March 9th is the 89th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Eileen Sullivan, Sister James Timothy, O.P. (Order of Preachers--the Dominicans).
She was born in 1932 in Chicago, daughter of Lefty and Anna Conick Sullivan and sister of Jim, Bob and Anna Rita, Sister Joanne Marie Sullivan. She died on July 31, 2002 at the Mother house at Adrian, Michigan, in the company of heroes. She is buried with her sisters, right next to Auntie Nan. Margaret and Nan spent a lot of their active lives living with the poor, in the direst of conditions sometimes, and then finally at the peace of the Mother House at their ending stretches.
She was a hero herself, braving the communist, and for that matter, government, thugs in El Salvador, where she had been laboring for the poor. She practiced the sacred injunction to "resist not evil." She also held true and operated on the basis of Jesus of Nazareth's words, "Be not afraid, I go before you always."
Aunt Margaret was mentioned on the floors of the House and Senate, by a group of Irish Catholic congressmen from the east coast, Joe Moakley, Ted Kennedy, Senator Leahy and several others, who were intent on social justice in El Salvador. They looked up to her as an exemplar of bravery. She was cited for this valor in the halls of our legislative branch.
A tall and graceful woman, she was a great athlete and played guitar beautifully. I loved it when the Aunties visited as they focused their complete attention on us children. I can still hear when Aunt Margaret and Aunt Anna Rita would burst into laughter simultaneously!
Aunt Margaret never said an unkind word that I or anyone else ever heard. We are all so grateful for the security and comfort she enjoyed in her final years at the Motherhouse. Indeed, many of us had the chance to visit Aunt Margaret there in her last year of life. Dr. Seamus the Younger at her funeral, was so right when he said, "She might have never had children, but she sure was a Mom."
Happy Birthday, Auntie. Thank you for your love and goodness. Thank you for your indomitable bravery and your blazing heart for the poor. We will try to live up to it.
God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.
Love Patty & Jim
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