Ursulines
Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph Proclaiming Jesus through Education and Christian Formation
Spring 2021 Issue No. 54
ursulinesmsj.org
Ursuline Sisters Minister in Missouri for 100 years
Ties to Nelson County, Ky. Earth Conference Sister Dianna Ortiz mourned
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From Our Congregational Leader Dear Friends, As I write this, we are remembering that one year ago everything changed for everyone in the world. The coronavirus was declared a pandemic. We have spent the last year trying to stay safe while carrying on our work. It has not been easy, but we have come through this together as our governor, Andy Beshear, said each time he spoke to the people of the state. We pray for those who have died and for their families. Many have suffered with the loss of loved ones. We hope that you continue to take precautions as we try to get back to normal. This issue of Ursulines Alive shares some of the history of my hometown in Missouri. The small town of Glennonville was a Catholic community in the middle of the bootheel of the state. The Catholic families that came from St. Charles and nearby areas drained the swamp and helped the land become rich soil for growing many crops. I grew up in a cotton field where we planted, chopped out the grass and picked the cotton by hand. We were poor but didn’t know it. We were blessed to have families and friends who were just like us. Everything we did centered around our church and school of St. Teresa. Everyone we knew was a member of the church. We had the Ursuline Sisters for our teachers, and they helped us become who God wanted us to be. If you visit the parish today, there is a statue of the Pieta in the area where we played softball when we were in school. It recognizes Inscription on all the Ursuline Sisters who taught there or those statue at St. Teresa in Glennonville, Mo. who entered the Ursuline Community. God truly blessed that little piece of Missouri when the Ursulines came to fulfill their mission of education and Christian formation. God bless all of you.
Sister Amelia Stenger, OSU, Congregational Leader
COVER: TOP LEFT: Ursuline Sister Michele Morek, then congregational leader, stands by a Pieta statue in St. Teresa Cemetery at its 2008 dedication in honor of the Ursuline Sisters who taught in Glennonville, Mo. Today, Sister Michele ministers in Missouri with Global Sisters Report. RIGHT: The dedication of the convent and school building at Good Shepherd Church in Hillsboro, Mo., is led by Bishop John Cody in October 1948. The Ursuline Sisters taught at Good Shepherd School from 1947-61. LEFT: To celebrate 60 years at St. Teresa School in Glennonville, Mo., Ursuline Sisters who attended or taught there gather in 1990. From left are Sisters Gail Sims, Mary Catherine Kuper, Mary Victor Rogers, Carolita Young, Joan Riedley, Theresa Ann Legeay, Frances Miriam Spalding, Mary Timothy Bland, Sandra Compas, Mary Celine Weidenbenner, Rita Scott, Carol Shively, Cecilia Mary McBride (now Millie Kapp), Amelia Stenger and Renee Monaghan. Ursulines Alive is published by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Maple Mount, Ky. Three issues are published each calendar year.
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EDITORS: Director of Mission Advancement/Communications..... Dan Heckel, OSUA Communications Specialist/Graphic Design................... Jennifer Kaminski, OSUA MISSION ADVANCEMENT STAFF: Director of Development................................................ Carol Braden-Clarke Coordinator of Ursuline Partnerships............................ Doreen Abbott, OSUA Mission Advancement Assistant.................................... Sister Mary McDermott Contributing Writer......................................................... Sister Ruth Gehres Contributing Writer......................................................... Sister Marietta Wethington
INDEX 100 Years in Missouri.............................. 3-6 Soli Deo Gloria.............................................6 Powerhouse of Prayer.................................7 Sister Spotlight............................................7 Conference and Retreat Center............. 8-9 Ties to Nelson County, Ky.................... 10-11 Obituaries............................................ 12-13 Sister Dianna Ortiz Mourned....................13 Development Director News....................14 Donor Spotlight/Kindness.........................15 2021 Jubilarians.........................................16 World Day of Prayer for Vocations..........16
OUR MISSION We, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, sustained by prayer and vowed life in community, proclaim Jesus through education and Christian formation in the spirit of our founder, Saint Angela Merici.
OUR CORE VALUES • Prayer • Service • Empowerment • Justice • Contemplative Presence ... In the spirit of Saint Angela Merici
CONTACT US Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph 8001 Cummings Road Maple Mount, Kentucky 42356 270-229-4103 Fax: 270-229-4953 info.msj@maplemount.org www.ursulinesmsj.org
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Ursulines serving in their 100th year in Missouri By Dan Heckel, Mount Saint Joseph Staff
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hen Sister Michele Morek entered the Kansas City, Mo., offices of National Catholic Reporter in 2017, she likely wasn’t thinking that her newest ministry was the continuation of an Ursuline legacy in the “Show-Me” state. Sister Michele is the North American Sister Liaison for the Global Sisters Report, which serves under the umbrella of NCR to report on women religious across the continents. “I am always running into people who ask what kind of sister I am, and ‘Ursuline’ almost always elicits an ‘Oh Yes!’ of recognition or connection,” Sister Michele said. “They obviously had a big impact on the area.” Ursuline Sisters of Paola, Kan., made the biggest impression in metro Kansas City for decades. When the Paola Ursulines merged with Mount Saint Joseph in 2008, they joined a long history of their Kentucky Sisters serving in Missouri, although mostly in the eastern and southern parts of the state. Sister Michele’s housemate – Sister Angela Fitzpatrick – has served as a caregiver in both Kansas and Missouri since 2010. This is the 100th year that the Ursuline Sisters have served in Missouri – beginning with a hearty band of three Sisters who in 1921 began teaching at Sacred Heart School in a tiny bootheel town called Wilhelmina. Within a decade, Ursuline Sisters began serving in two other Missouri cities – Glennonville and Affton – where they became legendary and attracted numerous young women to become Sisters. Eight current Sisters hail from Missouri, and they said without the influence of the Sisters who served in their town, they likely would not be Ursulines
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Sister Michele Morek, center, liaison to North America, gathers with two staff members of the Global Sisters Report in December 2019. At left is Pam Hackenmiller, managing editor, along with staff reporter Soli Salgado. (Harrison Ford and the Most Interesting Man in the World are only volunteers.)
