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Nazareth<br />
SISTERS OF<br />
THE HOLY<br />
FAMILY OF<br />
NAZARETH //<br />
VOL 13 //<br />
// NO 3 //<br />
WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
CONNECTIONS<br />
FAMILY IS THE HEART OF OUR MISSION<br />
A Nazareth Welcome<br />
for Our Affiliates and<br />
Postulant<br />
STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 4
MESSAGE FROM THE PROVI<strong>NC</strong>IAL SUPERIOR<br />
Listen<br />
EXPERIE<strong>NC</strong>E GOD’S PRESE<strong>NC</strong>E<br />
IN GENTLE SOUNDS<br />
Sr. Kathleen Maciej, Postulant Kayla Danks, Sr. Marietta<br />
Osinska, and Sr. Gemma Pepera<br />
Dear Friends of Nazareth,<br />
Can you recall the last time you<br />
paused to listen to the sound of the<br />
wind, to the flickering of a candle,<br />
to the rustling of leaves, or to the<br />
crackling of wood burning? So often,<br />
these and other gentle sounds are<br />
present in our midst, yet we are<br />
not even aware of them because<br />
of the many external sounds that<br />
surround us – the noise from traffic,<br />
construction, emergency vehicles,<br />
televisions, radios, excited children,<br />
cell phones, computers, dogs barking.<br />
Our awareness and attentiveness<br />
to the gentle and quiet sounds in<br />
our lives can only become possible<br />
when we set aside all those noisy<br />
distractions and interruptions, when<br />
we center our lives in the present<br />
moment and embrace the solitude and<br />
silence in which we become one with<br />
God, experiencing inner peace. Our<br />
God is a God of silence and peace.<br />
The Rule of Saint Benedict begins with<br />
the words: “Listen with the ear of the<br />
heart.” We may ask ourselves how<br />
this is possible. What does it mean to<br />
listen with the ear of the heart?<br />
To listen with the ear of the heart,<br />
requires finding silence within<br />
ourselves and quiet in our external<br />
world. It requires the emptying of<br />
ourselves from all that clutters our<br />
lives in order to create a place of<br />
solitude, silence, and inner peace in<br />
which we can prepare to experience<br />
God’s presence and His gentle voice in<br />
the depths of our inner selves.<br />
In this issue of Nazareth Connections,<br />
you will meet Katie Allen, Kayla Danks,<br />
Becky Garcia, Binh Nguyen, and Molly<br />
Spiering (beginning on page 4) who<br />
have experienced what it means to<br />
“listen with the ear of the heart.” For<br />
the past several years, these women<br />
have been engaged in a discernment<br />
process to determine their vocation<br />
to religious life; they set aside time<br />
each day to encounter God in silence<br />
and solitude; and, they listened<br />
attentively to the gentle voice of God.<br />
“Listening with the ear of the heart”<br />
readied them to embark on a new<br />
journey in their lives with the Sisters<br />
of the Holy Family of Nazareth.<br />
Also in this issue, you will read Sr.<br />
Marcella Louise Wallowicz’s reflection<br />
(beginning on page 14) about<br />
preparing ourselves for the feast<br />
of Our Savior’s birth. She writes of<br />
the “pre-holiday angst” we can find<br />
ourselves in when we fail to quiet our<br />
inner and outer worlds.<br />
Friends of Nazareth, as we begin the<br />
Advent and Christmas season, I invite<br />
you to enter into the experience of<br />
“listening with the ear of the heart.”<br />
Take moments to listen to the gentle<br />
sounds of the season. Through silence<br />
and solitude, may you, too, experience<br />
God’s presence and hear His gentle<br />
voice. May the inner peace you<br />
experience be shared with all whom<br />
you meet each day.<br />
Lovingly in JMJ,<br />
Sister Kathleen Maciej<br />
HOW ARE YOU CALLED TO LOVE?<br />
We invite you to pray with us, to listen to God’s call with us and to love with us<br />
as we find God in ordinary experiences. Learn more about our community life,<br />
our ministries and our mission at nazarethcsfn.org/join-us. Or contact<br />
Sr. Emmanuela Le, CSFN, National Vocation Director, at 972-641-4496 x111<br />
or vocations@nazarethcsfn.org.<br />
2
5<br />
12<br />
8<br />
VOLUME 13 //<br />
NUMBER 3 //<br />
WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
Nazareth Connections is published<br />
three times a year by the Sisters of<br />
the Holy Family of Nazareth<br />
in the USA.<br />
Editor:<br />
Tammy Townsend Denny<br />
Proofreaders:<br />
Sr. Clare Marie Kozicki<br />
Sr. Jude Carroll<br />
Sr. Lucille Madura<br />
Contents<br />
VOCATION<br />
4 Prayers for our new<br />
affiliates and postulant<br />
SERVICE CORPS<br />
8 Meet our <strong>2019</strong> Holy Family<br />
Service Corps Volunteers<br />
REFLECTION<br />
12 Religious life during the<br />
exodus<br />
14 A Christmas Reflection<br />
IN MEMORIAM<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
ON THE COVER:<br />
Sr. Edyta Krawczyk and Sr. Malgorzata Majszczyk prepares to<br />
welcome our affiliates and postulant.<br />
18<br />
16 Sr. M. Germaine (Josephine)<br />
Grabowska<br />
16 Sr. M. Sylvine (Frances) Czarnecka<br />
17 Sr. M. Madeline (Catherine) Kanich<br />
18 Morning with the Sisters<br />
18 Oktoberfest <strong>2019</strong><br />
