(Note: Bishop Maginn High School Prom Donations – they will be tax-deductible – Begin Thursday Morning. Donations For The Prom Will Go Directly To The School. Details Thursday. We are looking for $5,000, there will also be an Amazon Wish List coming.)

We brought Maria’s beautiful new fabric painting  Mother Mary to the place it belongs – Sue Silverstein, who was overwhelmed by it and said it would follow her for the rest of her life.

In June, Bishop Maginn High School, where Sue teaches, is being closed down by the Albany Diocese. We visited with some students today. They are crushed but optimistic, as they usually are.

Kathye, a generous blog reader from Vermont, bought Mother Mary a/k/a The Blessed Mother, and asked that it be given to Sue, who inspired it with her wonderful work with the refugee students at the school. This was an extraordinarily generous thing to do.

Sue and the refugee program are moving to another high school outside Albany, a big,  thriving new high school called Catholic High in Latham, New York.

Zinnia and I have been invited to come along. We will.

It was heartwarming to see how much Sue loved and appreciated this work, which Maria said was inspired by teaching sewing in her classroom.

(The kids call the statute “High-Five Jesus” because the students high-five him on the way out the door. I love this photo.)

Sue is perhaps my best friend in the world, and I can hardly capture the range and depth of the work she has done with these sometimes battered children. High-Five Jesus is blessing her.

Sue is an inspiration to both of us. And since she inspired this work, it is so fitting that it ends up with her.

When Jesus went to the mount and called on his followers to help the needy and the vulnerable, Sue is what he had in mind. She is the closest thing to an angel there is on the earth.

I thought that Maria’s Mother Mary was holding paintbrushes and pencils, a sweet touch. Maria worked on this for months. She saw her in part as a creative who blesses the artists.

Sue has had a challenging year. If you wish to congratulate her on the painting, her wonderful work, and wish her well at the new school, feel free to do so: [email protected]. I think she would appreciate some good words.

I was happy for Sue and Maria; this story is about the compelling connection among women: Sue, Maria, Kathye. This circle is lovely. The story is profound.

I met with Sue and Principal Mike Tolan today to talk about my idea to help give these students a wonderful prom in June, the last one ever at Bishop Maginn.

We agreed that the whole school should attend this final prom, and I offered to raise the money so the school could rent an inexpensive country club dancing room and hire a famous Albany DJ. We’re looking for $5,000 to do those things and also plan to create an Amazon Wish List for favors and decorations for the prom.

Tomorrow, Pope Francis has called for a day of fasting and praying for the people of Ukraine. We were asked to hold off on the fund-raising start until Thursday.

The money will go directly to the school in a special prom fund. Contributions are tax-deductible. I will offer the details on how to do this on Thursday. If anyone is uncomfortable with that, they can send the money to me, I’ll forward it to the school.

These children have been through a lifetime of trouble and suffering, and many of the teachers and students are stricken at the thought of Bishop Maginn closing for good.

This will be the last time the students can celebrate this magical place together.

I’d love it if we could give them the prom they want and deserve and do it right. Thanks for your interest. I’ll post the details Thursday morning.

Bishop Maginn was quiet and sad today; I’d never seen it like that before. Zinnia and I will be coming once or twice a week to cheer everybody up; faces lit up all over the school when people saw her. She was, after all, last year’s Prom Queen.

Let’s do this for this kind and this magical school of love and kindness.