Ursulines Alive Spring 2004

Spring 2004

Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph Proclaiming Jesus through Education and Christian Formation

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From Our Congregational Leader Sister Rose Marita O’Bryan, OSU

In this issue Dear Friends, Vocation: God’s Call to Every Christian .. 3 Through baptism all share in the mission of Jesus

All of life is holy. Jesus came to proclaim the holiness of all creation, of every human being. He came to affirm our universal mandate to give glory to God simply by being who we are. We — all of us — are called into solidarity, into intimacy with God in Christ. Different vocations are complementary calls to give a particular shape to, and address a particular way of living out, our baptismal consecration.

Vocation in the Spirit of Angela .......... 5 The joy of life as an Ursuline Associate

Women religious, such as we, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, and other Christians are equally called to witness to the infinite love of God, but the richness of that mystery requires a variety of expressions. The witness of each Christian vocation is rich but limited; therefore, adequate witness to the mystery of divine love can only be given in mutuality and complementarity.

Ursuline Congregation Elects Leaders .. 7 Through authority, God is among us as one who serves A Journey to Remember ...................... 8 Ursulines of 2004 follow the river route of 1874

Each and every Christian, as we live our calling with authenticity, is a partial but valid expression of the multidimensional manifestation of God’s self-revelation in Christ. The Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph, in the words of the Ursuline Way of Life, takes the following of Christ as it is revealed to her in the Gospel. To this end she makes public vows of chastity, poverty, obedience and, in the spirit of the Ursuline heritage, a vow of instruction, committing herself to live in community according to the Constitutions of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.

Soli Deo Gloria ................................... 10 We rejoice in the gifts of our sisters, given for the kingdom of God

This consecration defines her radical commitment to the pursuit of perfect love and her free choice to follow the form of life which Jesus chose for Himself and taught His followers. Her religious consecration, a fuller expression of her baptismal commitment to God, establishes her in a new relationship of love and service to the Church.

A Time for Celebration ....................... 12 Nineteen Ursuline sisters mark anniversaries in religious life

The body of Christ has many members, and, as Saint Paul tells us, each member needs the other.

The call for each member of the body is to serve God in diverse ways according to our gifts — always, however, for the unity of the body. Every Christian is about the reign of God, not our own. Our passion is for the whole, the holy. God can only act in human history through people.

As our lives continue to unfold, we pray that the truth for which each of us stands will go on living through God’s great Spirit. We are companions on the journey!

Lovingly in Saint Angela,

Ursulines Alive is published by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Maple Mount, Kentucky.

Two Issues __ Spring and Fall __ will appear during the year 2004.

Editor: Sister Ruth Gehres, OSU Photography and production assistance: Jerry Birge, Karen Heilers Mission Advancement Staff: Sister Suzanne Sims, Director of Mission Advancement Sister Annalita Lancaster, Director of Mission Effectiveness Sister Pam Mueller, Director of Vocation Ministry Jerry Birge, Director of Marketing and Communications Sister Amelia Stenger, Director, Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center Cecilia McEldowney, Director of Ursuline Partnerships Sister Ruth Gehres, Associate Director of Communications Karen Heilers, Administrative Assistant We welcome your response to Ursulines Alive. You may contact us at: Ursulines Alive, c/o Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount KY. Phone: (270) 229-4103.

Fax: (270) 229-4953. E-mail: info@ursulinesmsj.org. Web site: www.ursulinesmsj.org.

Cover photo: Sisters Sara Murphy, Monica Seaton, and Vickie Cravens stand at the baptismal font in the chapel at Mount Saint Joseph. For each of these sisters, religious profession has meant — as this issue’s lead story explains — a fuller expression of their baptismal commitment.

Photo by John Dunham, Messenger-Inquirer

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Four Years of Learning Together ....... 11 Sister Agnes Ijoko completes her life and study among the Ursulines

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 VISION As Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, we will: • Commit ourselves to simplicity, hospitality, justice and service; • Reverence the values of our founding rural heritage; • Live and minister contemplatively as women of hope; • Witness gospel values through the charism of Saint Angela Merici; • Bind ourselves to one another in charity, celebrating and respecting the uniqueness of each person; • Invite and mentor new members; • Respond to the signs of the times and the needs of the Church and the world through collaborative relationships; and • Stand in prophetic witness to the world by living in right relationships with the earth and the human family to effect justice through systemic change.

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Vocation: God’s Call to Every Christian Through baptism all share in the mission of Jesus

by Sister Ruth Gehres, OSU

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hen Sara Murphy and Monica Seaton professed their vows as Ursuline sisters on January 4 of this year, each one — as part of the ceremony — poured water from the baptismal font of her parish church into the baptismal font in the chapel at Mount Saint Joseph. Seven years ago Sister Vickie Cravens, who made perpetual profession on May 22, chose baptismal symbolism for her entrance into the novitiate…a chalice offered and filled with water. Through these actions, Sisters Sara, Monica, and Vickie dramatized the direct relationship of their vocation to religious life with the sacrament of baptism.

Vocation is a call from God to every baptized Christian.

Through Baptism, every Christian participates in the death and rising of Jesus, and so is freed from sin and reborn as a child of God. Through Baptism, every Christian becomes a member of the body of Christ and shares in the mission of Jesus, which is the mission of the Church — the sacrament of God’s loving presence in this world.

What, exactly, is this vocation, this invitation, that God gives to all the baptized? Above all, it is a call to holiness, to a full Christian life. It is an invitation to perfect love — that is, to love as God loves — and to be witnesses and messengers of God’s love in our world.

The first vocation of every Christian is not to a state of life — married or single life, priesthood or religious life — or to a particular ministry. Rather, our first vocation is to be ourselves — persons created in the image of God. And throughout our lives, all of us are constantly being called by God.

Baptism, for every Christian, marks the beginning of a lifelong journey — a process of being transformed into Christ. This is good to know, so that discouragement will not overwhelm us. Most of us were baptized as infants. “My parents brought me to the church and asked that I be initiated into the faith that they held so dear,” Sister Monica reflects. As we grow older, we learn to say our own “yes” when God calls us. As with Mary, our faith is a continuous growing in our relationship with God. Mary had many questions. She had no idea where God would lead her. But in faith, she responded: “yes.”

For us, as for her, every “yes” is another step on the journey of faith.

The Lord said to Abram: “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you”(Gen. 12:1).

These words from Genesis describe, for Sister Vickie Cravens, her call away from her home, family, and career, that has set her on a journey with God and the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. On May 22, Sister Vickie will make perpetual profession in this Ursuline congregation.

Sister Vickie’s journey began in Lebanon, Missouri, where she grew up in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She remembers an interest in the Catholic Church from childhood, and as a young adult, she made friends with two women religious — one who was a co-worker with her in the regional library, and a second who came to her home town as pastoral minister. While still a Sunday School Bible teacher and women’s leader in her Presbyterian church, Vickie began to attend Mass and then completed the RCIA program, “just for information,” she says. In May 1987, she entered the Catholic Church.

In 1987, Sister Marie Michael Hayden, an Ursuline of Mount Saint Joseph, became pastoral minister in Vickie’s home parish. The two began working together, and soon traveling together — a seven-hour drive — every September to help at the Ursulines’ barbecue picnic.