19 Pray the Holy Family<br />
Novena with us<br />
Editorial Board:<br />
Sr. Angela Szczawinska<br />
Sr. Barbara Frances Samp<br />
Sr. Carol Szott<br />
Sr. Jude Carroll<br />
Sr. Kathleen Ann Stadler<br />
Sr. Lucille Madura<br />
Sr. Marcelina Mikulska<br />
Sr. Marcella Louise Wallowicz<br />
Sr. Mary Louise Swift<br />
Sr. Teresilla Kolodziejczyk<br />
Katherine Barth<br />
Design/Print:<br />
McDaniels Marketing<br />
Questions, comments, suggestions?<br />
Please contact:<br />
Communications Department<br />
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth<br />
310 N. River Road,<br />
Des Plaines, IL 60016<br />
847-298-6760, x144<br />
ttownsend@nazarethcsfn.org<br />
nazarethcsfn.org<br />
facebook.com/csfn.usa<br />
twitter.com/csfn_usa<br />
instagram.com/csfn.usa<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
3
VOCATION<br />
Prayers for our new<br />
affiliates and postulant<br />
WELCOME KATIE, BECKY, BINH, MOLLY, AND KAYLA<br />
4
Surrounded by friends and family,<br />
Katie Allen, Becky Garcia, Binh<br />
Nguyen, and Molly Spiering became<br />
affiliates of the Sisters of the Holy<br />
Family of Nazareth on September 28<br />
at Jesus the Good Shepherd Convent<br />
in Grand Prairie, TX. As affiliates,<br />
Katie, Becky, Binh, and Molly will live<br />
with our sisters at our newly opened<br />
House of Discernment in Richardson,<br />
TX. Sr. Michele Vincent Fisher is<br />
serving as their director.<br />
Katie, a Texas native, has been<br />
actively discerning her vocation<br />
since 2011. She is currently working<br />
as an English and Spanish teacher<br />
at John Paul II High School in Plano,<br />
TX. From a large, loving family, Katie<br />
was drawn to a deeper discernment<br />
with our Congregation because of<br />
the holiness our sisters find within<br />
ordinary life. She also is attracted to<br />
our “commitment to praying for and<br />
serving families.” In both her daily<br />
living and in her spiritual life, she<br />
enjoys the communal aspect of being<br />
an affiliate.<br />
Becky, also originally from Texas, is<br />
one of three siblings. Raised in a “little<br />
family with great love and care,” she<br />
earned her bachelor’s degree in art<br />
with a focus on ceramics from the<br />
University of Dallas in Irving, TX. She<br />
currently works as the young adult<br />
coordinator and assistant to the<br />
youth minister at Holy Spirit Parish in<br />
Duncanville, TX. She was called to the<br />
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth<br />
because of “the beautiful faith of [our]<br />
Mother Foundress and the tenderness<br />
the sisters have towards one another.”<br />
She began discerning her vocation in<br />
the fall of 2017.<br />
Binh was born in Vietnam where<br />
her younger sister and parents still<br />
live. She has been in the U.S. for five<br />
years and has two siblings in North<br />
Carolina. “We are far in distance, but<br />
close in heart,” she explained. Binh<br />
is currently pursuing an associate of<br />
science degree at Brookhaven College<br />
in Farmers Branch, TX. It is the love<br />
she sees among our sisters that drew<br />
her to discern with the Congregation.<br />
“God invited me to come, taste, and<br />
see,” she said. “…I am grateful for all<br />
the love that I received.”<br />
continued on page 6...<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
5
VOCATION<br />
Molly was raised on a farm in Powell,<br />
WY in a family who “loves good<br />
conversations, hard work, expeditions<br />
to the mountains… and laughter.”<br />
One of 11 children, she earned a<br />
bachelor’s degree in theology from<br />
Christendom College in Front Royal,<br />
VA. She is currently working as a<br />
housekeeper at Nazareth Retreat<br />
Center in Grand Prairie, TX and as<br />
the RCIA Coordinator at St. Anthony’s<br />
Parish in Wylie, TX. Our Mother<br />
Foundress’ “emphasis on seeking<br />
holiness through imitating the Holy<br />
Family’s life at Nazareth” really speaks<br />
to Molly’s heart.<br />
Please pray with us for these young<br />
women as they share in our life of<br />
prayer and community and get to<br />
know our Congregation better.<br />
For more information on our affiliacy<br />
program, please contact our vocation<br />
director, Sr. Emmanuela Le,<br />
at vocations@nazarethcsfn.org.<br />
6<br />
CONGRATULATIONS, KAYLA<br />
Also on September 28 in Grand Prairie, TX, the Sisters<br />
of the Holy Family of Nazareth welcomed Kayla Danks<br />
as a postulant. Kayla has spent the past year as an affiliate<br />
of our Congregation, beginning a transition from secular<br />
life and readying herself for postulancy. With Sr. Marietta<br />
Osinska as her director, she will spend approximately two<br />
years in a period of structured discernment. Growing up<br />
in Wichita Falls, TX, Kayla was first attracted to religious<br />
life after watching the Sound of Music. Her interest in<br />
becoming a Catholic sister continued into adulthood when<br />
she began attending our discernment retreats. “I fell in love<br />
with Nazareth when I learned what the charism is,” said<br />
Kayla. She is currently a full-time student at Mountain View<br />
College in Dallas.
