“A religious community gathered in the name of the Lord”

"A religious community gathered in the name of the Lord.” These words are filled with meaning. They are inspired by the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation’s Constitution called Our Way of Life. They are especially meaningful because of our shared community experiences and the special event that happened this summer.

On July 7, four of us sisters celebrated our 60^th Jubilee of Religious Profession. It was truly a joyous day of remembering and sharing many common and new experiences during these many years. The others celebrating with me were Sister Mary Agnes Huber, Sister Sharon Houle, and Sister Giustina Zanin.

I survived a premature birth through the care, faith and devotion of my grandmother and my mother, and I was a sickly child all through my elementary school days. As a child, I took note of the many Sisters of Mary of the Presentation in our parish school, St. Cecilia’s, and St. Aloisius Hospital in Harvey. Through their care, devotion, and faithfulness, I was attracted to becoming a sister myself. Thus, I requested to enter this Community. I continue to remember many sisters I came to know over the years and recall stories of others that I did not get to know. I admired many of those sisters who left their homeland, France, because of wars and government repression. They were willing to continue to minister in foreign lands despite not being able to speak English.

My vocation to religious life is a call from God to live a life deeply rooted in prayer and a life of service to God’s people. It is a life which teaches me how to love and serve others. Living with companions who witness a mutual commitment to God alone and availability to God’s people, brings great joy to my life. I take seriously, the living of my daily life as a Sister of Mary of the Presentation. This involves being present to the sisters of my local community as much as I can and involving myself in the prayer life of the community. In these ways and many others, I seek to love and bring life to those with whom I live.

This commitment of prayer and service expands throughout life and calls one to serve in various ways. I was a primary grade/junior high teacher and now I am involved in retreat work and part-time pastoral care at the local hospital. My ministry as retreat director, leading days of prayer, and giving spiritual direction, enables me, with God’s presence and grace, to help people grow in their spiritual life and relationships. This is such an important service since our world so hungers for God. Serving as a Board of Director for two of our hospitals means I devote my energies, at the will of the community, to helping this ministry provide the healing of Jesus and to sustain a Catholic presence in our area.

At CHI Mercy Hospital in Valley City, I am referred to as the Spiritual Care Leader. In this capacity I visit patients, listen to their stories, pray with them, and am present to family members. It is the greatest honor to be of gentle assistance to these patients suffering great pain and/or those in the dying process. The staff daily expresses compassion, kindness and care for each patient and for co-workers.

God is the creator of all life. God graces us with the freedom and ability to choose how we will walk in ways that make him known in this life. Our God who became like us in the flesh unselfishly shares many ways each of us can bring people to life.