A Return to Nazareth--an Enduring Presence

Dear ol' Nazareth remains an "enduring presence" in our hearts. It is a symbol of the mission, ministry, prayer, history, and spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph that began with the founding sisters of Le Puy-en-Velay in 1650, extended to the pioneer sisters who settled in Kalamazoo, MI in 1889, and continues with today's sisters, associates, benefactors, workers, friends, and visitors.  

Many souls have passed through Nazareth, and they, too, are an "enduring presence" full of stories, experiences, life-long lessons in living, loving, and friendship.

Let me explain what I mean about "enduring presence." One day as I sat near the 14th century Twisted Bridge that crosses the Borne River in Le Puy, the words, "enduring presence," popped into my head. I pondered these words for months without understanding them--until I visited Nazareth this winter.

My time at Nazareth has always been special from the first time I stood outside the front gate in 1973 to my entering the congregation in 1975, to working at the College 1976-79, to being a visitor from France. Nazareth is home for me. It is one of my connections to the Earth, to the sisters, and to God. Nazareth is an "enduring presence."  

Seeing the sisters this winter, most of them quite elderly, is a witness to Nazareth's "enduring presence," too. They have lived a religious life of faith and commitment for decades--and neither age or disability stop them. They continue on as witnesses to Christ just as they always have. They say their daily prayers. They go to Mass. They engage in community meals, activities, meetings, and friendship. They serve in whatever ways they can like taking sisters' trays, caring for plants, planning liturgies, putting on parties, sewing, driving others, keeping up with the news, joining or supporting various social justice activities--all of it in prayerful, service-oriented ways that helps the community as a whole. In short, they "move always toward profound love of God and love of neighbor." They are an inspiration to anyone who comes to know them.

Such a witness to "enduring presence" is a stark contrast to our nihilistic and consumerist society that breeds things like violence, hatred, substance abuse, sexual abuse--all commonplace occurences that we see in the daily news. "Enduring presence" is like the light of a small candle that gently whispers love and kindness to all. 

When I was 24 years old and getting ready to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph, a priest told me that he thought religious life was dying. What a thing to say! Nevertheless, if we look at the numbers and ages of today's sisters, we might agree with him. However, such a view skews other possibilities of what religious life is and can become. It ignores the fact that to have new life, you must wade through the death of the old order. The alchemists would call this death the "nigredo." Its blackness is followed by the "albedo" or resurrection, which is signified by the color, white. The next stage of development is the red or "rubedo" where things become stable, fixed, and wise. Then the process starts all over again.

Time and again, sisters coming to Le Puy would visit the Kitchen where the six founding sisters lived and marvel that the congregation has survived so long--despite the trials of the French Revolution and the Church's penchant for trying to monasticize the Congregation away from its charism of living and working among the people. In just 300 years after its founding, the sisters grew in number to 30,000 sisters with 56 motherhouses all over the world. Today, the Sisters of St. Joseph number 10,000 and with them are thousands of associates and people working in their institutions. The sisters may not always be visible but the "enduring presence" of the SSJ mission is. This service to the dear neighbor endures because it is good; it is right; it is just; it is a gift of the Spirit.

These days I am struck by how much the sisters devote themselves to working with the poor. In the past the sisters were largely teachers, nurses, and social workers in Catholic institutions. They worked with the poor, but the focus seemed to be more on maintaining the institutions. That was good for the first half of the twentieth century, but those institutions have been in a gradual decline or they have been highly corporatized. Institutions as a means of organizing our society are losing favor, especially among young people who feel swallowed up by stringent rules and the endless hours and expense of  certifications, degrees, and other tools that are required to prove one's competence. The next generation seems to be looking for more direct ways of helping others.

We are living in new times, exciting times. And, the Spirit is driving us toward new works and new worlds--yet another aspect of our "enduring presence"--and God's.



Some Enduring Faces of Nazareth
I saw many sisters during my week at Nazareth, some of whom I've known for over 40 years. Nazareth felt like home as strongly as it ever did. Here are a few of my friends.

 

Cathy Brazda, CSJ president, and Patty Warbritton, both new on the leadership team, with Janet and Sue.

                                    Georgiana                                                       Carol

 

Loretta shares her new stuffed pooch with Irene, former SSJ president (1971-79). Irene told me about the W.K. Kellogg National Fellowship Program and encouraged me to apply for a grant. I got the grant (1984-87) and began my travels all over the world. Irene helped me to change my life and realize my dreams of being a traveler and a writer.

I played softball with Jan in the Kalamazoo summer league and trumpet with Sue and other musicians at special Masses held at Holy Family Chapel. 

Fr. Don celebrates Mass at Nazareth. He was there when I entered in 1975. 