today. Ursuline Associate Janet Kuper is a teacher at St. Teresa School in Glennonville and said the Sisters’ influence is still palpable 22 years after the last Sister departed. “The Ursuline Sisters have left a spirit of hospitality that is seen in every aspect of community life here at St. Teresa School and Parish,” Kuper said. “A hardworking, give-it-your-all spirit that tries to say, ‘Yes, I will help.’ A spirit grounded in The first three Ursuline Sisters to serve in community worship and prayer Missouri stand in front of the convent in Wilhelmina, Mo., in 1923. From left are with a wholehearted love for Sister Florine Wiseman, Sister Mary Charles music. Many of our musicians Gough and Sister Thomasine Mattingly. can name Sisters who helped them along the way.” pastor of Sacred Heart Church in The Ursuline Sisters imparted Wilhelmina, asked Mother Superior a love for education in the Aloysius Willett for teachers. Like community of cotton farmers, many parish schools at the time, Kuper said. Sacred Heart was a public school. “I see this Ursuline spirit Mother Aloysius agreed, but growing daily in the lives of our she died later that year. Her schoolchildren and our community. replacement, Mother Agnes Years ago, the Ursuline Sisters O’Flynn, kept her promise in planted seeds and cared for them 1921, sending Sisters Mary Charles lovingly with prayer, sacrifice and Gough, Thomasina Mattingly and many hours of hard work. The Florine Wiseman to Wilhelmina. seeds are growing now and are Mother Agnes had led the Ursuline producing good fruit.” Sisters to their first mission in New Mexico in 1919, so had no A Toehold in the Bootheel fear of this mission – despite not In 1920, Father Vincent being certain how to get there, Tesselaar, a Servite priest and as evidenced by this letter to the priest. Janet Kuper at “I have located Dunklin County St. Teresa School on the map and Wilhelmina in the in 2008 Directory; please inform me how you made the trip to Owensboro; we are not familiar with travel in your direction and Wilhelmina strikes us as being an out of the way place,” Mother Agnes said. “However, we have scaled the Continued on page 4
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Sister Mary Clement Greenwell is with her students in grades 1, 2 and 3 at St. Teresa School in 1935.
Missouri
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Rockies and are not afraid of difficulties in this line.” Just 10 miles away from Wilhelmina is Glennonville, and in 1930, the Ursuline Sisters began teaching at St. Teresa, also a public school. Operating two schools in close proximity allowed the Sisters to live together. One peculiar element of the Glennonville school was the “cotton vacation” – school was dismissed for six weeks in the fall so the children could help pick cotton, the town’s major cash crop. The two schools operated until 1953, when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that religious sisters could not wear the habit and teach in public schools. The Wilhelmina school closed, but the people of St. Teresa Parish decided to pay for a parochial school. It was too expensive to keep the high school open, so following its closure, five girls who wanted to continue a Catholic education came to Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Maple Mount. One of those girls is today Sister Cecelia Joseph Olinger, now in her 62nd year as an Ursuline. “I doubt that I would have become an Ursuline if I hadn’t attended the Academy, much less been taught by Ursulines in Glennonville,” she said. “It was the atmosphere here at the Mount that allowed me to hear and feel God’s call.”
parish community,” she said. Among Sister Michael Marie’s Ursuline influences were Sister Cecilia Mary McBride, who taught her in the seventh and eighth grades Sister and was instrumental in helping her Mary Celine come to the Academy. (She later left Weidenbenner the community and is now Millie remembers the Kapp). Current Sisters Amanda Sisters as she played Rose Mahoney and Naomi Aull outside St. Teresa both taught her at St. Teresa. Church as a child. “In those ‘pioneer’ days, the farm “There was a families kept the Sisters in meat, sidewalk and steps vegetables and eggs, and drove leading to the them where they needed to go. Sisters’ house. We would form a They loved doing it,” Sister Michael procession to greet them,” she said. Marie said. “They also drove them “They were like the heart of the back and forth to Mount Saint church.” Joseph – which was a five-hour As a senior at the Academy, she drive from the bootheel. The considered joining a cloistered community loved the Ursulines. community, but while walking the Their legacy lives on today. They grounds at the Mount she stopped were such an important part of at a stump that had a quote from everyone’s life and joined in all the the book of Daniel – “Those that parish activities as they could.” instruct others into justice shall Sister Amelia Stenger met the shine as stars for all eternity.” When Sisters in the first grade and has Sister Angeline Mattingly told her her own special memory of Sister that was the Ursuline motto, she Cecilia Mary. had a new focus. “When I was in the fourth grade, “I thought the Ursulines were Sister Cecilia Mary asked if I would centered on God. There was a like to sing in the children’s choir. presence to God, and I wanted to Normally you didn’t get to join be part of that.” the choir until the sixth grade,” Sister Michael Marie Friedman Sister Amelia said. “That is where was taught by Ursuline Sisters in I learned to read music. We sang all 12 years at St. Teresa and the much of the music in Latin so by Academy. the time I came to the Academy, I “I enjoyed all of them. was able to sing all kinds of music.” The Sisters were so loved in Having the Ursulines in Glennonville and such an Glennonville made it possible for important, respected part of that the children to have a Catholic education, Sister Amelia said. The next nearest Catholic school was 25 miles away in Poplar Bluff. A total of 85 Ursulines taught at St. Teresa until the last one departed in 1999. “The people of Glennonville were lucky to have our Sisters come to that faraway town. It was a Catholic settlement with Sister Mary Eileen Howard gathers with her students in grades 4, 5 and 6 at St. Teresa School very few Catholics in other in Glennonville, 1971-72. towns nearby,” Sister Amelia
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said. “Children from the school have always done well wherever they went to high school. The school is small, but it is still serving the people of the area. When I go there, people always talk about their teachers. Most of them have died but they are remembered well.” Sister Rebecca White went to public high school in Glennonville and was considering joining a Franciscan order, when her catechist, the late Ursuline Sister Elaine Byrne, asked if she were going to consider the Ursulines. “I spent a few weeks the following summer working with the Ursulines, and I knew I had found my home,” Sister Rebecca said.