SR. KAROLYN REFLECTS ON NEW LIFE<br />
IN THE CONGREGATION AND HER<br />
OWN DISCERNMENT<br />
Having affiliates discerning and a<br />
postulant entering the Congregation is<br />
a sign of new life and a future for our<br />
Congregation. These young women<br />
offer challenges that are enhancing<br />
our life in community, showing us<br />
there is a need for openness to new<br />
ways of thinking and calling for a<br />
willingness to accept changes that are<br />
happening as a gift from God.<br />
As for my own discernment, it<br />
began when I was in grade school<br />
spending time with the sisters. At this<br />
time I felt a desire to live with the<br />
sisters upon graduation from grade<br />
school. I was encouraged to wait<br />
until I graduated high school. During<br />
this time, I attended vocation fairs<br />
collecting information about many<br />
congregations; however, I always<br />
returned to the Sisters of the Holy<br />
Family of Nazareth. I was drawn<br />
to them because of their warm<br />
hospitality and prayer life. I spent<br />
much time helping them and praying<br />
with them while I discerned my<br />
vocation.<br />
Sr. Karolyn Stobierski entered the Sisters<br />
of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 1964.<br />
She currently serves on the office staff<br />
at St. Adalbert Catholic Academy in<br />
Elmhurst, NY.<br />
Our new affiliates Becky Garcia,<br />
Molly Spiering, Katie Allen, and Binh<br />
Nguyen<br />
Our new postulant Kayla Danks<br />
(center) with Sr. Marietta Osinska<br />
(left) and Sr. Gemma Pepera (right)<br />
Our affiliates receive candles from<br />
Sr. Kathleen Maciej, provincial<br />
superior, during a ceremony that<br />
included several readings<br />
Each affiliate receives a medal of<br />
the Holy Family and our Mother<br />
Foundress during the Rite of Affiliacy<br />
Our new postulant Kayla Danks<br />
Postulant Kayla receives a medal of<br />
the Holy Family from Sr. Kathleen<br />
Maciej, provincial superior<br />
Sr. Karolyn Stobierski (left) with Sr.<br />
Angela Szczawinska<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
7
SERVICE CORPS<br />
Meet our <strong>2019</strong> Holy<br />
Family Service<br />
Corps Volunteers<br />
“We are all called to emulate the Holy<br />
Family,” explained Ryan Crawford,<br />
one of five Holy Family Service<br />
Corps (HFSC) volunteers who is<br />
serving this year at Holy Family<br />
Institute, a sponsored ministry of<br />
the Sisters of the Holy Family of<br />
Nazareth in Pittsburgh. Ryan went on<br />
to quote from Pope St. John Paul II’s<br />
Familiaris Consortio, “Through God’s<br />
mysterious design, it was in that<br />
family that the Son of God spent long<br />
years of a hidden life. It is therefore<br />
the prototype and example for all<br />
Christian families.”<br />
“Family is the backbone of society,”<br />
Ryan said, “and the starting point<br />
for building authentic, healthy<br />
relationships.”<br />
Authentic, healthy relationships<br />
that further God’s love through<br />
service to families are exactly<br />
what HFSC strives to develop<br />
among its volunteers during their<br />
year of service in the Pittsburgh<br />
area. HFSC, an extension of the<br />
ministry of Holy Family Institute<br />
and the Sisters of the Holy Family<br />
of Nazareth, ties together the gifts<br />
of prayer, service, and community<br />
to offer volunteers a powerful<br />
opportunity to be the change they<br />
want to see in the world. Not only<br />
do volunteers grow professionally,<br />
personally, and spiritually but they<br />
also interact with our sisters, learning<br />
our core values of faithful listening,<br />
loving relationships, and discovering<br />
God in the ordinary experiences of<br />
daily life. While serving in one of Holy<br />
Family Institute’s ministries, volunteers<br />
live communally and earn the<br />
opportunity for an education grant<br />
“The greatest joy I have experienced is seeing the<br />
difference that I can make in each student’s life,”<br />
at the conclusion of their service or<br />
earn a master’s degree, depending<br />
upon the program they have chosen.<br />
Originally from Hershey, PA and with<br />
a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from<br />
Duquesne University in Pittsburgh,<br />
Ryan is spending his service year coteaching<br />
religion classes at Nazareth<br />
Prep. Ryan joins volunteers Julia<br />
Natalia, Adele Smith, Keilah Gussie,<br />
and Maria Montoya to form this year’s<br />
HFSC volunteer group.<br />
For Julia Natalia, a native of<br />
Pittsburgh’s Springdale area and<br />
a recent graduate of Seton Hill<br />
University in Greensburg, PA with<br />
a Bachelor’s degree in English<br />
Literature and English 7 – 12 teaching<br />
certification, HFSC has helped her<br />
develop a sense of belonging and<br />
purpose as she co-teaches cultural<br />
literacy at Nazareth Prep.<br />
8
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
9
10<br />
“The greatest joy I have experienced<br />
is seeing the difference that I can<br />
