Jubilee Mass celebrates 2,340 years of service

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Among them, the 42 women religious honored this year at the diocesan jubilee celebration have offered 2,340 years of service to the Church. If all those years of service were stretched out, end to end, they would reach back to the founding of Alexandria, Egypt. That city, founded by Alexander the Great, became one of the main centers of early Christianity, brought there by St. Mark.

	Sisters' Jubilees 2006
	• Other Sisters' Jubilees 2006 articles

At 2 p.m., on Sunday, May 21, our modern church of Christ will offer a thanksgiving Mass for all those years of service. Bp. David Zubik will preside at the Mass at St. Bernard Parish, Green Bay. A reception will follow.

The theme for the jubilee celebration is: "Love One Another as Jesus Loves You."

This has many meanings, that all come together in a similar, clear-cut way. As 60th jubilarian, Sr. Ella Kaster said, "I think this can be summed up in one word: serve. In Mt 20:28, Jesus tells us, 'I came not to be served, but to serve.' We serve by being aware of 'the dear neighbor' - being available, listening, praying, thinking of/doing for the other, rather than for ourselves."

Responding to that call to love in the consecrated life has been something these sisters have done for 25, 50, 60 or 75 years. It was often love that first brought them to respond to their call. Sr. Angela Paul, a golden jubilarian, felt that great love in a powerful way:

"At the time I was working as a receptionist and had the long-range plans of marriage and of raising a family," she explained. "I came to church for the Good Friday services. Each reading and prayer seemed directed to me personally. I sensed the Lord was speaking to me of the tremendous love He had for me and that He desired to be my only spouse and to fill me with His love. I knew then and there my way to say "yes" to this wonderful love was to become a Sister. My whole life changed within that hour."

From that hour and through many more, God's love has sustained. As Sr. Raphael Piotrzkowski, a 60th jubilarian, put it: "God has been most faithful in His love and care for me during my years as a Sister. There are times roses are in my path, but these roses also have thorns. By living one day at a time and trusting in the Lord, I have been able to meet the challenges. Each new day with all His blessings is His gift to me. What a great reason to be glad, rejoice and celebrate life and all God's wonders."

Women religious who currently live in the diocesan area, or whose religious community has its headquarters here, will be honored May 21 by our local church, which has benefited from their faithfulness.

Besides their work here in this diocese, this year's jubilarians have served in 18 states - including Hawaii, Arizona and West Virginia - and on four continents, including Africa, Europe and South America.

They have been teachers, nurses, musicians, missionaries, gardeners, drivers, homemakers, parish ministers and librarians. They have taught music, math, science and religion. They have worked in colleges, parishes, hospitals and nursing homes. They have handled sports coaching, vehicle maintenance, financial offices, community leadership and hospice care. They have helped runaways, women in trouble, the sick, the dying and immigrants.

Wherever they have served, they strive to meet each new event and person in the same spirit which with they now celebrate their jubilees.

"Jubilee is a time for celebration," said Sr. Francis Bangert, a 50th jubilarian. "I gratefully celebrate and rejoice in a faithful God whose extravagant love has formed me, led me, done - in and through me - what I could not do for myself, bringing me to this moment in time. Fifty years as a sister, with its blessings and challenges has been fulfilling and life-giving and I'd do it over again!"

While many relatives and friends will gather with the jubilarians, those who cannot attend can still honor these women and say "thank you" for all they have given in their God-centered lives. All it takes is a card or a note of gratitude and congratulations.

Below are the addresses of the community houses of this year's jubilarians. The sisters would love to hear from the people whose lives they have touched, who have been graced by their ministries.