Gough. She taught the five upper grades and Sister Louis Hilary Mattingly taught the three lower grades. The third Sister was on her first mission and served as music teacher, organist and director of the first choir. She would go on to Sister Joyce Marie Cecil (then Sister Lisa Marie) plays become a legendary music guitar with her fourth- and fifth-grade students at Sacred Heart School in Poplar Bluff, Mo., during the teacher for the Ursulines 1985-86 school year. The Ursuline Sisters taught in – Sister Francesca Hazel. Poplar Bluff from 1975-89. The history of the parish “Sometimes, we went to the park notes that the early Sisters were nearby and fed the ducks,” Sister more than just teachers. Mary said. “They also did all the cleaning Sister Mary had a dream to open of the church and school, ran an orphanage and a restaurant after the cafeteria, washed the altar graduating from high school. Sister linens, made minor repairs and Ursulines in a Big City Rose Marita (now deceased) invited on occasion even wielded a paint In 1928, Father Tesselaar her to Maple Mount to spend brush.” was asked by his community, a week, and when Sister Mary While the school started small, the Servants of Mary, to leave arrived, she realized the Academy it grew into one of the largest the Wilhelmina and open a parish and was identical to the blueprint she’d Ursuline Sisters operated. By the school in the St. Louis suburb of drawn of her orphanage. 1950s, up to 18 Ursuline Sisters Affton. They named it after the “I knew this was where I was served at Seven Holy Founders. seven noblemen who began the meant to be,” she said. When the last Sister left in 1989, Servite community – Seven Holy The Ursulines taught about 105 Ursuline Sisters had served at Founders. Father Tesselaar knew 60 miles south of St. Louis in the school. just who to ask for teachers. Hillsboro at Good Shepherd School Two of their students were He even got the same Sister (1947-61) and added a second current Ursuline Sisters Katherine as principal who he had in school in the St. Louis suburbs Stein and Mary McDermott. Sister Wilhelmina – Sister Mary Charles in 1965 when St. Angela Merici Mary met the Ursulines opened in Florissant. In 1977, in the first grade in (former) Ursuline Sisters Martha 1962. Nell Blandford and Kathy Gallo “I remember my began serving at St. Mary’s School first principal was Sister in St. Louis for special needs George Marie Wathen. students. There they befriended a I loved her,” Sister woman doing her college practicum Mary said. “She helped – Michele Ann Intravia. teach me to read with “I grew very close to them Highlights magazines.” because the three of us did When she was playground duty each day in the seventh together,” said Sister Michele Ann, grade, Sister Supporters, priests who celebrated her 40th jubilee and women religious Mary went to the as an Ursuline last year. “We were gather for the Ursuline convent dedication of Seven each on a different playground on Saturdays to Holy Founders School with about 30 to 40 students but help Sister Rose in Affton, Mo., on Oct. somehow we could all meet at Marita O’Bryan 21, 1928. The Ursuline the fence and talk while watching Sisters operated the – then a religion school until 1989. the children.” Former Sister Amy teacher at the RIGHT: Four of the Williams (now Amy Payne) also school – clean Ursuline Sisters serving at Seven Holy Founders take part joined the group and continues to her area of the in a celebration in 1955. From left are Sisters Natalie Ring, be a friend today. Annunciata Durr, Victoria Brohm and Ancilla Marie Warren. convent. Continued on page 6
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Sister Michele Ann was a candidate for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the community that taught her at St. Aloysius School in St. Louis. But once she met the Ursuline Sisters, her focus changed. “God just had different plans for me. I am so grateful He did,” Sister Michele Ann said. She had a unique opportunity in 1992 to return to Missouri to serve at her former school, St. Aloysius. She was a teacher for four years and principal for six more, until the school closed. “It was a huge dream of mine to teach at the school I attended,” she said. “I became a member of many of the families that I still stay in touch with today.” Sister Cecelia Joseph also had the opportunity to return to Missouri to minister – three different times. From 1978-84, she taught at Sacred Heart School in Poplar Bluff. It allowed her to spend time with her mother and be close enough to her siblings to watch her nieces and nephews grow up. In the 1990s, she taught at St. Aloysius with Sister Michele. Her final service in Missouri was in parish ministry, a mission Ursulines began in 1979. Sister Marie Michael Hayden and then Sister Renee Monaghan (both deceased) served at St. Francis DeSales Parish in Lebanon from 1987-2005. Sister Mary David
Soli Deo Gloria
Sister Mary McDermott, left, who is from Missouri, visits with Sister Mary Sheila Higdon, who ministered in Missouri, in 2012.
Thomas served at St. George Parish in Van Buren from 197982, and years later Sister Mary Sheila Higdon – who had taught at Seven Holy Founders for 11 years – returned to Missouri as a parish minister at Dexter, and then from 1999-2011 in Van Buren. (Both Sisters are deceased.) Sister Cecelia Joseph replaced her in that ministry. “When the diocese wanted to put a church in Van Buren, the town was so anti-Catholic, people wouldn’t even sell them the land,” Sister Cecelia Joseph said. “A parishioner bought it and donated it. I’m sure Sisters Mary David and Mary Sheila helped end that divide, along with the School Sisters of Notre Dame who served there in between. During my time, ministers worked together to serve the town, especially in helping people financially.” Other Missouri ministries included individual Sisters at schools in Scott City, St. Louis and Pierce City. From 1992-2000, Sister Pam Mueller served at St. Louis University, first as director
Ursulines Today
Sister Michele Morek keeps the Ursuline presence alive in Missouri today, although during the Covid pandemic she’s had to work remotely from her home in Kansas. She came to Missouri after five years as coalition coordinator for UNANIMA International in New York City. “I have always enjoyed getting to know a new place, and soon after I got here, I checked out some books on the geology and history of Kansas City,” she said. “I love that you can drive quickly to the Tall Grass Prairie, and that you can be driving down a street and see a street sign that says, ‘The Santa Fe Trail Crossed Here.’” While serving in elected office, Sister Michele visited Glennonville and Van Buren and loved both. “I love rural people and have found there is more distinction between rural/city than there is between city to city,” she said. “But people are people – most of the people here are from or connected with rural areas.” The other connection they have is that at some time, they’ve likely been influenced by the Ursuline Sisters.u
We rejoice in the gifts of our sisters, given for the kingdom of God.
Five Ursuline Sisters began 2021 with new ministries. Sister Alicia Coomes, who has served as director of Local Community Life at the Motherhouse since 2018, is now the director of Nursing in Saint Joseph Villa at the Mount. She replaces lay staff in that role. Sister Alicia previously served 14 years in nursing at the Mount, then served in parish and vocation ministry. Sister Suzanne Sims replaces Sister Alicia as director of Local Community Life. She most recently served as director of Faith 6
of the Speech and Hearing Clinic, and then as director of a program offering college courses to high school students.
Formation at St. Pius Tenth Church in Owensboro, Ky., since December 2016. In her new role she is responsible for the needs of the Sisters living at the Motherhouse. Sister Michele Ann Intravia is the agency director for the Catholic Charities office in Tell City, Ind. The Tell City branch is one of five Catholic Charities offices throughout the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Sister Michele most recently served at the Sister Visitor Center in Louisville. Continued on page 15
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Powerhouse of Prayer
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– By Dan Heckel, Mount Saint Joseph Staff
Sister Marcella finds prayer more important in pandemic
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rayer has been a part of Sister Marcella Schrant’s daily life for the 76 years she’s been an Ursuline Sister. But unlike some Sisters, her prayer life didn’t start at home. “We went to Mass, but we never prayed at home growing up,” she said. “I was never with any group that prayed together, so group prayer has always been hard for me.” Following seven years of Catholic school in her native Walker, Kan., she attended public school until graduating and entering the Ursuline Sisters of Paola in 1945. That was her first experience with group prayer. In 2008 the Ursulines of Paola joined with the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph, and Sister Marcella moved to Maple Mount in 2014. Now she enjoys praying together with the rest of her Ursuline Sisters. “Prayer is one of the main things in my life,” she said. “I usually join in prayer together with the Sisters, I think it’s good for us to be together to pray.” She is a member of the Powerhouse of Prayer, the Sisters whose ministry it is to pray for others. Her routine is Morning Prayer at 6:55 a.m., followed by Mass, except on Wednesday, when Mass is at 11:15.