make in each student’s life,” explained<br />
Julia. “We are helping to shape<br />
the future of the world by helping<br />
these students to reach their fullest<br />
potential.”<br />
Like Julia, volunteer Adele Smith finds<br />
great joy in helping the students at<br />
Nazareth Prep create “a culture of<br />
empathy and kindness” as she assists<br />
first year students and supports<br />
special needs students. With a<br />
Bachelor’s degree in English Education<br />
7 – 12 with a concentration in Speech<br />
and Communication from Penn State,<br />
Adele was attracted to HFSC for “the<br />
social justice standards and criteria<br />
they have set for themselves as an<br />
organization.”<br />
These ideals along with the<br />
opportunity to live in a community<br />
are what attracted Keilah Gussie<br />
to HFSC. As the daughter of career<br />
Navy parents, Keilah has traveled all<br />
over the world. With a Bachelor’s<br />
degree in Exceptional Learning from<br />
the University of Mary in Bismarck,<br />
ND, she is spending her service<br />
year writing a literacy and reading<br />
intervention program for grades K – 8<br />
for Holy Family Institute’s Specialized<br />
Learning School. “Like any job or<br />
task, you have great days, bad days,<br />
and everything in between,” she said.<br />
“I have experienced all of them, but<br />
each day I am starting to see small<br />
improvements and that makes it<br />
worth any challenge.”<br />
A willingness to embrace challenges<br />
characterizes the volunteer service<br />
Maria Montoya provides at Holy<br />
Family Institute’s Journey of Hope<br />
Program. Originally from Honduras,<br />
Maria provides nurturing and loving<br />
childcare for unaccompanied minors<br />
who await sponsorship in the U.S.<br />
Along with other Journey of Hope<br />
staff, Maria works to provide a safe<br />
and hopeful environment for the<br />
children, many of whom have endured<br />
long, perilous journeys. In addition to<br />
her work with the children, Maria also<br />
is learning to live in community with<br />
the other HFSC volunteers as they<br />
negotiate how to shop for groceries<br />
or which movie to watch together.<br />
It is this community life which Keilah<br />
says “is an adventure of its own.”<br />
As complete strangers coming<br />
from various backgrounds and with<br />
different likes and dislikes, the five<br />
volunteers have had to learn how to<br />
function quickly as a community. For<br />
this year’s group, the communitybuilding<br />
experience was hastened by<br />
the arrival of an unexpected visitor<br />
-- Steven the snake, who inadvertently<br />
got into the building not long after the<br />
volunteers arrived.
“For the next 30 minutes [after<br />
discovering the snake], we were trying<br />
to figure out what we were going to<br />
do with our new friend,” said Keilah.<br />
A lot of cooperation along with a<br />
few jokes and some laughter resulted<br />
in phone calls to their supervisor,<br />
one of the volunteer’s mom, and the<br />
handyman for the building. Of course,<br />
they had to name their new slithering<br />
friend, too. After a few tense moments,<br />
Steven was safely returned to the wild<br />
with the assistance of the building’s<br />
handyman. “After that experience, it<br />
became a lot easier to get to know<br />
each other,” Keilah said.<br />
Experience with snakes is not a<br />
requirement to be a HFSC volunteer;<br />
however, a willingness to live simply<br />
and in community with others along<br />
with a healthy sense of humor is<br />
needed.<br />
Ryan Crawford, Keilah Gussie, Maria<br />
Montoya, Julia Natalia, and Adele<br />
Smith during their commissioning<br />
ceremony.<br />
The HFSC volunteers with Srs. Maria<br />
Kruszewski, Audrey Merski, and<br />
Mary Lou Kwiatkowski.<br />
This year’s volunteers with Sr. Linda<br />
Yankoski, president and CEO of Holy<br />
Family Institute and Lynn Guerra,<br />
director of volunteer services at Holy<br />
Family Institute.<br />
To learn more about how you or someone you know can become a<br />
HFSC volunteer, please visit nazarethcsfn.org/service-corps/long-termservice<br />
or contact Lynn Guerra, Director of Volunteer Services at Holy<br />
Family Institute, guerra.lynn@hfi-pgh.org.<br />
Service Corps volunteers after their<br />
commissioning ceremony.<br />
Sisters and Holy Family Institute<br />
staff bless the new volunteers during<br />
the commissioning ceremony.<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
11
REFLECTION<br />
12<br />
Religious life<br />
during the<br />
exodus<br />
by Sr. Angela Cresswell, CSFN<br />
Editor’s Note: Sr. Angela Cresswell<br />
celebrated her 50th jubilee this year.<br />
As part of the celebration, she was<br />
recognized in the summer issue of<br />
Nazareth Connections where she<br />
mentioned that she entered the Sisters<br />
of the Holy Family of Nazareth at a time<br />
when many were leaving religious life.<br />
The following is a personal reflection<br />
from Sr. Angela in which she shares more<br />
about her experiences during this pivotal<br />
