Sister Rosemarie Milazzo is ready to return to Iraq to help build peace by building relationships with people. A Maryknoll Sister for more than 55 years, she has served in places like Tanzania, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq. She’s an educator, a pastoral assistant and more recently a peacemaker.
Sister Rosemarie is a pioneer who risks her own safety and life in places where people live in fear, women are raped and children are taught to fight.
“We help bring change,” Sister Rosemarie says. “People ask me if I’m afraid. Sure, but that is not the big thing. The big thing is that the human family is broken in some places and I can be in solidarity with them… and be there because I am a Maryknoll Sister.”
Sister Rosemarie joins many of our Sisters who are on the frontiers, often putting themselves at risk to respond to the suffering and needs of our times. They sit with people and listen. No matter what country they serve in, they are always trying to understand what hurting people are going through. They hold sacred the pain people are feeling and pray to find peaceful solutions to some very complicated problems.
Your compassion and generosity enable and empower our Sisters to continue their critical ministries. I hope I can count on you today to send your gift to help sustain Sister Rosemarie and all of our Sisters who serve the poor, the oppressed and the suffering.
As a partner for peace, Sister Rosemarie lives for peace through her actions… and sometimes there are no words – only actions.
From the diary of Sr. Rosemarie…
From the diary of Sr. Rosemarie…I am counting down the days to my return to Iraq. The people there suffer from the conflict and unrest. My ministry this time will be to serve in the border camps to help protect Syrian refugees. Already this month, there are 4,000 displaced families with children who suffer the terrible conditions of tent camps.
I hope to help keep families together and bring them comfort and peace. It is such a privilege to do this work.
To hear more about my missions: www.maryknollsisters.org/stories/videos/mission-peace
“I met a woman in Iraq who lost two sons. We didn’t speak the same language so I held her. We both wept. We speak with a human language – one beyond Kurdish. We have the same language of the heart.”
Sister Rosemarie sets an example for us all to build peace in our world. She shows us how to speak with our hearts – to listen to each other, voice our concerns, our perspectives in a loving, peaceful way.
Sister Rosemarie’s message to you – one of our dear friends – is: “I am so grateful to you for your faithful support of my ministry. How many times I give thanks that I can be there and that I can walk with the people… that I can be with a lady whose two sisters were taken. I can tell her I have sisters and I can’t imagine what it must be like for her.”
Please pray for Sister Rosemarie – for her safety and for the safety of all our Sisters. They are serving in the most troubled spots in our world promoting and protecting peace as they make God’s love visible to all.
Your loving, compassionate and charitable heart empowers our Sisters to be peacemakers. Thank you! We will always keep you and your loved ones in prayer, asking for God’s protection.
Gratefully,
Sister Anastasia
P.S. Please join us every morning at 10:30 a.m. (eastern) in a “Power Prayer” for world peace. Please send your intentions, along with your gift. Our sisters will pray for you and your requests.