After her first stay at the Mount, Vickie says, “I was hooked.” She first became an Ursuline Associate, believing that this was “the closest I could get in serving God.” But her discernment continued, and in January 1996 she moved to Owensboro as an Ursuline postulant. The next spring she was received as a novice, and in May 1999, she made temporary vows as an Ursuline Sister.

Sister Vickie, who holds a master’s degree in library and informational science and has 22 years of library experience, is director of the congregational Archives and Museum.

For the Gospel reading at her Profession, Sister Vickie chose the promise of Jesus to his disciples: Everyone who has given up home, or children or property for my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life (Mt. 19:29).

As our life journey continues toward adulthood, we begin to be aware of our talents and interests, of ways of life and working that attract us.

Important people come into our lives; we experience joy, loss, struggle, fulfillment, failure, curiosity, pain, desire, love, hope. In all these events of our life, God leads us toward our vocation – our particular way of responding to the call that we all receive to seek God, to love and serve the Lord. That particular way may be through marriage or single life, or through some form of specifically religious commitment.

Lumen Gentium, the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, makes this very clear: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love” and foster, each according to their particular vocations, the creation of God’s kingdom in this world. Every vocation is a unique witness to the presence of Christ in the Church. continued on page 4

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Vocation: God’s Call to Every Christian continued from page 3

Vocation to Religious Life Women and men who respond to a call to religious life have a great deal in common with persons in all Christian vocations. On the one hand, religious life is simply one of many forms of Christian life —– a distinct form. Those who are called to and choose a religious vocation make a full-time commitment to following Jesus, structuring their entire life around the human quest for God. Like all Christian vocations, religious life is more being than doing. It is not a system for recruiting professionals to work in the Church. Above all, religious life is a way of being Christian that concentrates on living in the world as a faithful presence of Jesus, who gave himself for the life of the world.

It is important to realize that religious life is not primarily about ministry. And yet, participation in the mission of Jesus belongs to the essence of Christian religious life — not because it is religious life, but because it is Christian life. Like every baptized Christian, the person called to religious life is called to the mission of Jesus.

Because the primary commitment of religious men and women is to Christ, we find them engaged wholeheartedly in the ministries that spring from Christ’s mission: the coming of the kingdom of God on this earth. Since the time of Christ, religious men and women have dedicated themselves, through a diversity of ministries, to proclaiming the good news of Jesus through word and service to God’s people.

Like Jesus, the religious is rooted in love — a love that is the secret and source of charity for others.

It’s important to know also that the persons God calls to religious life are ordinary human persons, with all their “glories and grubbies,” as one writer puts it. The person who says “yes” to the call does so not because he or she is better, but because of a personal invitation from God. A religious vocation is pure gift. Many persons who feel called to religious life pull back because they feel they are not “good enough.”

The important thing to realize is that the God who invites is more than good enough to sustain and lead those who respond with sincere dedication. The choice of religious life is a new and graced beginning point on the lifelong Christian journey.

Throughout much of the Church’s long history, entering a convent or monastery signified rejection of “the world” and separation from the rest of human society —– an attitude reflecting the Church’s own stance of distrust toward the secular world. Then, with the Second Vatican Council, came the opening of the Church to “a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history” (Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World).

In looking back to their roots, many communities welcomed this attitude of openness to and unity with all of God’s people. Ursuline sisters throughout the world saw Saint Angela Merici, their founder,

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counseling her first daughters to live and work, without fanfare, among the people. Later developments within the Church required Ursulines to become cloistered nuns, restricted to teaching in convent boarding schools. Today, Ursuline sisters and other active religious are free to serve wherever God’s people are in need.

As in the past, today’s religious come together in communities to seek mutual support in shared dedication, prayer, and ministry. But this separateness is not a rejection of the world. Rather, consecrated persons continued on page 14

Through my parents’ faith, my baptism was the beginning of a deep relationship, a vital union with God. No one then knew what God would call me to do, but even when I was an infant, God had a plan for me. In Luke 12:50, Jesus calls his death and resurrection a baptism. To benefit from that, we must reach out and become united with Jesus. As a baptized person, I am living in Christ in a community of believers who share in the body of Christ. Each one has a unique and important role. I have chosen to answer the call to life as a woman religious.

Living in the Christian community, we all work together to bring forth the kingdom of God. I do that by living out my vows.

In this way, I can bring forth God’s kingdom on earth through my service to others. Through my vows, I dedicate my life and my work to the kingdom of God. Sister Sara Murphy

Sara Murphy grew up in Stanley and Owensboro, Kentucky, the daughter of George and Anna Carol Murphy now of Precious Blood Parish, Owensboro. Although she never had Ursuline teachers, she remembers several sisters at Stanley —– Sisters Rosanne, Laurita, Margaret Ann, Rose Karen, and Elaine Byrne — who came to help her mother with the young family. After graduating from Apollo High School, Sara, an accomplished flutist, became involved with liturgy at her home parish, Precious Blood. There she came to know liturgist and artist Sister Larraine Lauter.

As a high school student, Sara volunteered at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. After graduation, she went through a business training program with McDonald’s and for five years worked in marketing and human resources in stores in Owensboro and Evansville. Following an interest in early childhood education, Sara also worked in a Head Start preschool program and with infants in the daycare program at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Owensboro. In 2000, she became a student at Brescia University.

Sara’s interest in religious life began early. “I knew sisters at home and at church,” she reflects, “but I never felt good enough.” She also believed it was important for her to see whether she could live independently. In April 1999, Sara entered the Ursuline contact program. She became a postulant in July 2000 and a novice in January 2002. On January 4, 2004, Sister Sara Murphy professed temporary vows as an Ursuline Sister.

Sister Sara is currently a student at Brescia University pursuing a degree in education while continuing her study and practice of religious life as she moves toward profession of perpetual vows as an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph.

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Vocation in the Spirit of Angela The joy of life as an Ursuline Associate

by Suzanne Gochenouer, OSUA

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here’s that “V” word again…vocation.

It evokes images of vows being taken in dim chapels, long black habits, and maybe an interesting headdress. But that’s not something I could be involved with.

I’m simply a lay person. Sure, I like most of the priests and sisters I know, but what’s the word vocation got to do with me?

A speaker I once heard said, “Vocation is not something you do, but rather who you are. It is your personal response to a call, a yearning, that tugs at your heart and soul until you can no longer ignore it and continue to be the person you were created to be.”

None of us escapes vocation. We all end up with one — or more. It may be planned and executed in a systematic selection of what we want to do when we “grow up.”

It may be something we are led to, long after we have found our place in one of the niches accepted by the material world as a vocation.

Everyone’s vocation is different. Some are called to educate the world in matters pertaining to health, environment or justice. Others answer a deep need to serve God’s purpose as mothers and fathers of new generations, leading those generations gently in the direction of their lives’ purposes. And still others are called to occupations we usually label as vocations: priests or religious.

There is often a difference between the work vocation we participate in to pay the bills, and the soul’s vocation. Sometimes we are lucky enough to find that the work vocation and the soul’s vocation are one and the same. Perhaps you could find that soul vocation as an associate of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.

Benjamin and Carolyn Head and their friend Michael Lemm, all of Memphis, made their permanent commitment as Ursuline Associates on June 28, 2003. The Heads’ son, Ben, also came for the ceremony. Michael is Ben’s godfather.

“Why,” you may ask, “would one want to be an associate of the Ursulines?