 Pat and I go back to the 1970s at St. Conrad's in Melvindale where she was a youth minister. We went to her family's home in Nova Scotia one summer and had a marvelous time. This year she helped me out by taking me to and from the train station. She can tell a story like nobody can!

  Kit was my novice director in 1979-80. 















Marge is one of the Nazareth Center administrators. She is woman of patience and wise judgement, which comes in handy as the sisters prepare to move to the new building.

Jeanne is one of the most solid, wise, and loving persons I know. A fellow extrovert, she has helped me through many a scrape with her counsel and prayer. 

 Mary Catherine and Joan

Josepha and I spoke her language, French, together for the first time. 

  













Joan introduced me to the women's movement of the 1970s and unlocked the spirit and language I needed to express what I had always felt as a woman.

 Mary and Rita

Margot opened her home to me during the first half of my stay in Kalamazoo. We first met when she was co-director of Formation in the mid-1970s. She represents for me a model of prayer, love, and gentleness, which I've experience from her through a simple lighted candle and a warm squeeze of the hand.

  Gertrude and I worked together at Nazareth College. She was my retreat director several times, director of my associate training group, and a member of my Mission Circle. She is one of many sisters who introduced me to the fact that women could be smart, highly educated, articulate, professional, and responsible for big things--all the things I wanted to be. I had never met women like the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Pat epitomizes the quick wit, brilliant smile, and deep blue eyes of the Irish. She is a model of service to others and always ready to help others. She was a regional when I entered, and helped me navigate all the details of entrance.

Lois was the parish minister at St. Conrad's in Melvindale when we met in 1973. She taught me the faith that enabled my conversion into Catholicism. She later inspired me to enter the Congregation in 1975. Lois helped to change my life, and she has remained one of my best friends. We talk on the phone a lot, even when I'm in France.



 




          Jean and Marge

               

                                        

 

   Ann Therese and Mary Claver read my blogs and encourage me to continue to write more. 

 

                                 Pat and Adele


Beth 

Sue and Pam were previously parish ministers at St. Thomas More Student Parish in Kalamazoo where I was a parishioner. In addition to providing wonderful liturgies, they both helped me pass through a couple "bumps in the road," which ultimately prepared the way for the life and work I'm now doing in Le Puy. They both like cats, too. We are all around the same age, and they make me feel as though I am one of them.

 


Winter Wonderland
During my time at Nazareth, the campus clothed itself with a coat of fluffy white stuff as gloriously as ever. Here are some treasured scenes of Nazareth in winter.

westside view of the front porch

view of the front porch from the third floor

view of the east wing from the bus stop

view of the front drive from the west side of the building

"backyard courtyard" with Fontbonne on the left and the chapel (white building) on the right

view of the land that Nazareth College once occupied

Naz at night, a view from the porch down the front drive

Naz at night, another view from the porch looking westward 

Here is one of the many mounds of snow plowed that fell during the Polar Vortex of 2019 when temperatures reached -30 F. This mound was at least seven feet high.

Nazareth Kitchen Staff

 

It seems impossible for me to write a blog without talking about food. Meals at Nazareth are plentiful and tasty with some of the best cafeteria food anywhere. Pictured here is my Saturday turkey dinner with sides of mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, cranberry sauce, salad, peaches with cottage cheese, and potato salad. Sometimes I can't stop myself from eating like a U.S. Marine.

The Nazareth kitchen staff is a well-tuned team. They prepare and serve meals in a most professional and loving way. They know the sisters by name and interact with them on a daily basis. The sisters, in turn, appreciate the kitchen staff not only for the work they do, but for the wonderful people that they are. I had the honor of working with the kitchen staff in 2016 and enjoyed it immensely. Upon my return to Nazareth this month, several staff members remembered me and greeted me warmly with big hugs and smiles. Caffee, Bridget, and Deb (manager) are not pictured, but they are integral to the smooth running of the kitchen. God bless them all!


 

Pauline has been with the Nazareth kitchen for decades. She is currently working on a memoir of her life growing up in Mississippi. As they say in Tupelo, she has "God all over her." 

Cheryl

Theresa

Ashley works in the kitchen as well as in the General Office. She was my trainer when I worked in the kitchen in 2016.

 

Latifah (center) serves some ice cream to Peg and Pat.

Jonathan is the overall manager of the kitchen and one of the best bosses I've ever worked under.

 

Winter is a heck of a time to go on vacation in Michigan, unless you are a skier, which I am not. However, for me this year it has been a rich time of rekindling old bonds and friendships, reflecting on my own "becoming," and seeing Nazareth as it is for one last time. This vacation has been a pure gift.