She takes part in Evening Prayer at 4:45 p.m., and also prays in her room at Saint Joseph Villa, or in the small chapel nearby. “During the pandemic, I think I’ve prayed more, it’s very needed,” she said. The isolation as a result of the social distancing to protect the Sisters has been difficult for the outgoing Sister Marcella. “Prayer has been even more important than usual,” she said. “I pray the rosary three times a day. At 11:25 a.m. we pray the rosary in the Villa Chapel. At 2:30 p.m., EWTN has a rosary and then sometimes at 8:30 p.m. I end my day with the rosary.” The Mass is very special to her and she realizes the Sisters have been fortunate that they have been able to have daily Mass throughout the pandemic. As an elementary teacher in Kansas, she was responsible for teaching religion to her students, which included the traditional Catholic prayers. “I’d teach the Hail Mary, the Our Father and the Act of Contrition before they left for the day. In October we worked on the rosary,” she said. While some may think those rote prayers are out of style, the repetition of those prayers is peaceful, she said. For those who say they don’t have time to pray, Sister Marcella has a simple message. “You have to make time to pray,” she said. “If you really want to pray, you’ll find a time to do it.” Friends can write to Sister Marcella at 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.
Sister Spotlight: Sister Nancy Murphy
Meet Sister Nancy – Fan of Lourdes, Christmas, and Being Organized Z Favorite Spot at the Mount: Sitting in the swing facing the valley and overlooking the St.
Alphonsus cemetery. “It is where many of my family members rest in peace. I enjoy the quiet, the wide-open space and the surrounding beauty of nature.” Z Favorite Food: A piece of homemade German chocolate cake with real coconut pecan filling and topping.“There’s no cake more delicious and I remember that cake made my 70th birthday extra special.” Z Best Gift she has Received: 12-day pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes. “I experienced the cultures and beauty of Portugal, France and Spain. Most moving was my participation in the evening candlelight rosary processions and praying with thousands of pilgrims from around the world. Great to see and experience the reverence of the apparition sites. The highlight was immersing myself in the Lourdes healing bath waters.” Z Favorite Holiday: Christmas. “I enjoy the liturgies, holiday décor and variety of homemade goodies, celebrating Christmas festivities and the holiday spirit with the Sisters and my family. I really enjoy the work holidays!” Z Best Advice she was Given: “When working in the Financial Aid Office at Brescia College years ago, my supervisor, Sister Rosalin Thieneman, always advised me to date everything, i.e., when a payment was made as well as a phone call with a borrower. I have put that piece of advice (now a habit) into practice to this day, especially in my workplace.” 7
Schedule your summer or fall event at the Retreat Center A Ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph
270-229-0206
“Honoring Earth” reintroduces eco-spirituality Ursuline Sister Elaine Burke walks the grounds at Maple Mount every day, and still finds something new in the creation around her. “I come back with a whole new outlook on all that God has created,” she said. “I Mount Saint Joseph Farm wouldn’t miss it for the world. It gives me great strength and great peace. Nothing can compare with creation being recreated every day. It just uplifts my spirit.” The holy ground at Maple Mount provides the perfect backdrop to consider the connection between God and nature, which is the focus of the June 19 conference and retreat “Honoring Earth: Celebrating the Sacred Outside and Within” at the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. “I was inspired to offer this conference after attending an eco-spiritual retreat and learning more about how science is enriching and adding to our story of faith in an evolving universe,” said Maryann Joyce, Center director. “I’m fascinated with this new story and I think it will enliven and enrich other’s faith and love for creation too. I think this conference will appeal to nature lovers, gardeners and people of faith who enjoy the beauty of the earth.” The morning keynote address is “Our New Sacred Story: Finding Our Place in an Unfolding Universe” by Kyle Kramer, executive director of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Louisville. The second half of the morning session offers practical Kyle Kramer workshops dealing with solar energy for the home, creating a backyard wildflower garden or health benefits of gardening. Following lunch, Emily DeMoor, a theology professor at Brescia University and an expert in eco-spirituality, will Dr. Emily spend the afternoon leading an interactive DeMoor retreat titled “Sacred Spaces and Moments of Grace.” DeMoor had the opportunity to study with Thomas Berry, the famed Passionist priest who spoke of the “Great Work” of enhancing the spirituality of the earth. “Eastern Christianity has done a better job of preserving God’s presence in the natural world,” 8
DeMoor said. “It’s not revolutionary, it’s grounded in our Christian tradition.” Thomas Berry said that Christians have a creation-centered orientation and a redemptivecentered orientation that arose simultaneously, DeMoor said. “Creation-centered was the prominent way until the Black Death (in the 14th century) in which Europe lost one-third of its population,” she said. “Life became so sad and tragic that people wanted to transcend out of the earthly tradition. They became more redemptive, more focused on the afterlife than the here and now. That went on for hundreds of years. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when we became more earth conscious, that it began to change.” DeMoor is concerned that the current pandemic may make people retract from this focus on creation, so this is a good time to appreciate that sacredness. “Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict both talked about being stewards of the earth,” DeMoor said. “It’s part of Catholic social teaching. I feel like what the Church teaches about the environment is one of our best kept secrets.” DeMoor led a retreat at the Center in October 2019 for a small group of Midwest Retreat Center directors on eco-spirituality. She finds the grounds at Maple Mount perfect for this sort of retreat. “I think Mount Saint Joseph is a very holy place,” she said. “When people have lived together and prayed together for decades, it becomes permeated with God’s spirit. The Ursuline Sisters have such a creationcentered spirituality.” Joyce said she appreciates how the Ursuline community is living out Pope Francis’ call to care for the earth – from operating a farm, to using geothermal heating to their commitment to recycling. “This conference and retreat should appeal to all people of faith who appreciate the beauty of the earth and want to open their heart to a deeper awareness of God’s presence,” Joyce said. “We’re finding God right where we are, in the sacred spaces around us.” As with all planned in-person retreats while the pandemic continues, the conference could be postponed if it is determined unsafe to open the Center. Continued on page 11
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If that is the case, it will be rescheduled, it will not be a virtual retreat. The cost for just the morning conference and workshops is $30. The conference and retreat, including lunch, is $55. Those interested can register online at ursulinesmsj.org/retreat-center, or call 270-229-0206, or email retreatcenter@maplemount.org.u
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Renewing Our Hearts: Hope and Healing with Julian of Norwich Saturday, May 22 • 9-4 at Retreat Center Join us as we compare similarities between our own lives and that of Julian (a saint in “lockdown”) and Jesus. Optional: Mass at 4 p.m. Retreat Leader: Sister Cheryl Clemons. $40 fee includes lunch.