Don’t you have to be really holy and totally saint-like to do something like that?” All that is required is that you feel called to share in the counsels of Angela, desire to live a life that models those counsels to those you meet and live with, and a desire to support the Ursuline community through time, talent, treasure, or any combination thereof. What you are able to share with the community on a local level stirs ripples of grace far outside the circle of your personal influence. Each small step in grace makes a minute change in the world, which flows into Carolyn the next minute change, until the entire world has been touched by the living out of Angela’s vision by each individual.

I asked Carolyn Butler, a current candidate for associate, what fired her desire to be part of the associate community. After all, she already worked and socialized with many members of the Ursuline community. Why does she need a deeper connection? She described her great love for the Ursuline Sisters who had charge of her childhood education and how she wanted to give back a tiny bit of what they had given her. She is drawn by how the influence of Angela is lived each day, especially by her friends, Sister Ann McGrew and Sister Judith Nell Riney. This woman looked at Sister Judith

Nell and said, “I don’t think I ever told you this, but I don’t think the Catholic Church would be the organization it is without the Ursuline community.”

Many priests have made associate commitments as well. I asked Father John Vaughan, pastor of Saint Stephen Cathedral why, in addition to his pastoral and diocesan duties, he felt called as an associate. He spoke of his nearly lifelong relationship with the Ursuline community, starting with his education by the sisters.

Butler His admiration and affection for their work and the gift of their presence in his life inspire his desire to share their mission in any way possible. He states, “Angela’s counsels are consistent with and complementary to my priestly mission.” He admires Angela’s boldness in doing something new — establishing an order of women. He worked in Father John Vaughan their secular community and advocated, as well as effected, the education of women and holds this as an example to strive for in his own life. continued on page 6

John and Bernadette Howard 5

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Vocation in the Spirit of Angela continued from page 5

Rather than just telling their son to live a Christian life, they are busy modeling it for him each day. In this way they teach him how to meet the challenges and joys that are a part of being family and the work world. To the Heads, Angela’s Counsels are applicable to everyone, lay or religious, and will remain so through the ages. “For parents, employers, and community leaders/activists, the Counsels are needed even more today.”

Mary Kennedy was an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph for 20 years. Being an associate is her means of remaining connected to the heart of the community. She says her Ursuline friends are “some of the finest women I’ve ever known.” They remain in her prayers every day. She remembers that when she was a sister there wasn’t so much emphasis on Angela and her teachings as there is today.

Mary Kennedy

Bernadette Howard coordinates local gettogethers of associates and Ursuline sisters. She cited a desire for a deeper spirituality as the focus of her desire to be an associate. She learned of the program from other students in the Ministry Formation Program at Brescia College (now University) and entered the program in 1993. Her husband, John, accompanied her to some associate events and became interested, becoming an associate in 1998. Both Howards became lifetime members in the ensuing years. They remain dedicated to Angela’s principle of hospitality and reaching out to others, seeing holiness in every person and event encountered in everyday life. They emulate Angela with their activities of visiting nursing homes and day care, taking part in Scripture groups and religious education, and serving as Eucharistic Ministers.

Pat and Bob Riordan of St. Louis became associates at the same time. On a parish trip to Europe in 1984, they became close friends with the Williams sisters — Sisters Agnes Catherine and Pat and Bob Riordan Charles Asa. Within these friendships, they see Angela’s principle of hospitality and friendship as a driving force behind their desire to be associated with the Ursuline community. Pat mentioned that they love to visit Mount Saint Joseph because the “sweet sisters” there always make them feel they are very special people. They have lived out Angela’s principles through Bob’s coaching kids and Pat’s being involved in the Ladies Sodality and as an RCIA sponsor.

Carolyn and Benjamin Head of Memphis are parents of a young son.

They say, “It is important to surround yourself and your children with people who share your spiritual beliefs.” Sisters Maureen Griner and Margaret Ann Zinselmeyer are those people for the Head family.

Carolyn and Benjamin found they shared so much in their everyday lives that they were already associates in heart. So they made it formal six years ago, and in 2003 made lifetime commitments.

My own heart is connected in vocation as an associate. Being in community with the Ursulines feeds the part of my soul directly related to the work I feel called to do in my everyday life. The past few years I felt disconnected from my life purpose in the occupation I had held for over 20 years, drawn away from what I needed to do for my soul. So I left that occupation and searched for a way to provide what I could offer to the world community. I found great comfort and support in the principles of Angela Merici and in the Ursuline sisters I have been privileged to interact with. Spending time with my cousin, Sister Julia Marie Head (also my contact sister), and with Sister Marita Greenwell in the Brescia Contemporary Woman group, made me interested in deeper association with the Ursulines’ spiritual guide. Angela’s ninth Counsel — “live in harmony, united together, all of one heart and one will” — is the motivating force for all I do each day.

Most associates I have met and interviewed have been in what I call the wisdom-blessed time (50 or older) of their lives. It would gladden many hearts to see more young people bring their energy and enthusiasm to the associate program. How sad it would be if, as the sisters and associates age and move to the Creator’s kingdom, Angela’s message were forgotten. Do you know someone who would bring new life and joy to the associate program? Have you described to them the joy and support we share among ourselves? If you are a young person looking for a deeper connection to the world through a vocation of service — have Suzanne Gochenouer, you looked at Saint Angela Merici’s nine who wrote this story, Counsels? Perhaps you will find the answer to has been an Ursuline a call of your heart within those words of grace associate for two years. and encouragement. If so, we invite you to talk to an Ursuline sister or an associate, if you know one. We’d love to have you join us — young, middle-aged, or wisdom-blessed, in sharing life to the fullest in Angela’s principles and purpose.

The support of prayer and common thought within the Ursuline community allows each associate to replenish the well of hope, love, and spiritual direction we have in common as creations of grace. Those people with the opportunity to take into their everyday life the counsels They are drawn to Angela’s concept of working and sharing within of Angela Merici, and the local community, the spiritual strength and they want to live Membership in the Associate Program of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph is open and direction derived that example at home, to all persons who wish to seek a deeper experience of union with God through relationship from them, are truly at work, and in with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Ursuline associates are men and women and highly blessed. n everything they do. belonging to the Catholic faith and other faith traditions. For more information about 6

becoming an Ursuline associate, contact the Office of Ursuline Partnerships, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, Kentucky, 42356-9999. Telephone: (270) 229-4103, ext. 426 or 284.

E-mail: ssims@maplemount.org.

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Ursuline Congregation Elects New Leadership Through authority, God is among us as one who serves

Religious governance is a service of love which establishes those patterns of relationship that facilitate and guide our congregation in mission. The Ursuline Way of Life Sister Michele Morek, professor of biology at Brescia University, was elected congregational leader for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph during community elections December 26-30, 2003. Installation of new leadership, for a six-year term, will take place July 11.

Sister Michele has served as both administrator and teacher at Brescia College/University since 1971, including seven years as academic dean/vice president for academic affairs. She has been active in Habitat for Humanity, the Kentucky Water Watch program, the Diocesan Rural Life Commission, and numerous other environmental, social justice, and educational initiatives. She has twice received the Brescia University Honor Societies’ Teaching Excellence Award, and in 2000 she was named Woman of Achievement by the Owensboro Business and Professional Women’s Organization. An Ursuline sister for 41 years, she is a native of Aztec, New Mexico.

