As she concludes her term working with MOGC as NGO Representative to the UN (2018-2021), Sr. Marvie Misolas, MM reflects on the meaning of the Maryknoll Sisters’ presence at the UN. The following article was published in the March-April 2022 issue of NewsNotes.
The goals at the heart of our work at the United Nations bear a striking similarity to our fundamental mission as Maryknoll Sisters. For over a century, the Maryknoll Sisters have worked to advance humanity’s progress toward the universal common good through our mission around the world. The United Nations’ purpose of furthering the common good parallels this hope and mission.
The work at the UN involves slow, organic processes, and at times the results do not perfectly reflect what we would hope for. Despite this, with others at the UN, we continue the process of expanding our hearts and minds to pursue the good of others.
Indeed, these slow processes of dialogue with partners at the UN allow for new bonds of human relationships and pathways for cooperation. The ever-expanding circles of connection formed through these relationships, and the knowledge gained about other cultures, ways of life, and issues of social justice, allow the expansion of understanding of one’s place in the world, in local and national communities, and in the universe itself.
Through UN gatherings, we listen to the stories of distress and suffering of people around the world and join in creating policies and actions to address suffering at the UN level. This work, however slow, will continue to influence the future of humanity and Earth.
I see the Maryknoll Sisters’ work of advocacy at the UN as part of our One Earth Community vision – a vision of the interconnectedness of all creation and our call to be co-creators with the Divine. It is a networking, a unifying, a gathering of stories of suffering and hope. Maryknoll mission programs and projects contribute to the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which points to the need for integral human flourishing for all. Our work around the world unites us with so many others who want to foster change! The United Nations is an excellent source of knowledge and place of dialogue that continues to inform our present and future decisions in mission