We commend to your charity the soul of our beloved in the 66 th year of her religious life Memorial Mass - Friday, July 28, 2006 at 10:00 a.m.
In May, 1977, Sister Mary Paul's mother died, and Sister Lucina, the Provincial at that time, sent a letter to the Community stating: “It is with deep sadness that I must write that Sister Mary Paul's mother…passed away.... Due to the peculiar family circumstances, Sister was advised by some of her immediate family not to attend the funeral. “Perhaps this is the best time to inform you that when Sister Mary Paul became a Catholic and when she planned to enter the convent, some of her brothers and sisters were not able to accept the decision she had made. This has been a heavy cross for sister, which she has borne silently and generously all these years. Sister has been reticent about these family circumstances because of her love for them, her deep family loyalty, and her love for her religious community. I know that you will understand and pray for her and her family.” In the above Scripture selection, one of Sister Mary Paul's favorites, and in the letter from Sister Lucina, it is easy to see the key to Sister Mary Paul's life. She was a Marie de la Roche for our own times, a woman who saw the Lord, and in spite of tremendous sorrow and pain, followed Him, forsaking all others. And Jesus promised: “I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.” Luke 18:29-30. Among her very closest friends, she may have voiced some of her pain. To the Community at large, she never spoke of it. She was cheerful, funny, a person who enjoyed a good joke, and at the same time, a person who was totally dedicated to her God and to her Community. Once she took that first step on her long journey in the company of the Lord she loved so much, she never wavered; never looked back. Whether she ministered as a nurse, as an x-ray technician, or as a Provincial, she gave of herself unstintingly, tirelessly, for the good of the people whom she served. In essence, she was a true woman of Providence . It was a pleasure and a joy to have her in our lives. And it is a consolation, now, to know that, while she is no longer with us physically, she will not forget us. We count on her to be an intercessor for us; a friend, a companion as we continue our own journey to be Providence to the world around us.
Birthday: September 30 SJA
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