Sign up: 270-229-0206 • retreatcenter@maplemount.org • ursulinesmsj.org
Discovering Angela and our Belonging to Love
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n a warm July morning in 2018, as I watched the sun come up from my back porch, my heart and mind were focused on Saint Angela. I had just “met” her through the Ursuline community, and I looked to her as I tried to discern whether to accept the invitation to come to the Mount to work with the leadership of the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. What fascinated me and drew me to her, and ultimately to accepting the invitation, was this “third way” she found to invite lay people into the rich depth of love and life that she found with God, or the one she called her “lover.” This call to poor lay women, to live a contemplative life in the midst of their ordinary daily life, was unique and even revolutionary for her time. Both young virgins and widows were invited into a lay community of prayer and action, just as they were, with no expectation of living in a cloister (although this changed later to conform to Vatican requirements during the Reformation). This is how her secretary, Nicholas Cozzano, documented her call. “An active life, but with the mind always raised heavenwards ... Thus (the virgins) live among human cares and troubles, but without losing that special peace of mind of those who constantly place their trust in the peaceful help and consolation of the Holy Spirit ... And so, living in the midst of the world and this active life, they enjoy the contemplative. And, in an admirable way, they synthesis together the two ways of life. The height of contemplation does not distract from daily tasks and these tasks do not distract from enjoying the things of heaven. And the heavenly light does not suppress the activities.” I believe her call is particularly relevant today to lay people of faith, who desire a life of deep prayer and connection to God in the midst of their daily work and family commitments. It’s an invitation to a life of tranquility and inner stillness in the midst of trials; a quiet mind and open heart that is willing to be transformed as trust and surrender deepens in silence. This is often called “living a life of action and contemplation,” and I set out to discover how the Ursuline Sisters live this out, and how together we can
Sister Cheryl Clemons, left, and Maryann Joyce meet in Sister Cheryl’s new office at the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center on March 9.
encourage and invite all Catholics to embrace the path of living from our deepest center in God. To accomplish this, I enlisted a few Sisters to help me begin an online community to learn about Angela’s call to contemplative prayer and action, and consider how to live this in our own lives. We began meeting monthly in January and call it “Belonging to Love: Conversations on Living Praying in the Spirit of Saint Angela.” I invite you to join us on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. CDT. We have had an enthusiastic response from Sisters, Associates and new friends to the evening of prayer and conversation. Sister Larraine Lauter has led sessions. Sister Cheryl Clemons, Sister Suzanne Sims and others plan to lead sessions. We have discussed what contemplation means to us, and how we make room for prayer in our lives. We talked about the innate capacity for inner stillness and silence that exists in our souls, and how it grows like creativity if we cultivate it. Some want to learn more about quiet prayer or Centering prayer, or experience Lectio Divina together. I hope this affirms and encourages more of us to become aware of the invitation to deep communion with God (and one another) within our life as it is, whether lay or religious. There is no charge for these gatherings, but we hope you will consider a donation. Please register at www. ursulinesmsj.org/retreat-center and I will send you the Zoom link to join the conversation. I hope to see you there! In Christ’s Peace,
Maryann Joyce, Retreat Center Director 9
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Maple Mount is a second home for Maple Mount
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Five eighth grade graduates of St. Michael School in Fairfield in 1957 gather with (from left), Father Robert Burkle, assistant pastor; Father Charles Foltz, pastor; Sister Dolorita Robinson and Sister Mary Edgar Warren. Sister George Mary Hagan and Father Paul Russell with the St. Catherine Elementary first Communion class in the 1970s
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herever Ursuline Sisters taught, their lives were a witness to religious life. It was common for young women taught by the Sisters to consider becoming Ursulines as well. The most common birthplaces for today’s Ursuline Sisters are Daviess County – which includes Maple Mount – and Jefferson County, the most populous county in Kentucky. But as a testament to the strong influence of the Sisters, the county that has provided the third most Sisters is Nelson County, Ky., population 46,000. Nine current Sisters are from the Nelson County towns of New Haven, Howardstown, Fairfield or New Hope. It’s an area of Kentucky south of Louisville that is known for both bourbon and Catholicism. “Actions speak louder than words, and we saw that in the Ursulines and their way of life,” said Sister George Mary Hagan, a proud New Haven native. “They ran a good school and they encouraged us in our studies.” Nelson County was the landing spot for many displaced Catholics who moved from Baltimore at the turn of the 19th century. The heart of the “Kentucky Holy Land,” its county seat is Bardstown, where in 1808 it became the first diocese west of the Alleghenies,
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and only the fifth diocese in America. (The diocese was moved to Louisville in 1841.) The first Nelson County mission for the Ursuline Sisters was in 1913 at St. Michael School in Fairfield. The parish dates to 1792, the same year Kentucky became a state. Sister Grace Simpson and Sister Mimi Ballard both come from Fairfield. “We are standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before us,” Sister Grace said. Many men and women religious came from St. Michael, the most famous being Catherine Spalding, founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. But the Ursulines who taught Sister Grace made the greatest impression. “I remember in the fourth grade thinking that I wanted to be like my Ursuline teacher,” she said. “The teachers who influenced me the most were Sister Mary Denis (Bumpus) and Sister Theresa Marie (Wilkerson).” In 1919, the Ursulines began teaching at St. Catherine School in New Haven and St. Ann School in Howardstown. The high school at St. Catherine began in 1923. New Haven is just a short distance from the Abbey of Gethsemani, which opened in 1848 as the home of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, better known as the Trappists. Despite being a small town, 39 women from New Haven joined the Ursuline Sisters, and while some later left, In the mid-1930s, 30 committed their life to students of St. God as Ursulines. Ann School in “Mother and Daddy Howardstown gather with (from got married in 1920. left) Ursuline The Ursuline Sisters had Sisters Charles Ann a great influence on us,” DiNardi, Angela Marie Krampe and Sister George Mary said. Johanna Lechner. “All of us had 10-12
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Sisters from Nelson County, Ky. members of the family. It was farm country, you needed big families to work the farms. The church was Nelson County the meeting place for the people.” The large families intermarried, and the Craycrofts and Boones sent daughters to the Mount. “The Ursulines knew all of us, they cultivated those vocations,” Sister George Mary said. “The Catholic faith was very deep, and it was manifested a lot during World War II when we had the novena services to the Sorrowful Mother. Everybody prayed a lot then because so many of the boys were in the military. “Many of the girls entered the Ursulines because we were influenced by their prayerful life, and a lot of our friends were at the Mount,” Sister George Mary said. “We not only knew the people who entered, but we knew their whole genealogy.” Sister George Mary was taught for six years of grade school by Sister Mary Catherine Kuper. Other current members from New Haven include Sister This is the Barbara Jean Head and the current St. Greenwell sisters, Sisters Catherine Church, built Paul Marie and Margaret in 1929 in New Marie. Sister Barbara Jean Haven. The first said the Ursuline presence St. Catherine in New Haven made the was erected town fertile ground for in 1849, the second in 1884. religious vocations. “I was taught by energetic, dedicated Ursulines from the first grade through high school except in the fourth grade when I had a lay teacher,” Sister Barbara Jean said. “Daily Mass was strongly encouraged by my parents and the pastor. During a period of time, the pastor took the students on educational trips if they attended Mass for 30 days in a row. I attended daily Mass throughout my years of school regardless of that incentive from the priest. My parents were very strong, faith-filled people. We prayed the rosary every night even before we could go out on a date. Our neighborhood also gathered at times at each other’s home to pray the rosary together.” Her Ursuline teachers inspired her vocation, even though she didn’t realize it at the time. “When I reflect, it was probably these wonderful women who were so kind, dedicated, interested and
