The full name of the order to which the sisters belong is "the Little Nursing Sisters of the Sick Poor, Congregation of Mary Before the Cross, Stabat Mater." To Sister Jeanne, Stabat Mater symbolizes the triumph of love over brutality. To Sister Illuminata, it means that love applied to suffering is "like a clean cloth to a seeping wound." Why do you suppose McDermott chose "Stabat Mater" for the title of the chapter about Sally coming home from Chicago and discovering the truth about Annie and Mr. Costello?