w e N ^ Extending the Mission Spring 2017 of Mount Saint Joseph Academy and College Volume 13, No. 1
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Sister alums reflect on their Academy years Sister Grace Simpson graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1956, and she can still remember how those high school years prepared her to become an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph. “Besides learning academics, the values of kindness, giving, resilience and determination were also a part of my four years there,” Sister Grace said. “There were some subjects that stand out, but music and literature were important for me.” Playing bass in the Mount orchestra and working on the Mount newspaper were some special memories for Sister Grace. “Hold high your candles, you did not light its glow. Twas given you by other hands you know,” she recalled as part of a ceremony the Mount girls participated in. “Today I think of the lyrics, ‘I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me, I am stronger for their courage, I am stronger for their words’ by Joyce Rouse. These are connected in meaning. Music and literature are still an important part of my life today.” Sister Grace is celebrating 60 years as an Ursuline Sister this year. She is one of eight sisters who are Academy graduates celebrating jubilees this year. Those sisters were asked what about those Academy years helped prepare them for a life as Ursuline Sisters, and what are some lessons they learned in the Academy that they still rely on today. Here are their replies and portraits from earlier days. Sister Marie Julie Fecher A40, celebrating 75 years as a sister: “Deeply etched in my memory are the years 193640, when I was an Academy student
here at Mount Saint Joseph. Much later in life did I recall the blessing of living these years so closely at heart and at home with Jesus in the Eucharist, and to foster a deep relationship with the saints through devotional practices. “In the Academy we had good teachers who insisted on scholarship, and on meeting state requirements. We were taught the value of stick-to-it-iveness in performing tasks … raising these essentials almost to the level of virtues. Heartfelt gratitude is the sentiment that I assume had some bearing in my choice to become an Ursuline Sister in service to God and people.” Sister Rosemary Keough A56, celebrating 60 years as a sister: “I recall the sense of peace surrounded by the beauty of the front yard by the library while in a group of MSJ girls — maybe as a freshman; dreaming of a future of helping children and teaching catechism while looking out my senior private room window. I remember Sister Joseph Therese Thompson coming to my room to ask if I wanted to accept a scholarship to Brescia College or to get an Sister appointment with the Joseph Therese Mother Superior to enter the convent. (She knew me so well as the great procrastinator, I might never get around to doing it on my own.) I rely on the great blessing of belonging to a marvelous group of women dedicated to God and His/ Her people; there is a missionary heart and identification with the poor that lies within this group.” Sister Lois Lindle A56, celebrating 60 years as a sister:
“The relationship with the sisters is what I remember most. They were so human. It was like they understood teenagers.” Sister Lois had Ursuline Sisters in grade school growing up in Louisville. Sister Blanche Rita Bickett ran the cafeteria at her school, then moved to the Mount to operate the laundry. “Sister Blanche Rita was very good to us, almost like a mother. She got me the scholarship to Sister Mount Saint Joseph Blanche Rita Academy. She was my second mother here. I knew not to misbehave, or my mother would know it before I even got in trouble. But at the Academy, they knew to let water run off the duck’s back. But if we needed to be corrected, we were corrected.” The lesson she carries from the Academy is to accept everyone as they are. “You can see humor in anything. If you look deep enough, you can find something to laugh about. After a while, they let us know ‘you’re OK.’” Sister Mimi Ballard A66, celebrating 50 years as a sister: “The friends I made, my classmates who entered with me, they were a major support system for me even before I entered, and that’s still true after 50 years. We went to retreats that were offered for girls who had expressed interest in entering the community. I was already moving toward religious life in grade school . . . thanks to Sister Mary Edgar (Warren), who taught me Sister five of my eight years at Mary Edgar St. Michael School in Fairfield, Ky. Sister Mary Edgar encouraged me Continued on page 4
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