Province.

I was privileged to have sixteen years of teaching by nuns of three different orders; School sister of Notre Dame for first through eighth grade at St. John Nepomuc , Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at St. Mary’s Academy High School, and Sinsinawa Dominicans at Rosary College. I cannot imagine those years without them. In St. John’s grade school, a single nun taught two grades together in a single classroom, somehow managing up to sixty-four kids at once while imparting essential lessons in a room where you could hear a pin drop. They coached us to compete in state spelling bees and win.
The FSPA nuns I had in high school showed me the importance of serious scholarship and the accomplishments in life which we as young women owed ourselves. It was here more than anywhere that I was moved by the cause of justice which ultimately led me to a thirty year career as a civil rights trial lawyer.
 These women have given so generously to hundreds of thousands of children over the years and it is truly offensive that the Vatican, which has taken their dedication for granted, sees it appropriate to now question their commitment to Catholic teaching.
I am grateful every day for the time I spent with these devoted and amazing women religious.

Thank you Sister Mary for starting Outreach ministries at Our Lady of the Snow.  Thank you for changing broken young lives to successful productive ones when you opened Mercy Center Ministries.

Thank you Sister M. Ronald for welcoming this broken woman to Villa Immaculata and sharing the love of the Holy Family with me so that I can now share it with others.

Thank you Sister Pat for all the hours of retreat that has taught me to be thankful and appreciative of God’s gifts.

Thank you Sister Philomena for sharing the hospitality of St Ursula Center.

Thank you Sister Marion for leading our prayer group every month.

Thank you Sister Lynn for your warmth and love for patients and their families at Stony Brook Hospital.

Thank you Sister Tesa for you work with OUR CHILDREN.

Well, it’s a beginning!