The IHM Sisters of Scranton, Pennsylvania (click here to see how they are related to my IHMs), have a new music CD available.

I’ve had the privilege of hearing some Scranton IHMs perform and they truly rock.

Here’s what they have to say about their CD:

“With One Voice” features 13 selections, several of which are original compositions by two Scranton IHMs – Sr. Joan McCusker, IHM and Sr. Trish Scalese, IHM; include both contemporary English and Spanish music as well as traditional English and Latin hymns and instrumental compositions.

“With One Voice” features a chorus of approximately sixty Scranton IHMs, a few of their friends and a small group of instrumentalists under the direction of Sr. Joan McCusker, IHM.

Whether you’ve been taught by, ministered to, or work with a Scranton IHM or are just looking for a quality spiritual musical experience, “With One Voice” intends to share with you what gives Scranton IHMs so much joy – lifting our voices to God in song!

All profits from the sale of the CD go to the Scranton IHM Retirement Fund.

Click here to learn more about the CD and to order.

You may not know this but Sisters have often made way less than a living wage especially in church ministries. We are not financially supported by the Church, though we are grateful for the yearly retirement fund appeals. We are largely supported by the wages that Sisters earn, gifts from generous benefactors, and income from wise investments. Here’s an opportunity to get a great CD and support the Scranton IHM Sisters.

If you are in a position to donate your time, financial resources, or services, contact a local community of Sisters in your area. I’m sure they’d love to meet you and would appreciate your support in whatever way you can offer it.

I recently received an email from a student doing a paper on Catherine McAuley. She asked if Catherine had any symbols associated with her. Not knowing off the top of my head, I headed to web sites of the Sisters of Mercy (whom Catherine founded in 1831). To my great delight, I discovered that one of the symbols associated with Catherine is “a comfortable cup of tea.” Here’s what I found on the web site of the Sisters of Mercy in Wellington, New Zealand:

Comfortable Cup of Tea

When Catherine McAuley was dying, many of the sisters gathered around her bedside to say good-bye and to pray the prayers for the dying. Not long before she died, at the end of a long day of waiting, she said to one of the sisters: “Be sure you have a comfortable cup of tea for them when I am gone.” Ever since, the comfortable cup of tea has been a symbol of the warm and caring relationships which were at the heart of Catherine McAuley’s Mercy vision.

The Sisters of Mercy have taken this beautiful, homey symbol and made it a part of their ministry as well. Check out Catherine’s Comfortable Tea, a ministry of the Mercy sisters in cooperation with Frontier Natural Products Co-op of North Iowa.

Our tea is not just another commercial product. Catherine’s Comfortable Tea is a symbol of compassion and dedication to those in need.… With [Catherine's] spirit in mind, the Catherine McAuley Center created Catherine’s Comfortable Tea. Proceeds from the sale of the tea benefit the Catherine McAuley Center programs, providing housing to unaccompanied women and adult basic education to men and women.

Not being a huge tea drinker, I think I will now look at my morning cup of coffee in a new light … my comfortable cup of coffee. And when I do, I’ll think of Catherine’s warmth and compassion … a great way to start the day.