Sister Cheryl Clemons, elected assistant congregational leader, is associate professor in the Brescia University Theology and Pastoral Ministry programs. She has been a high school teacher and served as co-director and director of the Office of Social Concerns for the Diocese of Owensboro. A prolific writer and experienced retreat director, she is also a member of the summer faculty of the graduate Theology and Pastoral Ministry programs at the University of Dayton. A native of Grayson County, Kentucky, she has been an Ursuline sister for 33 years.

Sister Michele Morek

Sister Cheryl Clemons

Sister Maureen Griner

Sister Barbara Jean Head

Sister Maureen Griner is one of three sisters elected to the position of councilor. Since 1991, she has been director of music for the Diocese of Memphis and for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. She is the founding director of the Liturgical Ministry Institute, a diocesan program designed to form and educate participants in the basics of prayer, spirituality, liturgy, liturgical music, and liturgical ministry. She has ministered as a teacher of music, a parish liturgist, and as director of initial formation for her community. She is also engaged in outreach ministries in Memphis. In 2001, she received the Spirit and Truth Award from the Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Ministry. A native of Louisville, she has been an Ursuline sister for 38 years.

Sister Barbara Jean Head, councilor, has served since Sister Ann McGrew 1989 as treasurer and business administrator for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. She has been an elementary and high school teacher for 20 years. She serves on the board of the National Association for Treasurers of Religious Institutes, for which she is a financial consultant. She is a member of the Coalition for Responsible Investing and the Conference of Religious Treasurers of Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky. She is on the Board of Directors and Financial Advisory Board of the Ursuline Congregation, the Brescia University Board of Trustees and Finance Committee, the Owensboro Diocesan Administration Committee, and the Investment Committee of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, Indiana. A native of New Haven, Kentucky, she has been an Ursuline sister for 38 years.

With deep gratitude, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph ask God’s continuing blessing on the members of their outgoing leadership team. From left: Sister Suzanne Sims, assistant congregational leader, 20002004; Sister Rose Marita O’Bryan, congregational leader, 1996-2004; Sister Marietta Wethington, councilor, 20002004; Sister Jacinta Powers, councilor, 1996-2004; and Sister Marie Goretti Browning, 2000-2004. After their time of service in congregatoinal leadership, these five women are now preparing for new ministries in the spirit of Angela Merici.

Sister Ann McGrew, councilor, ministers at Brescia University as supervisor of the House of Discernment for Women, campus minister, and coordinator of the spiritual component of the Ministry Formation Program. She has been a principal and teacher in elementary and high schools, and has served as campus minister at Murray State University and in pastoral ministry. She has also been director of novices and secretary to the Council of the Ursuline Congregaation.

In 2001, she received the Catechetical Award from the Diocese of Owensboro.

A native of Grayson County, she has been an Ursuline sister for 38 years. n

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A Journey to Remember Ursulines of 2004 follow the river route of 1874

by Mag and Jerry Birge

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n August 1874, five Ursuline Sisters of Louisville boarded a flatboat on the Louisville waterfront and journeyed down the Ohio River to Owensboro. Their mission: to establish a Catholic school in western Daviess County in response to a request from Father Paul Volk.

It isn’t known why the sisters chose to travel by flatboat, but perhaps it was all they could afford. Flatboats had first appeared on the Ohio River about 1780 and played a major role in bringing settlers down the Ohio to new homes on the frontier, but the swifter and certainly more comfortable steamboat had long replaced the flatboat as the most popular mode of river transportation. The sisters’ choice can possibly be seen as the first of many hardships and sacrifices they would have to endure as they endeavored to follow God’s call.

At the time of the Ursulines’ arrival, they found a city and county that were experiencing a period of dramatic growth. According to the U.S. census of 1870, Daviess County had a population of 20,714, with 3,437 of those residents living within the city limits of Owensboro. By 1880, that number would increase to 6,231. Owensboro had grown southward from the river to Seventh Street, and it stretched east to west from Leitchfield Road to just beyond what is now Walnut Street.

City streets and county roads were still unpaved, but agriculture was flourishing. Tobacco and corn were the main crops, with the abundant corn harvest providing an ample supply of grain for the 11 distilleries that were operating in Daviess County by the end of the 1870s.

In 1874, Daviess County had over 300 German-born residents. The five Ursuline sisters — also German-born — were well suited to teach those children, but their school, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, welcomed girls of any nationality and thrived in spite of many hardships in its early years. The Academy remained open for 109 years and educated hundreds of young women from all over the United

The Kentucky-style flatboat that the sisters will use to reenact the Ursuline journey of 1874 is under construction

by Captain John Cooper, a faculty member at Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin, Tennessee. Cooper, who builds museum displays and organizes reenactments of historical events, has constructed several primitive vessels.

An experienced flatboat captain, Cooper will pilot the boat on its August journey. The inset shows Cooper’s plan for the boat.

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States and several foreign countries.

After the Academy closed in spring 1983, the buildings reopened that fall as Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. In 1996, the entire complex underwent thorough remodeling.

On the 130th anniversary of the Ursuline sisters’ arrival at Mount Saint Joseph, to honor those strong women who survived severe adversities, the present-day Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph are planning a reenactment of the 1874 flatboat journey. It is scheduled for August 11-15, 2004.

On August 11, five modern Ursulines will board a specially constructed flatboat at Louisville and embark on a four-day trip downriver that will have both historical and educational significance.

The sisters will wear habits modeled on those of the early pioneers and eat the same type of food that would have been available to them. Activities are being planned to provide education about the history, life and work of the Ursuline sisters, information about vocations to religious life, and the history of Kentucky during the late 19th century. Four stops are planned along the way — Brandenburg and Cloverport, Kentucky, and Tell City and Grandview, Indiana — where the sisters will share their experiences on the river and tell the story of the Ursuline pioneers in 1874. This will also give them the opportunity to discuss the relevance of religious life in today’s world. Local groups will provide dinner for the sisters at each stop.

One of the most interesting aspects of this journey is the curriculum, designed for grades K-6, to accompany it. There are suggestions for reading materials, projects, and activities in history, science, language arts, social studies, and several other areas. Schools are encouraged to make use of as much of the curriculum as possible.

The flatboat is expected to arrive in Owensboro shortly after noon on Sunday,

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Ursuline Pioneer Women

This photo shows the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville in 1868, 10 years after the community was founded by three sisters from Bavaria. Four of the five pioneers who came to establish a school in Daviess County are circled: front row from left, Mother Pia Schönhofer (first superior at the Mount) and Sister Xavier Wurm; back row, Sisters Martina Greineder and Margaret Allgeier. Sister Johanna Froeba (insert), the fifth of the Maple Mount pioneers, entered the community after this photo was taken. Mother Salesia, foundress of the Ursulines of Louisville, is to the immediate left of Mother Pia. August 15. After a brief welcoming ceremony, the sisters will proceed by horse-drawn wagon, similar to the one used by the pioneer sisters, to St. Stephen Cathedral. There they will board a wagon drawn by a tractor for the last leg of their journey to Mount Saint Joseph. The tractor will be driven by Bruce Blandford, a fourth-generation descendant of Aquilla and Louise Blandford — the generous neighbors who brought the 1874 Ursulines their first meal of watermelon and buttermilk. Bruce Blandford, manager of Maple Mount Farms, is also the fourth generation of his family to work for the Ursuline Sisters.

Sister Pam Mueller, left, is fitted by Sister Amelia Stenger for a habit patterned after the ones worn by the five Ursuline sisters who traveled by flatboat from Louisville to Owensboro in 1874. Sisters Pam and Amelia are among the sisters who will be passengers on the flatboat during its August journey.