time in the history of vowed religious. Sr.<br />
Angela’s reflection is in no way intended<br />
as dogma or definitive research on<br />
Vatican II or the years that followed.<br />
When Pope John XXIII opened<br />
the windows of Vatican II (1962 –<br />
1965) to shake out the dusty rugs<br />
(antiquated practices) of past decades,<br />
it is doubtful he envisioned losing<br />
so many rugs (laity and religious)<br />
in the aftermath. Although many<br />
people breathed sighs of relief, if<br />
not exhilaration at the changes<br />
in the Church, others may have<br />
struggled to gasp for air fearful of the<br />
outcome of these changes. Several<br />
changes may have been especially<br />
welcome: permission to worship in<br />
the vernacular rather than Latin, to<br />
use contemporary expressions of<br />
song and instruments in worship, to<br />
assume roles in the Liturgy previously<br />
entrusted exclusively to the clergy.<br />
Subsequently, houses of consecrated<br />
religious assembled to discuss<br />
traditions and customs to see<br />
what might deserve an update, a<br />
fresh approach to serving others<br />
both within and without their<br />
congregations. They deliberated<br />
such topics as changes in the habit,<br />
schedules that were more flexible, a<br />
greater freedom for time of private<br />
prayer, individual choices for healthy<br />
physical outlets and vacations –<br />
numerous relevant matters. Surely,<br />
hope sprang eternal with its promises<br />
of revisions. What then happened to<br />
impel so many religious to abandon<br />
the vowed life?<br />
As I reflect on the decades of the 60s<br />
and 70s, it seems that much of society<br />
was changing rapidly, clamoring for<br />
new ways of thinking: politically,
socially, in terms of religion, fashion<br />
and behaviors. Demonstrations for or<br />
against some issues characterized the<br />
era. Perhaps the speed and uncertainty<br />
of outcomes contributed to the sense<br />
of anxiety permeating the atmosphere.<br />
In 1969, I, along with 11 other young<br />
women knocked, and entered the<br />
doors of the Congregation of the<br />
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth<br />
in Philadelphia. We were far more<br />
aware of what was happening outside<br />
of religious congregations than inside.<br />
The decision to leave religious life<br />
was a deeply personal choice of each<br />
individual for a myriad of reasons.<br />
Because I knew relatively few sisters<br />
well during the first three years of<br />
initial formation, the news of those<br />
leaving did not have a strong impact<br />
on my desire to continue living as a<br />
religious. In addition, as novices, we<br />
were somewhat secluded from the<br />
professed sisters as we were learning<br />
about the vows and community life;<br />
one did not ask questions in those<br />
days.<br />
As my circle of friendships grew, the<br />
relationships that had developed were<br />
altered by those leaving, and I felt the<br />
loss deeply – especially the sisters<br />
who were instrumental in bringing<br />
me to Nazareth. A few friends shared<br />
their reasons for leaving. For others,<br />
I can only speculate that perhaps<br />
the proposed changes were not<br />
fast enough. External changes in<br />
community living may not have kept<br />
pace with the changes in the outside<br />
world, but they would eventually<br />
occur. I would later meet persons<br />
who had left and learned of the<br />
changes in community living. Some<br />
would ask me, “Do you think I should<br />
have stayed?”<br />
I expected religious life to be different<br />
from secular life in some ways and<br />
I still do. I knew that my call and<br />
response to the consecrated life was<br />
not a whim nor a coincidence.<br />
As I celebrate my 50th Jubilee, I<br />
experience a profound gratitude for<br />
my religious vocation, and even more<br />
for God’s fidelity in keeping me.<br />
Sr. Angela holds a PhD in Second<br />
Language Acquisition/Instructional<br />
Technology. She serves as an assistant<br />
professor at Holy Family University (HFU)<br />
and as the director of HFU’s Family<br />
Center, both in Philadelphia. She also is a<br />
Spanish instructor at Nazareth Academy<br />
High School also in Philadelphia.<br />
Sr. Angela Cresswell (left) with Sr.<br />
Daniela Bronka during the Provincial<br />
Assembly in 2018<br />
“Make and keep Our Lord your reason for what you do.”<br />
Sr. Angela at the Provincial Assembly<br />
in 2018<br />
I did not know that as I was entering,<br />
an appreciable number were leaving.<br />
With the optimism of youth, I do not<br />
imagine it would have dampened my<br />
enthusiasm for embracing this new<br />
life. Entering religious life was not<br />
an issue at the time; staying would<br />
become the challenge as it is with any<br />
commitment.<br />
My journey here was neither<br />
predictable nor easy. The words of<br />
both my mentor and novice directress<br />
stream often through my mind: “Make<br />
and keep Our Lord your reason for<br />
