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Sr. Margaret Charles Kerry
"My mother gifted me with her wedding ring for my Jubilee year. On the inside I had it engraved in Arabic "I give myself to God". On the outside I hope to engrave it in Syriac from the Maronite Liturgy - in the language spoken by Jesus - with "This is my body". This is what I return to the person I am most in love with. It is through God that all of my loves are fulfilled. It is through God that I am able to be gift. This is the greatest gift of my Jubilee."
In Arabic, "I give myself to God."
In Syriac, in the language spoken by Jesus, "This is my body." Mostly they have come through my sisters in the Daughters of St Paul. Imagine my surprise when my sisters open my eyes to the times they receive support and joy from my life. All I can do is praise the God of my life - these moments have been pure gift! There are also the times that I have needed forgiveness and received it. This is gift. There are memories that are joy-filled and memories that have granted me growth in Christ - on my Jubilee year I sort them out in the great net of my life. The road I have been on is as much an inner journey as it has been real travels. During my travels I have met great people who have changed me. These people have even gone before me - such as Blessed Alberione, Paul the Apostle, Blessed Timothy Giaccardo, Mother Thecla Merlo, and my sisters who have blazed a trail. I have learned Christ through them. In following Jesus I have met everyone He has wanted to introduce me to. I can only imagine where else I will follow Him. My past, present and future have become one in this love of my life - Christ. All of my friends have become in Christ. All of my dreams have become in Christ. In him, through him and with him - my life is Christ's. Sister Denise Cecilia Benjamin
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Born in
St. Louis, Sr. Margaret grew up in suburban New Orleans where
she met the Daughters of St. Paul. She is an inventive missionary,
always devising new ways to bring the Gospel into peoples' lives: "Inner
City Reading Rooms" for children in Chicago; parish-based
Media Centers, and Carolina Catholic Radio are only a few examples.
She's also the founding editor of "The Pauline Cooperator" magazine,
and currently both National Coordinator for the Association
of Pauline Cooperators, and a member of the FSP Provincial
Council. In her free time (!), she experiments in graphic design
(see the example on the right).
Twenty-five years is not a milestone - it is
moments of time that are one in Christ. The celebration that
takes place during a Jubilee is the same as the Biblical Jubilee
- a time to reflect, thank, forgive, remember, and gift others.
The greatest moments of my jubilee year so far have been the
gifts I have been able to give. These gifts have also been
surprises for me because I didn't know that they were mine
to give. They have been revealed through my sisters and family,
my friends and relatives. 