A special prayer service and celebration will welcome the sisters to the Mount. This event will honor the pioneers and all the Ursuline sisters who have given their lives in service to the people of God over the past 130 years. At the reception following the welcoming ceremony, guests will be served watermelon, buttermilk cookies, and other refreshments. The Ursuline Flatboat Adventure

Committee is made up of sisters and friends of the community. This committee has met monthly to plan the event and evaluate progress.

The committee chair is Sister Amelia Stenger, director of Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. Members are Jerry and Mag Birge, Sister Elaine Burke, Gary Jarboe, Sister Annalita Lancaster, Sister Pam Mueller, Denis and Ron Payne, Sister Sharon Sullivan, Sister Suzanne Sims, Sister Rosanne Spalding, and Sister Mary Lois Speaks.

Many others are working on specific activities for the event.

When the five Ursuline pioneers set out from Louisville in 1874, their goal was to establish a school for the education of young women in western Daviess County. With God’s help they fulfilled that mission with great success and passed on a legacy of devoted service to God’s people that is still being carried forward by today’s Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Today, the Ursulines share in the pioneer spirit of the founders of the Academy by pursuing new ministries wherever they are called. n Jerry Birge is director of communications and marketing for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. His wife, Mag, is risk management assistant for St. Mary’s Medical Center, Evansville, Indiana. Jerry and Mag are members of the Ursuline Flatboat Adventure Committee.

To sponsor the sisters on their journey, and in this way to help support Ursuline ministries, please contact project chairperson Sister Amelia Stenger at (270) 229-0200, ext. 401, or e-mail astenger@maplemount.org. For fuller information about this project, and to follow the building of the boat and the journey as it unfolds, go to the project website: www.ursulineflatboatadventure.org.

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Soli Deo Gloria We rejoice in the gifts of our sisters, given for the kingdom of God

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he Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission honored Sister Michele Morek on April 22 with an Earth Day Award recognizing her longtime dedication to environmental activity and education. EQC Commissioner Aloma Dew (at right in photo) stated that “Sister Michele touches all the lives she encounters with her passion and commitment to her community and the environment. Kentucky is a better place because of her.” Since receiving her PhD from Notre Dame University in 1971, Sister Michele has used her passion about the natural world, together with her spiritual calling, to educate young people about the environment. As professor of biology at Brescia University, she has inspired a number of students to choose biology and the environment as their field of study. She has been active on Kentucky Watershed Watch, serving as chair of the Scientific Committed for the Tradewater/Lower Green River Watershed Watch program. She has also conducted environmental education workshops for teachers and student groups and is active in the Owensboro Curbside Recycling effort. In July, Sister Michele will be installed as congregational leader of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.

On March 24, Sister Dianna Ortiz received the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Carroll College in Helena, Montana. After receiving the honorary degree, Sister Dianna spoke on the topic, “Solidarity with the Suffering Poor: A Christian Response to Injustice in the Americas.”

On April 3, she was a speaker, in Detroit, at the opening of an exhibit based on the book, Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who are Changing Our World, by Kerry Kennedy and photographer Eddie Adams. Sister Dianna’s photo and her story of abduction and torture in Guatemala are featured in the book. Her own book, The Blindfold’s Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth (Orbis Books, 2002), is available from Mount Saint Joseph Book and Gift Shop and in many other bookstores.

Sister Ruth Gehres has been named to a two-year term on the board of the National Communications Network for Women Religious. NCNWR, a professional association for personnel responsible for communications within religious communities of women, is dedicated to advancing the mission of these communities and providing a network of support and education for its members. Sister Ruth, associate director of communications for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, is editor of Ursulines Alive.

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Sister Mary Elizabeth (Mimi) Ballard was recognized on the International Day of Women, March 8, for her ministry to women in Chillán, Chile. In a morning ceremony, she was honored by the Office of the Governor and the National Governmental Organization for the Promotion of Women.

In the evening of the same day, she was recognized by the Municipality of Chillán. In the photo, Sister Mimi celebrates with a group of volunteers from the Dianna Ortiz Center for Women (Casa Ursulina), a ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph founded “to carry out the Gospel message of solidarity and justice by providing opportunities for physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic growth for the low-income women of Chillán...” (Mission Statement). Sister Mimi is founding director of the center.

An article on the Sacrament of Penance by Sister Cheryl Clemons appeared in the January issue of The Catechist’s Connection, a publication of the National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company. Sister Cheryl, associate professor of theology at Brescia University, will be installed as assistant congregational leader of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph in July. (See photo on page 7.)

Two eighth-grade students of Sister Maureen O’Neill received the Ghandi and King Scholar Awards presented to children who have completed special projects promoting brotherhood, sisterhood, and peace. The awards were given April 21 by SPAVA — the Society for the Prevention of Aggressiveness and Violence Among Adolescents. Sister Maureen has been a teacher at Most Blessed Sacrament School, Louisville, since 1991. n

I arrived in the U.S. on February 1, 2001, after leaving Nigeria on January 30. I was so thrilled on arrival at Owensboro Regional Airport to see a group of seven Ursuline sisters and one Handmaid of the Holy Child Jesus waiting to take me to my second home, where I would spend the rest of my life until I would be finished with studies at Brescia. The warm welcome at the airport at 11 p.m. left a huge first impression of a godly and happy people that I had come to live with in Owensboro.

As days went by and I started my exploration of my new environment, I discovered that the seasons were different here, as testified in the trees that looked dead in my eyes. I also saw snow for the first time in my life, and now I have seen why the slogan “as white as snow” is used to signify cleanliness or purity. The people I met were ever in a hurry, everybody wore trousers, few people (sometimes nobody!) were seen outside, but cars were constantly on the run. Every food was so sweet in my mouth, when compared to the fofo (foo-foo) and vegetable soup, moi moi, or rice and stew that I was used to eating at home (and which I very much miss to this day). Now I have learned how to eat all the sweet stuff and when I get back to Nigeria I will very much miss lasagna, apple pie, and pumpkin pie, which are my favorite foods here.

Brescia is a small and neat university with dedicated members of staff and hardworking students. I must admit that Brescia is a hard school but worth all the hard work. When I think of all the knowledge I have gotten, it gives me joy that I have something to offer when I get back home. I feel that I have been equipped and cannot wait to start teaching or working on the computer!

I am most happy that I met the Ursuline Sisters. Probably if I were not an African, I would have been an Ursuline sister. They are a wonderful group of people that have touched my life in a very special way beyond words. I have yet to meet an Ursuline who is not caring and ever ready to assist. I have very interesting plans that I would by the grace of God want the Ursuline Sisters to come to Nigeria to see the fruits of their supportive influence. I have all the while missed my home, family, and community, and I know I am going to miss the whole lot of good people in Owensboro that I may never be privileged to meet again, but I will go with the hope of us meeting again in our eternal home.

Sister Agnes Ijoko, HHCJ

Four Years of Learning Together Sister Agnes Ijoko completes her life and study among the Ursulines

by Sister Cheryl Clemons, OSU

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e kol adede, la wan, la keyen a kuyen.

Kulening. This Kukelle (coo-kay-lee) dialect version of the Sign of the Cross is one of many things the Ursuline Sisters and her Brescia classmates have learned from Sister Agnes Ijoko. Sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Sister Agnes, a member of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, a Nigerian religious community, celebrated her Brescia graduation on May 8, receiving a BA degree in English and secondary teaching certification. Thanks to her diligent study and summer courses, she will complete her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in December before returning to Nigeria as a teacher or a school principal.