full of life that helped plant a seed in me which did not begin to sprout until the last part of my senior year of high school,” Sister Barbara Jean said. Sister Jean Mark Buckler and 1959 graduates Sister of St. Catherine High School in New Haven Joyce Marie Cecil discovered her vocation while being taught by Sisters of Charity at St. Vincent DePaul School in New Hope, she said. But it was when she attended high school at St. Catherine that she met the Ursulines and knew that was the community where she belonged. It was Sister Mary Leon Riney and Sister Lennora Carrico who impressed her the most. “I liked the way they carried themselves. They would pray the office while still looking after the students,” she said. “The people in Nelson County miss the Sisters being there.” Sister Eva Boone and Sister Marie Carol Cecil both joined the Ursulines after being taught at St. Ann School in Howardstown. “The Ursulines taught so many places in Nelson County. Our parents were very involved with the church, it was a very church-going area,” Sister Eva said. “The people in Nelson County are still very fond of the Ursulines. They reached out to so many people, especially the elderly and the youth.” Both Sisters cited the same teacher who influenced their vocation – Sister Charles Mary Lindauer. “She was very involved with us young people. She was very unselfish with her Sister Mary time,” Sister Eva said. Rose Lindauer “She was very prayerful and also very c. 1959-60 friendly,” Sister Marie Carol said. The Cecil family went to church faithfully, Sister Marie Carol said. “Anything religious, we were involved in. It was just a good ol’ country town.”u 11
In the joy of eternal life SISTER DIANE MARIE PAYNE, 75, died Nov. 19, 2020, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 56th year of religious life. She was a native of Glennonville, Mo. Sister Diane Marie loved to put a smile on the face of all those she met, and to share her life devoted to Christ. She graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1963. Sister Diane Marie was a teacher in several Kentucky schools, then became a pastoral minister at two small Kentucky parishes. She was a Hospice chaplain in Owensboro and served in numerous ministries at the Motherhouse, including in pastoral care, Guest House coordinator, chapel sacristan, coordinator of the Saint Angela Oratory and mail distributor. Survivors include the members of her religious community and a godson, Mark Weidenbenner. Her funeral was Nov. 23, with burial in the convent cemetery. SISTER ROSEMARY KEOUGH, 81, died Nov. 21, 2020, in her 63rd year as an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph. She was a native of Auburn, N.Y. Sister Rosemary had a missionary’s heart, and though she loved all of her ministries, it was the 18 years she spent empowering Hispanics through Centro Latino that was her favorite. She graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1956, and later returned as a beloved teacher and driving instructor (1969-76, 1980-82). She taught in two other Kentucky schools, then became one of the first Ursuline Sisters to serve in adult religious education, spending five years serving the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb. (1964-69). She was a consultant in language arts for the Archdiocese of Louisville Catholic Schools (1976-80). She served in Chile and as a coordinator of religious education in New Mexico. She worked with the Contemporary Woman Program and Student Support Services at Brescia College, Owensboro (1988-93) then came to the Motherhouse as director of activities and liturgy (1993-99.) Survivors include the members of her religious community and siblings Sara Scully and John Roger Keough, both of Shepherdsville, Ky., and Thomas Patrick Keough Jr., Westmont, Ill. The funeral was Dec. 1, 2020, with burial in the convent cemetery. SISTER TERESA RILEY, 84, died Nov. 24, 2020, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 65th year of religious life. She was a native of Mayfield, Ky. Sister Teresa was a gentle and affirming woman with a keen sense of the needs of others, especially those who were sick or alone. She was a teacher in Kentucky and Missouri for 24 years. She served at Brescia College/University in Owensboro as office manager for admissions (1978-80) and director of Student Support Services (1986-2000), and also served at Bellarmine College, Louisville. She was pastoral associate at St. Mary Parish, LaCenter, Ky., (2001-10), and served in outreach ministry in Benton, Ky., from 2011-18. Survivors include the members of her religious community; two sisters, Margie Brittain, of Stanford, Ky., and Ruth Dickens, of Tucson, Ariz.; two brothers Joseph Riley and James Riley, both of Mayfield; nieces and nephews. Her funeral was Dec. 4, with burial in the convent cemetery. SISTER MARY PATRICK MCDONAGH, 90, died Dec. 28, 2020, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 68th year of religious life. She was a native of Trienbawn, County Galway, Ireland. Sister Mary Patrick was the epitome of Ursuline hospitality, always speaking an encouraging word to whoever she met. She was an Ursuline Sister of Belleville, Ill., prior to that community’s merger with Mount Saint Joseph in 2005. She served as a teacher, a trained nurse and offered community service in Belleville, Mascoutah and Smithton, Ill., for 47 years. She moved to Maple Mount in 2007. Survivors include the members of her religious community and nieces and nephews. Her funeral was Jan. 3, with burial in the convent cemetery. SISTER ROSE MARIE CRAYCROFT, 97, died Jan. 13, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 79th year of religious life. She was a native of New Haven, Ky. Sister Rose Marie was a prayerful, positive person who had great artistic ability. Her former religious name was Sister Mary Clarence. She was a teacher and a librarian for 39 years in Kentucky, Missouri and Nebraska. She was secretary/bookkeeper at St. Christopher Parish in Radcliff, Ky. (1983-88), and served in family ministry in New Haven from 1988 until retiring in 2001. Survivors include the members of her religious community; siblings Father B. Leo Craycroft, Radcliff; Edward Craycroft, Louisville; and Mary Josephine Blandford, Louisville; nieces and nephews. Her funeral was Jan. 18, with burial in the convent cemetery. 12
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SISTER ALFREDA MALONE, 96, died Feb. 13, at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 71st year of religious life. She was a native of Raywick, Ky. Sister Alfreda was a prayerful woman with an unceasing energy to serve wherever she was needed. She was a teacher and principal in Kentucky from 1952-65. She was registrar at Brescia College, Owensboro (1965-68 and 1978-90). She was secretary to the Leadership Council at Maple Mount (1968-76) and ministered in health care at the Mount (1977-78). She spent a year as a religious education secretary in New Mexico. She was administrative assistant to J.C. Malone Associates in Louisville (1990-2004), then ministered to her family and others in the Hodgenville, Ky., area from 2004-09. From 2010-18, she was assistant to the archivist at the Motherhouse. Survivors include members of her religious community; sisters Wanda D’Angelo, of Boston, Ky., and Aretha Reckley, Tarzana, Calif.; brothers Joseph Clellan Malone and John R. Malone, both of Louisville; nieces and nephews. Her funeral was Feb. 24, with burial in the Memorials for an Ursuline Sister may take the form of donations to the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356. Thank you.