what you do.” With deeply spiritual<br />
women as mentors, and my God’s<br />
continual call to an ever-deeper union,<br />
the doubts and struggles that emerge<br />
have not triumphed.<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
13
REFLECTION<br />
A Christmas<br />
reflection<br />
by Sr. Marcella Louise Wallowicz, CSFN<br />
The anticipation of the feast of Our<br />
Savior’s birth challenges us to focus<br />
on what is really essential. We may be<br />
conflicted by how the media portrays<br />
Christmas and what our own hearts<br />
reveal. Is the size of the gift really the<br />
measure of the value of a relationship?<br />
The many advertisements aired for<br />
months leading up to the holiday<br />
and Holy Day would have us believe<br />
so. The recently beatified American<br />
Capuchin, Solanus Casey once<br />
counseled, “Material prosperity<br />
becomes the absorbing object of<br />
human endeavor as though there<br />
were nothing higher and better to be<br />
gained.” What greater love, indeed,<br />
what greater gift could God have<br />
given us than His only Son -- the<br />
real reason for the season? St. John<br />
of the Cross reminds us that in the<br />
twilight of life, God will not judge us<br />
on our earthly possessions or human<br />
success but rather on how much we<br />
have loved. Yes, learning how to love<br />
generously is a lifetime task!<br />
Sadly, for many, the preoccupation<br />
is with the transient material world<br />
and the tinsel trappings that begin<br />
long before the Savior’s birth and<br />
barely endure past December 25.<br />
Pursuing what fails to satisfy just<br />
produces an emptiness and a sense<br />
of purposelessness. The pressure of<br />
keeping up with our neighbors and<br />
friends in gift giving, a quid pro quo so<br />
to speak, simply adds to this discord<br />
and anxiety. The continuous piping of<br />
Christmas music over the radio and<br />
the endless Hallmark movies provide<br />
only a brief respite, if at all. For some,<br />
it only heightens the pre-holiday angst<br />
by reminding them of the many tasks<br />
that still need to be done.<br />
You may recall that poignant carpe<br />
diem lecture from Dead Poets Society<br />
where Mr. Keating, portrayed by<br />
Robin Williams, encourages his<br />
young affluent students to seize the<br />
day, but not necessarily in pursuit<br />
of material prosperity but rather to<br />
seek what feeds the soul. For like<br />
the rich man in the Gospel narrative<br />
who tore down his barns in order<br />
to construct larger ones for his<br />
surplus, “Each of us one day will stop<br />
breathing, turn cold and die.” What<br />
will be our legacy? In a more seasonal<br />
allusion, the love of the child Tiny Tim<br />
transforms Ebenezer Scrooge, the<br />
quintessential protagonist in Charles<br />
Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, from a<br />
cold-hearted miser to a model of<br />
generosity and kindness. The love<br />
of the Child at work in our lives is<br />
much more astounding. Not that<br />
we are necessarily cold-hearted but<br />
Jesus warms our hearts and that love<br />
enables us to open our arms and<br />
embrace those around us.<br />
As a child, my family Christmas<br />
celebrations were simple but<br />
meaningful. I grew up in an era<br />
14
where I did not receive every toy or<br />
game that I wanted; however, I had<br />
everything I needed. I experienced<br />
a world that was frugal yet kind.<br />
The love of my parents and siblings<br />
far outweighed the latest craze on<br />
TV. In school, we opened the daily<br />
door on the Advent calendar, sang<br />
carols, decorated classroom trees,<br />
and participated in Christmas plays<br />
and concerts not holiday pageants.<br />
Anticipation would build from<br />
Thanksgiving throughout Advent and<br />
into the Christmas season.<br />
One of my favorite Christmas movies<br />
is National Lampoon’s Christmas<br />
Vacation, because I can identify with<br />
Clark Griswold’s desire that his<br />
children experience a good oldfashioned<br />
family Christmas as I<br />
experience the nostalgia and gratitude<br />
for Christmases past.<br />
As a young religious, I lived with<br />
a sister whom I would call saintly.<br />
Many readers of Nazareth Connections<br />
might remember her: Sr. Michaelann<br />
Delaney. The convent I now live<br />
in (Delaney Hall) has a portrait of<br />
Sr. Michaelann in the lobby with a<br />
plaque containing this inscription<br />
(paraphrased):<br />
“THE GOOD WE DO AND<br />
THE LOVE WE SHOW ARE<br />
OUR LEGACY AND HAVE<br />
THE POWER TO CHANGE<br />
OUR WORLD LONG AFTER<br />
WE ARE GONE.”<br />
In life, Sr. Michaelann lived simply<br />
and touched countless lives as an<br />
educator and through congregational<br />
leadership. In death, she continues to<br />
touch lives. One way is through an<br />
annual tribute grant in her memory<br />
which provides monetary assistance<br />
to families in need. The Gospel writers<br />
agree that our focus should not be<br />
on accumulating possessions but to<br />