Sister Agnes, who set out for the United States with just a little over a month’s notice from her religious superiors, will soon end almost four years of life and study in Owensboro. For us, the sisters who have been privileged to share community life with her in the Mamre Community near Brescia University,

Sister Agnes’ departure will be bittersweet.

We rejoice as she completes her degrees with great success and returns home to her large family and religious community. But we will miss very much her spirit of joy and dedication, her example of goodness and prayerfulness, and her sense of openness and courage that prompted her to travel halfway around the world to enter a foreign culture among strange companions for the sake of her community’s ministry.

We have been awed by Sister Agnes’ prayerful willingness to endure missing her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration (though we enjoyed watching a video of the event with her), the marriages of both a brother and sister, the birth of three new nieces and nephews, and the murder and funeral of one of her Handmaid sisters who was shot and killed by robbers who held up the bus she was riding.

We have learned much about Nigeria from Sr. Agnes: Lagos is its capital city; there are over 400 different dialects; much of the

culture is still tribal (her father is the chief of her tribe); vocations to the priesthood and religious life are flourishing; and electrical power is available only during certain hours of the day. Sister Agnes occasionally still expresses delight that she has power and light at the touch of a switch anytime she wants! We have eaten some of Nigeria’s native foods and have received as a gift one of their native costumes — the bubu, a dress we wear for special African celebrations. We have been inspired by Sister Agnes’ prayer dances, and we have struggled to learn several common prayers in Kukelle.

“Coming to know Sister Agnes has been a delight,” says Ursuline congregational leader Sister Rose Marita O’Bryan. “I am especially grateful to our sisters of the Mamre Community for being ‘sisters’ in the name of all of us to Handmaid of the Holy Child Jesus Sister Agnes Ijoko. The distance between Kentucky and West Africa is now just a heartbeat away.” n Sister Cheryl Clemons, associate professor of theology at Brescia University, will be installed on July 11 as assistant congregational leader of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.

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A Time for Celebration Nineteen Ursuline sisters mark anniversaries in religious life

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ubilee is a happy word...it comes from the Latin jubilare, which means “to shout with joy.” Every summer at the Mount brings days of great rejoicing, as we celebrate the jubilees of women who have reached special milestones in their lives as Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.

And while there are specific days set aside for celebration, it’s normal to enter into one’s jubilee year as 365 full days of celebration. Just as a wedding anniversary inspires reunions and stories of earlier days, so our Sisters’ jubilee celebrations are times for sharing memories and giving thanks for all the gifts of 25, 40, 50, 60 and often even more years together as sisters in this Ursuline community.

In the year 2004, nineteen Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph are celebrating anniversaries in religious life. Altogether, these women have given 875 years of life and ministry to God and God’s people. Though no words can fully capture a person or her life, we hope this story will give a meaningful insight into these wonderful women who are our jubilarians of 2004.

Sister Elizabeth Ann Ray is celebrating 75 years as an Ursuline sister, which means that she entered the community in 1929...a different world! A native of Rhodelia, Kentucky, Sister Elizabeth Ann was an educator for 54 years, serving as a teacher and principal in Kentucky, Missouri, and especially in New Mexico, where she ministered for more than 30 years.

When she returned to Mount Saint Joseph in 1985, she began 12 years of service in the community Archives. Sister Elizabeth Ann is known as a happy and generous person and a witty storyteller. She now lives in Saint Joseph Villa, where she is a faithful member of the Ursuline Powerhouse of Prayer.

Sister Ethelreda Hayden, who became an Ursuline sister in 1934, is celebrating her 70th jubilee. Sister Ethelreda was born near Fancy Farm in Graves County, Kentucky. Her ministry of 52 years was in Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and New Mexico, where she was a homemaker and, for 36 years, a teacher. Sister Ethelreda is a cheerful woman known for her spirit of prayer, her gentleness, and her beautiful smile.

She is a resident of Saint Joseph Villa and devoted to the ministry of prayer.

Sister Jean Madeline Peake is also celebrating 70 years as an Ursuline sister. A native of Holy Cross, Kentucky, she was a teacher and principal for 48 years in Kentucky and Missouri. After her retirement from education, Sister Jean Madeline served St. Joseph Parish, Leitchfield, for 11 years as parish minister, then spent six very active years directing the motherhouse craft room. Sister Jean Madeline is an enthusiastic, fun-loving person who remembers her many friends. She has become a “computer whiz” and still gives many hours in the craft room quilting for the Ursuline Quilt of the Month Club.

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Sister M. deChantal Whelan, celebrating her 70th jubilee, is a native of St. Joseph, Kentucky. She was an educator for 61 years, 39 of these as professor of English at Brescia College/University in Owensboro. At Brescia, Sister deChantal established and/or directed the Student Support Services and Weekend College programs, both of which are vital to the University today. Under her direction, the Brescia Grants Office obtained funds to sponsor distinguished speakers, to upgrade computer resources, and to complete a number of building renovations. Sister deChantal is known as a creative person, generous with her talents, and a lover of beauty. A resident of Saint Joseph Villa, she is often found at prayer in the motherhouse chapel.

Sister Marie Montgomery is celebrating sixty years as an Ursuline sister. Born in the community of St. Lawrence in Daviess County, Kentucky, Sister Marie has served for 52 years as teacher, principal, and parish minister in Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona. Altogether, she has ministered in the Southwest for 37 years. Sister Marie is known as a hard worker who loves her work and a friendly person who is open and gracious.

Since 1998, she has been a teacher at St. Francis of Assisi School in Gallup, New Mexico.

Sister Susan Mary Mudd, a golden jubilarian, is a native of Lebanon, Kentucky. She has been an educator for 43 years in Kentucky, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Virginia, and in Venezuela and Chile. She was a member of the Brescia College education faculty and director of the Brescia Student Support Services program. From 1997 to 2002, she was director of the Owensboro Catholic School System. A dedicated educator who likes challenges, Sister Susan Mary is outgoing, energetic, and compassionate. Since 2002, she has been academic dean at Owensboro Catholic Middle School.

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Sister Mary Matthias Ward, a native of Clementsville, Kentucky, is also celebrating her 50th jubilee. Major Superior of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph from 1988 to 1986, she has ministered 47 years in Kentucky and New Mexico. She has served as teacher and principal, director of Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center, and campus minister and parish administrator. A prayerful person with a deep love for her community, Sister Mary Matthias is known as a community builder and one who empowers others. She is currently director of Sacred Heart Retreat Center and diocesan facilitator of adult formation for the Gallup, New Mexico, diocese.

Sister Ann Victoria Wasylina, also a golden jubilarian, was born in the Ukraine, then part of Poland. Taken to Austria during the Nazi occupation, she lived and worked for a Catholic family until coming to Mount Saint Joseph in 1950. After entering the Ursuline community in 1954, she served 39 years in homemaking and outreach ministry. For 29 years she directed the motherhouse dairy room. Her milk, butter, and other dairy products were legendary. Her beautiful singing of Ukrainian hymns has been a gift during many community celebrations. She is a cheerful person with great inner strength and a delightful sense of humor. A resident of Saint Joseph Villa, she devotes much time to the ministry of prayer.