Sister Dianna Ortiz mourned across the country People around the United States organizations. and beyond shared in the loss of During a speech at Brescia University in Ursuline Sister Dianna Ortiz, who Owensboro, Ky., in 2006, Sister Dianna said, “When I died Feb. 19 after a brief battle with speak of torture, including my own, I am not speaking cancer. She was 62. of myself alone. Rather, I am speaking of and for every Sister Dianna turned her own person who has fallen prey to this crime – the dead as abduction into a ministry to help well as those still living. Yet the response to my words survivors of torture worldwide and is too often at the level of a personal problem and not became a voice for the voiceless. She a social issue.” died in Washington, D.C., where since 2020 she had She served as deputy director of Pax Christi USA served as deputy director of Pax Christi USA. The in Washington from 2010-2012. She served with the group is a Catholic peace and justice movement that Center of Concern on its Education for Justice Project rejects war, violence and systemic racism. in Washington from 2012-18. In 2020, she returned Sister Dianna taught at schools to Pax Christi. The organization in Hawesville and Owensboro, Ky., said this about her on its website before doing mission work with following her death. Mayan children in Guatemala. “As anyone who ever While there in November 1989 she encountered Dianna knows, she was abducted by government forces was an extraordinary person. and tortured for 24 hours before We have lost a member of our she escaped. No one was ever family, the heart at the center of charged for her assault. our life together as a staff who The memories of her life before lifted all of us with her unceasing her torture were lost. Following encouragement, support, kindness Sister Dianna Ortiz lights a candle at a years of prayer and counseling, she and gentleness. Our heartbreak Torture Abolition and Survivors Support became a grassroots organizer for Coalition vigil across from the White House and grief are only tempered by our in 2005. The candles represented countries the Guatemalan Human Rights gratitude and love for all Dianna that permitted or in some way condoned Commission in Washington (1994has been for us, and for the rest torture, including the U.S. 2000). In 1998, she founded the and peace that she now has. The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition entire Pax Christi USA community mourns with all (TASSC) International in Washington, to advocate for those who know and love Di, and we give thanks for the abolition of torture and to support its victims. Her the time that she was among us.” book, “The Blindfold’s Eyes: My Journey Sister Dianna lived with the Assisi Community in from Torture to Truth,” was published Washington, home to people of different backgrounds in 2002. She testified before Congress who pledge to live a simple lifestyle and work for concerning human rights and torture social justice. One member of that community, Marie and received numerous honors for her Dennis, said this about Sister Dianna on the Ursuline work from peace and victims advocate website.
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Sister Dianna From page 13 “Dianna brought courage, compassion and beauty into our lives every day. Her long struggle to survive the effects of torture taught us painful lessons about the horrific, long-term impact of violence, but also about resilience and hope. Her commitment to human rights and social justice Sister Dianna, front right, stands with encouraged countless survivors of other women in Guatemala in 1988,. torture and inspired her vast circle of friends and followers. God is mercy, she taught us in her last days.” Another member of the Assisi Community, Franciscan Father Joe Nangle, celebrated her funeral Mass in Maple Mount. He noted the qualities Sister Dianna brought to her ministries – interest in the individual, gentleness and Sister Dianna accepts persuasion over force. a Human Rights “Our greatest gift … will be a conversion Hero award from the Program for Torture in our own minds and hearts to a Gospel Victims in Los Angeles way of life, a nonviolent way of life. Not only in 2012. for ourselves, but for our communities, our ministries, our neighborhoods, our country and our world. Because these are the places where Dianna Ortiz will be forever remembered. As our Latino sisters and brothers proclaim when one of their beloved passes from this world, we also say today, Sister Dianna Ortiz, Order of Saint Ursula, presenté.” Her wake service on Feb. 28 and her funeral on March 1 were streamed live on Facebook, with more than 3,000 people watching each online. Both services remain on the Ursuline Facebook page, and her funeral video is part of her obituary on the Ursuline website. Sister Dianna was raised in Grants, N.M., where she attended public schools. From the age of 6 she was interested in becoming a sister, and when she and her parents began searching for a religious community, she was introduced to Sister Elizabeth Ann Ray, an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph who was principal of St. Teresa School in Grants. (Sister Elizabeth Ann, pictured at left with Sister Dianna in 2007, died in 2008). “The Ursulines appealed to me because of their simplicity, their commitment to education and to children,” Sister Dianna said in a 2006 article for the Ursuline website. She transferred to Mount Saint Joseph Academy for her senior year of high school and became a postulant with the Ursuline Sisters following graduation in 1977. She officially entered the community the following year, making this her 43rd year as a Sister. She graduated from Brescia College (now University) in 1983. Survivors include the members of her religious community; her mother Amby Ortiz of Grants; sisters Barbara Murrietta of Grants and Michelle Salazar of San Mateo, N.M.; brothers Ronald Ortiz, Pilar Ortiz Jr., John Ortiz and Joshua Ortiz, all of Grants; nieces and nephews. Sister Dianna was buried in the convent cemetery.n 14
Staying in touch ... We live in the age of technology, which has been a lifesaver during this pandemic. It is technology that has kept people employed – allowing people to work at home, children to attend school and people to remain connected. For all the good technology offers there is also the other side – robocalls, scams, hacking – that leave people rightly skeptical and cautious about answering phone calls or emails from an unfamiliar number or name. I admit that I haven’t answered calls or emails from numbers or people I don’t recognize. Much of my role as director of Development is making connections and getting to know our supporters. Prior to the pandemic, I had the opportunity to meet in person with our supporters and hear about their history with the Ursuline Sisters. The visits were very enjoyable and fascinating – learning each person’s history with the Ursuline Sisters and the impact the Sisters have had on people’s lives and the communities where they have served. My hope in 2021 is that as we begin to get this virus under control, that we can make in-person visits with our supporters and have events again. But for now, we are relying on making phone calls and sending emails to stay in contact with people. Unfortunately, with the negative side of technology, people don’t answer calls from numbers they don’t recognize. If you get a call from a 270-area code in Owensboro, consider answering the call. We care about you and how you are doing. I think we are all growing tired of the isolation. Talking to someone new might just be the lift we both need to brighten our day. We are grateful for your support.
