A sacred past, a new beginning by Anna Marie Sopko Administrator of CUSA from 1976 to 2007
As we look forward to new life—new leadership—in CUSA, I think back to our early days. I joined CUSA in 1954, when it was about seven years old. Mrs. Laure Brunner, our foundress, and her husband, Robert, were living in New York City at the time. Shortly after joining CUSA, I was looking for something to do during the day, and so I volunteered to do home typing with CUSA. After a few months, my volunteer work turned into a job. It was really a blessing for me. Not only did I get to know several of our members, but I also got a deeper insight into the spirituality of CUSA and of our founder, as well as the spirituality of our early members. Mrs. Brunner was eager that CUSA become more than a “pen pal” club. In fact, many of the very early CUSANs called Mrs. Brunner our “mother abbess”—one who helped us remember the spiritual purpose of CUSA. The Brunners did not have any children, but Mrs. Brunner referred to CUSANs as family. We were all her children whom she nourished with her prayers. She very often focused on our role as CUSANs as part of the Mystical Body of Christ—that our lives, with our limitations, are needed for the growth of the Church in the same way as Christ’s sufferings were needed for our spiritual growth. CUSA was also meant to be a spiritual lifeline for the physically disabled and chronically ill. We help each other in offering our frustrations and sufferings to God for the intentions of our CUSA group, as well as the intentions of
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The CUSAN