Sister Mary Timothy Bland, a native of Lebanon, Kentucky, is celebrating 40 years as an Ursuline sister. A dedicated teacher for 37 years, she has ministered in Kentucky and Missouri. Sister Mary Timothy is known as a loyal and supportive person who is gracious and generous. Since 1988, she has been a teacher of second grade at St. Angela Merici School in Owensboro.

Sister Lisa Marie Cecil, also celebrating her 40th jubilee, is a native of New Hope, Kentucky. She has been a teacher and pastoral minister for 34 years in Kentucky, Missouri, and New Mexico. Sister Lisa Marie is an outgoing, generous person, who shares her creativity in beautiful needlework.

Most recently she has served as pastoral minister and director of religious education at St. Pius X Parish in Calvert City, Kentucky.

Sister Karla Marie Kaelin, a 40th year jubilarian, is a native of Louisville. In her 33-year ministry, she has served as a teacher and pastoral minister, and as director of postulants and novices at Mount Saint Joseph. She has also ministered in personal and pastoral care at Mount Saint Joseph. Friends describe Sister Karla Marie as a faithful friend, a person of loyalty and honesty, and both hardworking and fun-loving. Sister Karla Marie currently serves as outreach minister in Benton, Kentucky.

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Sister Diane Marie Payne, celebrating 40 years as an Ursuline sister, is a native of Glennonville, Missouri. In her 34 years of ministry, she has been engaged in education and pastoral ministry. At Mount Saint Joseph, she served in personal and pastoral care and as sacristan and Guest House coordinator. Sister Diane Marie is known as a dedicated person, hardworking and compassionate. She is chaplain for the Hospice Association of Owensboro.

Sister Joan Mary Riedley, a native of Louisville, is celebrating her 40th jubilee. She has been a teacher and parish minister for 36 years in Kentucky, Missouri, and New Mexico. A friendly and enthusiastic person, Sister Joan Mary is loved by those with whom she ministers. A gifted guitarist, she is generous with her musical talents. Since 1992, Sister Joan Mary has served as parish minister for St. Matthias Parish in Louisville.

Those who instruct others unto justice shall shine as stars for all eternity.

Daniel 12:3

Sister Laurita Spalding, also celebrating 40 years as an Ursuline sister, is a native of Springfield, Kentucky. A dedicated teacher, she has ministered in education for 35 years, all in Kentucky. Sister Laurita is a hardworking, fun-loving person known for her hearty laughter and love of her young students.

She is creative and generous in producing beautiful crafts. Since 2000, she has been a second-grade teacher at Holy Name School, Henderson, Kentucky.

Sister Melissa Tipmore, a native of Owensboro, is celebrating 40 years as an Ursuline sister. She has ministered for 34 years in education in Kentucky and Missouri. Sister Melissa is known for organizational skills, her compassion, and her refreshing wit. Since 1998, she has been director of transportation for the Mount Saint Joseph Motherhouse. continued on page 16

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When I was growing up, I believed that priests and sisters were set apart from everyone else…on a pedestal. I never felt that I was good enough or holy enough to be up there with them. As I have grown older and have known more religious, I realize that they are human like all of us. We all have our own brokenness and our own struggles to deal with, as well as our hopes and joys.

Now, as an adult, I have chosen to discern living my life as a woman religious in the spirit of poverty, celibate chastity, obedience, and instruction. By embracing these vows, I will try to bring the call to holiness I received at baptism alive in my life. They are an essential part of my life – something I profess from my heart as well as my lips. I see this as a huge challenge, but one that I willingly and openly accept.

By our baptism we are all called to witness to the kingdom of God. This is not just the work of priests and religious. Through our vocation our baptismal call takes shape – be it through priesthood, religious life, marriage, or single life. We all work together, and none would be complete without the others.

Sister Monica Seaton

Monica Seaton, the daughter of Yvonne Hayden Seaton and the late Joseph M. Seaton, grew up in St. Stephen Cathedral Parish in Owensboro. Beginning as a senior at Owensboro Catholic High School, Monica taught in the St. Stephen Faith Formation program. She also taught in Vacation Bible School, served as a Eucharistic Minister, and worked as a core team member with the high school youth group. After receiving an associate degree in accounting from Owensboro Community College, she worked for eight years as a bookkeeper.

Monica’s great-aunt, Sister Helen Dougherty, was an Ursuline sister — someone Monica had only heard about.

Her personal knowledge of Ursulines began at St. Stephen Elementary School. “It was mainly through Sister Margaret Ann Aull that I got to know more about the Ursulines,” Monica says.” As pastoral associate at the Cathedral, Sister Margaret Ann invited Monica to become involved in ministry. “I never felt any pressure from her about religious life,” Monica remembers. “Her life example spoke louder than any words ever could. Her model of a woman religious and her dedication helped in my own decision to become an Ursuline sister.”

Two other Ursulines — Sisters Ann McGrew and Judith Nell Riney — also gave encouragement and support, together with vocation director Sister Martha Keller, “a wonderful director as she walked with me on a journey listening to God.” Monica entered the Ursuline contact program in 1999 and became a postulant in July 2000. In July 2002, she was received into the novitiate, beginning intense preparation for profession of vows. On January 4, 2004, Sister Monica Seaton professed temporary vows as an Ursuline sister.

Sister Monica is currently a student at Brescia University pursuing a degree in elementary education. Together with Sister Sara Murphy, she continues her study and practice of religious life as she moves toward profession of perpetual vows as an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph.

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Vocation: God’s Call to Every Christian continued from page 4

choose to live in community to sustain one another in their quest for God and commitment to their mission, which is the mission of Jesus: to serve God and God’s people in love. “As community we are one in mission and ministry: the power of the entire congregation united in the Lord is present in the ministry of each member” (The Ursuline Way of Life: Constitutions of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph).

The Vows The vows professed by religious men and women are not exactly the same for all communities. But the vast majority of religious make vows of chastity (or consecrated celibacy), poverty, and obedience – solemn promises based on the evangelical counsels, which reflect the example of Jesus and his directions to his disciples. It is helpful to know that the word evangelical comes from a Greek word meaning “gospel.”

In one sense, God calls all Christians to the virtues embodied in the evangelical counsels: chastity according to one’s life calling, right stewardship of material things (poverty), and living according to the will of God (obedience). Beyond this, God calls some persons to “a fuller expression of their baptismal commitment and … a new relationship of love and service to the Church” (The Ursuline Way of Life).

This life totally dedicated to God is the primary vocation of a vowed religious, rather than the vows, or a set of obligations attached to the vows. The three traditional vows are the form of this dedication. Symbolically, they embrace the whole of life – the human desire for love, for material possessions, for being one’s own master. In The Ursuline Way of Life we read: “As our supreme way of life we take the following of Christ as it is revealed to us in the Gospel. To this end we make public vows of chastity, poverty, obedience….”

These vows have enjoyed a long and rich history, and today’s theologians continue to explore their riches. Here, we can only look at some of the most basic understandings of each one.

Chastity (or consecrated celibacy), in The Ursuline Way of Life, is described as “a vow to love” — to love God, and to embrace “all creation…for the sake of the Kingdom of God” (12). Chastity, the one vow common to all religious life, witnesses to God’s love for every person and to eternal life beyond this world, which we are all destined to share with God and one another. Sister Sandra Schneiders describes celibacy “less as a renunciation of marriage and more as a commitment to growth in love dedicated to the development of a world characterized by unselfish service and mutual care.”

