God bless good sisters and nuns

Sister of the Holy Cross of St. Mary of the Lake and Notre Dame

All the weird and odd reports of nuns and sisters this week in the press has brought me to remember five excellent sisters in my life, among many, who influenced me for good.

The first is Sister Serena, a Sister of the Holy Cross from St Mary's, Notre Dame, who was my first grade teacher. I remember as if it happened yesterday the care and concern she gave my brother, who was in kindergarten and myself when my sister died. She gave me a statue of Our Lady of Grace and to my brother, a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, reminding us that even in death, Our Lady and Our Lord looked after us and had my little sister in their care.

The second was Sister Nativity, of the same order, my eighth grade teacher, who instilled in my a great love of learning and the adventure of discovery, especially in science. She and my dad opened my eyes to the natural world of flowers, birds, and rocks in a scientific way which has stayed with me always. This natural curiosity and love of nature needs to be encouraged in youth and it was by Sister Nativity.

Sister of the Our Lady of the Retreat of the Cenacle

The third sister who helped me along the way of my spiritual life was Sister Elizabeth Anne of the Cenacles, who said one day, that like Christ, " the foxes holes, the birds of the air nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His Head," which instilled in me the necessity for the radical Gospel and the complete spiritual hatred of the things of this world. Her joy and love of Christ filled every lecture in college and all her personal meetings. She was truly a Bride of Christ and did not forget her First Love. She was responsible for me returning to the Church after college.

The fourth was Sister Trinitas of the Humility of Mary, who gave up a large personal fortune, in the millions, to become a sister. Her example and simplicity impressed me in college.

Sister of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary

The fifth was a very old sister of the Humility of Mary who, despite the changes in her order, kept to her old ways, living and dying in the habit and living as she did when she joined in the 1930s. Sister Marie Clemente was what her names indicated. May they all rest in peace if they have passed on, as I know three have for sure, and if alive, may God bless them always.

Too many others were unhappy and unfulfilled, perhaps through no fault of their own. May God bring good and young women to the orders in a renewal of the Church. I was taught for four years by another order, and I must say none of those sisters impressed me at all, except for the worse. They were worldly and only liked being around the rich girls. Sad and unnecessary, but I had a good education none the less. They are not named here.