Carol Braden-Clarke,
Director of Development, Ursuline Sisters Save the Date!
Escape to the Mount
September 11-12, 2021 Mount Raffle ticket sales begin this summer! Event details TBA
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Opportunity for kindness brought donor to Sisters
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the Kindness Campaign after finding “the need for ibby Simon never had an Ursuline Sister for a teacher. She didn’t meet any Sisters ministering at her kindness” as a recurring theme with the Sisters she met. parish. Simon was attracted to the Sisters because of an “There’s a book I read last year talking about opportunity for kindness. kindness,” Simon said. “I think we need to pick up the Through her parish, Holy Spirit Church in Bowling phone a little more these days. Kindness is appreciated Green, Ky., Simon learned about the Kindness even more, especially after last year.” Campaign begun by the Ursuline Sisters in 2019. For a Her husband, Brent, is from Owensboro and has contribution of $50, the Development office in Maple been to Maple Mount before, but Libby has not. The Mount sends a monthly card from the Ursuline Sisters two planned to come for a visit before Covid-19 delayed to someone of your choosing for a year. that. “I heard ‘kindness’ and I was interested,” Simon said. She works in risk management for Camping “There are a lot of people in my life that it would be a World of Bowling Green and is active in the volunteer gift to thank. I started with my husband, my sister and program at Holy Spirit. It was her father’s guidance that my mother-in-law. convinced her of the Then I thought I Wish to join our Kindness Campaign? You get a total of 12 need to be involved needed to pull some inspirational cards mailed monthly to your chosen recipient. in her parish. more people in. I New cards begin in June. The Ursuline Sisters ask for “My father died have two brothers. five years ago, at 95. a contribution of $50. To request an order form, contact It continues to be an He taught me that Carol Braden-Clarke: 270-229-2008, carol.braden-clarke@ honor to do it.” your faith makes the maplemount.org or https://ursulinesmsj.org/kindness-campaign Simon’s motherJanBirdie – Pixabay strongest impact,” in-law died in she said. “My dad December, but she is still sending cards to six people. grew up in Sunfish, they only had Mass once a month. “She was a Presbyterian, but she really enjoyed He was so grateful to go to church.” getting the monthly card,” Simon said. “It really shows The new year for the Kindness Campaign begins in we’re all children of God. When my husband gets his June, but those seeking to take part can join anytime. card, he reads it and smiles. He keeps all of them.” For more information and the opportunity to sign The engagement with the Sisters has also led Simon someone up to receive a card, visit ursulinesmsj.org/ to support the community by joining the Quilt Club. kindness-campaign, or contact Braden-Clarke at carol. She signed up for the electronic communications from braden-clarke@maplemount.org. the Ursuline Sisters so she can keep up to date with Simon plans to continue her cards for another year. their ministries. “A card is very personal. It’s saying, ‘thank you’ to In 2019, she met Sister Amelia Stenger, the people,” she said. “You feel like there is a team of people congregational leader, and Carol Braden-Clarke, praying for you. Maybe someone will need a kind word Development director, when they came to Bowling Green to sell raffle tickets. Braden-Clarke began in the coming year.”u
Soli Deo Gloria
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Sister Jane Falke is serving a new role with Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. From 2008-2020 she served in refugee resettlement, but cutbacks in resettlement began in 2017 and stopped with the onset of Covid. Sister Jane is now serving at TurnStyles Thrift Store, which is operated by Catholic Charities just a half-mile from where she lives in Kansas.
Sister Jacinta Powers moved to Chinle, Ariz., in March to begin serving as a nurse at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, which is part of the Indian Health Service, the federal health program for American Indians and Alaska natives. The facility is a 60-bed hospital that serves members in the central region of the Navajo Indian nation. Chinle is in eastern Arizona, not far from the New Mexico border. Sister Jacinta served on the U.S.-Mexican border in 2020 using her nursing skills with people seeking asylum in America.
Online Day of Serenity • Friday, April 16 • Call the Retreat Center 270-229-0206 15
8001 Cummings Road Maple Mount, KY 42356-9999 270-229-4103 www.ursulinesmsj.org info.msj@maplemount.org
Nine Ursuline Sisters are celebrating Religious Jubilees in 2021 These nine Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph have dedicated a combined 530 years of service to God and His people! They will be honored at the Motherhouse during Community Days in July and will be featured in depth in our summer issue.
World Day of Prayer for Vocations will be observed Sunday, April 25, 2021.
This day celebrates vocations to ordained and religious life in all its forms. In the gospel reading for this day we will hear, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father” ( Jn 10:14-15). We pray that more women and men will grow to recognize and hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and courageously respond to God’s call to this way of life.
WORLD DAY OF VOCATIONS PRAYER
Sister Susanne Bauer
Sister Clarence Marie Luckett
Sister Helena Fischer
70 YEARS
70 YEARS
60 YEARS
Sister Julia Marie Head
Sister Kathleen Kaelin
Sister Nancy Murphy
60 YEARS
60 YEARS
60 YEARS
Sister Rosanne Spalding
Sister Betsy Moyer
Sister Marilyn Mueth
60 YEARS
50 YEARS
40 YEARS
Holy Spirit, stir within us the passion to promote vocations to the consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, diocesan priesthood, and permanent diaconate. Inspire us daily to respond to Your call with boundless compassion, abundant generosity, and radical availability. Help us to remember our own baptismal call to rouse us to invite the next generation to hear and respond to Your call. Inspire parents, families, and lay ecclesial ministers to begin a conversation with young Catholics to consider how they will live lives of holiness and sacred service. Nudge inquirers and motivate discerners to learn more about monastic life, apostolic life, missionaries, cloistered contemplative life, and evangelical Franciscan life. Ignite our Church with the confident humility that there is an urgent need for religious sisters, brothers, deacons, and priests to live in solidarity with those who are poor, neglected and marginalized. Disrupt our comfortable lives and complacent attitudes with new ideas to respond courageously and creativity with a daily ‘YES!’ Amen.
https://nrvc.net/home_page