In choosing to forego marriage and family, a vowed religious is free to love and serve many people at one time, to be a loving presence of Jesus wherever there is need. A close relationship with God in prayer and loving mutual support within one’s community and circle of friends are crucial for sustaining a life of chastity.

“Poverty aims at sharing everything rather than in possessing nothing,” writes Patrick Carroll. Through the vow of poverty, religious give up the right to personal ownership and choose a life of mutual dependence within the community. This vow mirrors the life of the poor Jesus and of the early Christians: “All who believed were continued on page 15

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together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). Dependence on God, simplicity of life, mutual accountability, and sharing of gifts and talents are all part of the traditional understanding of the vow of poverty. In today’s world, with its dramatic gaps between the very wealthy and the desperately poor, the vow of poverty makes a strong call to justice – solidarity with the poor, support of the oppressed, alleviation of human misery, and stewardship of our earth’s resources for future generations. The vow of poverty, writes Sandra Schneiders, frees those who choose it from the pursuit of material wealth so that they may engage in an “openhearted sharing of God’s gifts within the human community.”

Obedience mirrors the complete, loving fidelity of Jesus to his Father. It is a vow to seek God’s desire for us, to say “yes” to the leading of God’s Spirit in our lives. Patrick Carroll has named it “a vow to pray.”

Obedience calls for constant listening for the voice of God speaking through the Church, the constitutions and leadership of one’s religious community, and the circumstances of daily life. Saint Angela Merici speaks of all these sources of guidance. And “above all,” she writes, “obey the counsels and inspirations which the Holy Spirit continually sends into the heart.” Obedience requires knowledge of oneself, one’s community, the Church, the world and its needs. Saint Angela also counsels attention to the signs of the times, and advises her community to make changes prudently “according to times and circumstances.”

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their life and ministry. Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, as descendants of the Ursulines of the Congregation of Paris, make a fourth vow — the vow of instruction, through which they commit themselves to the teaching mission of Jesus and His Church. This vow traces its origin back to Saint Angela Merici, who in 1535 responded to the call of the Spirit and the needs of her time by establishing the Company of Saint Ursula –– a community of women dedicated to the Christian formation of young girls. Since that time, Ursuline sisters have found their primary ministry within the teaching mission of the Church. Today, both individually and as a congregation, the Ursuline sisters embrace “the broad and urgent need for Christian formation in our time,” thus responding “to the call of all Christians to share in the redemptive mission of Jesus…” (The Ursuline Way of Life). In its mission statement, the Ursuline Congregation emphasizes its commitment to “proclaim Jesus through education and Christian formation in the spirit of our founder, Saint Angela Merici.”

The primary vocation of a vowed religious, as described above, is a life totally dedicated to God. Profession of vows is a solemn expression of that consecration. The temporary profession made by Sisters Sara and Monica in January, and the perpetual profession that Sister Vickie will make in May, expresses their renewed response to a call from God from all eternity, and a strengthening of their baptismal commitment.

1 Cor. 12:12-13 Pope John Paul II has described religious profession as “an almost new baptism” — a new beginning in the journey of faith that religious share with all Christians.

In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body....

Historically, the vow of obedience has focused a great deal on obligations. Today, the emphasis has moved toward discernment –– the process of seeking and following the Spirit of God in one’s choices and decisions, in which a person or a community commits to constant spiritual growth and freedom to embrace the mission of Christ. Those who belong to religious communities commit themselves to both personal and communal discernment. In obedience, religious are “sustained…by constant faith in God’s loving design,” offering their “weakness to be filled with His strength” to become persons “capable of bringing Jesus to birth in others” (The Ursuline Way of Life).

Besides the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, many religious congregations make additional vows that support particular aspects of

All vocations come from God, and the strength to follow one’s call also comes from God, who is loving and faithful: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). As we, the Ursuline community welcome Sisters Vickie, Sara, and Monica as companions on our life journey, we are strengthened by the words of our Constitutions: “Sustained in our consecration by God’s faithful love, we witness to the new life which our redemption already gives us, and to the fullness of joy awaiting all persons who respond to God’s call of love.” n Sister Ruth Gehres, associate director of communications for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, is editor of Ursulines Alive.

Sources of material for this reflection include these Vatican II documents: Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church; Gaudium et Spes: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World; and Perfectae Caritatis: Decree on the Up-to-Date Renewal of Religious Life.

Other sources are: Pope John Paul II, Redemptionis Donum: Apostolic Exhortation to Men and Women Religious on Their Consecration in the Light of the Mystery of the Redemption; The Catcechism of the Catholic Church; Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM, New Wineskins: Re-imagining Religious Life Today; Joan Chittister, OSB, The Fire in These Ashes: A Spirituality of Contemporary Religious Life; Conversion, Discernment, Mission (the Pastoral Plan of the Thrid Continental Congress on Vocations to Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life in North America); Peter G. van Breemen, SJ, Called by Name; and L. Patrick Carroll, SJ, To Love, To Share, To Serve: Challenges to a Religious. Finally, valuable Ursuline sources include Saint Angela Merici, Rule, Counsels, Legacies; and The Ursuline Way of Life: Constitutions of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Anyone wishing a detailed bibliography and list of citations may contact Sister Ruth Gehres at Mount Saint Joseph.

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A Time for Celebration continued from page 13

Among the nineteen Ursuline Sisters marking anniversaries in religious life in 2004 (see pages 12 and 13) are four who are celebrating silver jubilees. Congratulations to these and all of our jubilarians!

Silver jubilarian Sister Alicia Coomes is a native of Henderson, Kentucky. A registered nurse, she has served 14 years in healthcare at Mount Saint Joseph, including ministry as director of nursing in the motherhouse infirmary from 1999 to 2002.

Sister Alicia has also served in youth ministry and parish ministry. She is an outgoing, generous and compassionate person and a lover of music. Since 2003 she has been pastoral associate and parish nurse at Blessed Mother Parish in Owensboro.

Sister Mary McDermott, a native of St. Louis, has served in education and healthcare in Kentucky and Nebraska. She has also been hospitality minister for Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center and director of Mount Saint Joseph Book and Gift Shop.

Mary is a gracious and generous person who is always eager to serve. Since 1997, she has served in hospitality ministry for the motherhouse chapel. She is also information receptionist at the switchboard at Mount Saint Joseph.

Sister Larraine Lauter, a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, has served in education and pastoral and liturgical ministry in the Archdiocese of Louisville and the Diocese of Owensboro. A gifted artist, Sister Larraine has been engaged in liturgical and graphic art in parishes and in her own Singing Moon Studio at Maple Mount. She is also a capable musician. She is a creative person and a lover of beauty, one who challenges others and is enthusiastic in accepting challenges. Her concern for others led her to establish MISAS — Migrant/Immigrant Shelter and Support — an Owensboro organization of which she serves as executive director.

Sister Rebecca White, a native of Campbell, Missouri, has served in education, healthcare and hospitality ministry. A registered nurse, she worked for nine years in the motherhouse infirmary. From 1995 to 2001, she was director of the Contemporary Woman Program at Brescia College/University. She has provided secretarial services at the motherhouse and served as the congregational contact person for the initiative to abolish the death penalty in the United States.

Sister Rebecca is known as a generous, intelligent and insightful person who loves learning. She is currently living and working at the motherhouse.

Friends who would like to send congratulations to jubilarians may address them to 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.