“store up treasures in heaven.”<br />
As we reflect on these coming days of<br />
Advent and Christmas, may we come<br />
to a deeper understanding of how<br />
to live more generously and without<br />
regret. As St. John of the Cross<br />
reminds us, “Our moments of being<br />
emptied can prepare us to be filled by<br />
God.” On these dark and wintry days<br />
in which nature may mirror our lives,<br />
may He who has come to redeem us<br />
find a warm and welcoming place in<br />
our hearts.<br />
***********<br />
Sr. Marcella Louise is an Associate<br />
Professor of Mathematics and Assistant<br />
Dean at Holy Family University in<br />
Philadelphia where she earned her BA<br />
in Chemistry. She also holds an MA in<br />
Mathematics from Villanova University<br />
and a PhD in Post-secondary and Adult<br />
Education from Capella University. She<br />
entered the Sisters of the Holy Family of<br />
Nazareth in 1978.<br />
The Christmas tree at Immaculate<br />
Heart of Mary Convent, Monroe, CT.<br />
Sr. Edyta Krawczyk shares the joys<br />
of Our Savior’s birth with children in<br />
Grand Prairie, TX.<br />
FAMILY DAY <strong>2019</strong><br />
A special thank you goes out to our friends and donors who joined us<br />
on November 3 for Family Day at Jesus of Nazareth Convent (Mount<br />
Nazareth) in Philadelphia. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Edward<br />
J. Petner, Jr who received this year’s Sisters of the Holy Family of<br />
Nazareth Tribute Grant. The grant is awarded each year to a person(s)<br />
or organization who exemplifies Sr. Michaelann Delaney’s virtues of<br />
compassion, love, and service toward others. (Sr. Michaelann passed<br />
away in 2002.) Grant honorees receive $5,000 to donate to the<br />
charity of their choice. The Petner’s selected the Children’s Hospital of<br />
Philadelphia – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as their charity.<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
15
In Memoriam<br />
16<br />
Sr. M. Germaine<br />
(Josephine)<br />
Grabowska<br />
May 25, 1914 –<br />
July 31, <strong>2019</strong><br />
Sr. Germaine is<br />
remembered for her<br />
calm demeanor, her gracious manners,<br />
and her beautiful smile. Born on May<br />
25, 1914, in Brooklyn, NY to Joseph<br />
and Lottie Grabowski, Josephine, as<br />
she was baptized, was the first of<br />
three children.<br />
Growing up in the Greenpoint<br />
neighborhood of Brooklyn, she<br />
attended St. Stanislaus Kostka School<br />
in Brooklyn where she was inspired<br />
by the good example and kindness of<br />
the sisters, often spending time after<br />
school helping them. At home, she<br />
was the little teacher to her siblings,<br />
sharing everything she learned at<br />
school.<br />
After graduation from St. Stanislaus<br />
Kostka School, Josephine and a few<br />
of her friends decided to attend high<br />
school at the new Nazareth Academy<br />
in Philadelphia with the plan to use<br />
their high school years to discern if<br />
they had a vocation to religious life.<br />
The young girls traveled by train to<br />
Philadelphia and were among the<br />
fi rst class of students to be educated<br />
at the newly constructed Nazareth<br />
Academy High School.<br />
On May 11, 1928, Josephine became a<br />
postulant. Two years later, she entered<br />
the novitiate, receiving the name Sr.<br />
Mary Germaine. She pronounced her<br />
temporary vows on September 1,<br />
1932 and perpetual vows on August<br />
15, 1938.<br />
With a Bachelor’s degree in<br />
Elementary Education from Villanova<br />
University, Sr. Germaine served in<br />
education ministry in Baltimore,<br />
MD; Wading River, NY; Worcester,<br />
MA; Plantation, FL; McAdoo, PA; and<br />
Norristown, PA. At the age of 97,<br />
after 34 years at Visitation BVM in<br />
Norristown where she had taught and<br />
performed unseen but essential tasks<br />
in the convent and in the school, Sr.<br />
Germaine made the decision to retire<br />
to Mount Nazareth in Philadelphia.<br />
At Mount Nazareth, Sr. Germaine<br />
spent her time visiting the sisters in<br />
the infi rmary and keeping current<br />
with her correspondence. After<br />
several months in retirement, Sr.<br />
Germaine needed medical attention<br />
in a hospital for the first time in<br />
97 years, though she remained in<br />
relatively good health for a number of<br />
years after that. Her mind was alert,<br />
and she continued to pray and read.<br />
In July, it became apparent that Sr.<br />
Germaine was becoming very weak.<br />
On July 31, in the 91st year of her<br />
religious life, she peacefully fell asleep<br />
in the Lord. Her Mass of Resurrection<br />
was August 4 at Jesus of Nazareth<br />
Convent (Mount Nazareth) in<br />
Philadelphia.<br />
Sr. M. Sylvine<br />
(Frances)<br />
Czarnecka<br />
January 10, 1924<br />
– October 3, <strong>2019</strong><br />
Sr. Sylvine was a<br />
woman of deep prayer and strong<br />
will. During her 78 years in religious<br />
life, she spread the Kingdom of God’s<br />
love with kindness, concern, and<br />
thoughtfulness.
Born on January 10, 1924 to<br />
Alexander and Sophie (Kosinska)<br />
Czarnecki and baptized Frances Mary,<br />
she was the oldest of five children.<br />
From the beginning, our foundress had<br />
an important place in Frances’ life. In<br />
the sixth grade at St. Stanislaus Bishop<br />
and Martyr School in Ozone Park, NY,<br />
Frances contracted double pneumonia.<br />
Our sisters came to her home to<br />
place on her a relic of Blessed Mary<br />
of Jesus the Good Shepherd (Frances<br />
Siedliska), our foundress. Later Sr.<br />
Sylvine wrote of the experience,<br />
“No one expected me to live. I<br />
was hospitalized, and then sent to a<br />
sanatorium to recuperate. After four<br />
months, I returned home and was<br />
on time to receive the Sacrament of<br />
Confirmation.”<br />
She attended Nazareth Academy,<br />
arriving there in September 1939, and<br />
entered the Congregation on June 10,<br />
1941. As a second year novice, she and<br />
other novices helped the World War<br />
II effort by embroidering designs in<br />
banners for the various corps of the<br />
U.S. Armed Forces. She and her novice<br />
group also cut and sent out hosts for<br />
Mass to chaplains on the European<br />
front. She professed her final vows on<br />
August 15, 1950.<br />
From 1944-1946, she attended<br />
Holy Family Teacher Training School<br />
in Philadelphia, receiving a normal<br />
certificate for teaching. She also<br />
received a Bachelor’s degree in<br />
Education from Holy Family College<br />
(now University) in Philadelphia and<br />
a Master’s in Biology from Villanova<br />
University, Pennsylvania. Always an<br />
avid learner, Sr. Sylvine attended Holy<br />
Cross College and Boston College,<br />
earning additional credits in Physics,<br />
Chemistry, and Biological Sciences.<br />
Her first mission was to Hato Rey,<br />
Puerto Rico, where she spent nine<br />
years teaching in both Colegio<br />
Espirito Santo and in missions in<br />
Quintana, P.R. She also served in<br />
schools in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,<br />
New York, and Connecticut. She<br />
taught 32 years on the elementary<br />
school level and 27 years on the high<br />
school level.<br />
After a long illness, Sr. Sylvine died<br />
on October 3 at Immaculate Heart<br />
of Mary Convent in Monroe, CT. Her<br />
Mass of Resurrection was celebrated<br />
October 7 at the convent chapel.<br />
Sr. M. Madeline<br />
(Catherine)<br />
Kanich<br />
August 26, 1940 –<br />
October 8, <strong>2019</strong><br />
With kindness,<br />
generosity, and<br />
sensitivity, Sr. Madeline touched many<br />
lives with her warm-hearted, good<br />
humor and with her commitment to<br />
serving families. Born on August 26,<br />
1940 to John and Ann (Jacubovics)<br />
Kanich in New York City, she was<br />
baptized Catherine Kanich at St. John<br />
Nepomucene Church and became a<br />
member of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish,<br />
Greenpoint, Brooklyn when her family<br />
moved there. She entered the Sisters<br />
of the Holy Family of Nazareth on<br />
September 8, 1956 and professed her<br />
final vows on August 11, 1965.<br />
Sr. Madeline earned a Bachelor of<br />
Arts degree in Psychology from Holy<br />
Family University in Philadelphia<br />
in1969 and a Master of Social Work<br />
from St. Louis University, Missouri in<br />
1971.<br />
Her first assignment was to teach<br />
in St. Mary’s Elementary School,<br />
Worcester, MA. After six years of<br />
ministry there, she devoted her life<br />
to Little Flower Children’s Services<br />
in Wading River, NY where she<br />
spent 27 years as a social worker.<br />
She also served as a cottage mother<br />
and adoption supervisor. Her strong<br />
advocacy for the children she<br />
represented was a blessing to so many.<br />
After her retirement from social<br />
work in 1998, she continued at Little<br />
Flower as an econome/buyer, ordering<br />
food and supplies for the institution.<br />
In 2016, Little Flower honored Sr.<br />
Madeline for her 50 years of service<br />
to the organization, recognizing her<br />
for “enabling the ‘lights’ of so many<br />
Little Flower youngsters to shine over<br />
the long years of her career.”<br />
In January 2016, Sr. Madeline came<br />
to live at Immaculate Heart of Mary<br />
Convent, Monroe, CT to receive<br />
nursing care due to an injury. A<br />
specially made electric wheelchair<br />
enabled her to maneuver through the<br />
corridors of the convent to the dining<br />
room, chapel, and community room<br />
and was often seen in the chapel<br />
making visits to Jesus. She served as<br />
the convent’s assistant superior, a<br />
moderator for the Associates of the<br />
Holy Family, and a member of the<br />
Holy Family Grant Review Board.<br />
After a short illness, Sr. Madeline<br />
passed away peacefully on October<br />
8. Her Mass of Resurrection was<br />
celebrated October 11 at the<br />
Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent<br />
chapel, Monroe, CT.<br />
Donations in memory of<br />
a deceased sister may be<br />
mailed to Development Office,<br />
Sisters of the Holy Family of<br />
Nazareth, 310 N. River Rd.,<br />
Des Plaines, IL 60016. Please<br />
include a note with the name<br />
of the sister you are giving<br />
in memory of. Donations<br />
may also be made online at<br />
nazarethcsfn.org/support-us/<br />
donate-now/.<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
17
DEVELOPMENT<br />
Thank you from our<br />
Development Office<br />
MORNING WITH<br />
THE SISTERS<br />
More than 100 friends and sisters<br />
celebrated Mass and enjoyed<br />
breakfast at our annual Morning<br />
with the Sisters, held at our convent<br />
in Grand Prairie, TX. We love that<br />
the only purpose of this event is to<br />
celebrate our friendships with so<br />
many wonderful people! (photo right)<br />
OKTOBERFEST <strong>2019</strong><br />
Thanks to Sr. Clare Marie Kozicki and her committee for all the hard work<br />
they did in organizing this year’s Oktoberfest fundraiser near Chicago. Some<br />
350 sisters and friends of Nazareth gathered for delicious German food, raffles,<br />
silent auction, and rock-and-roll music performed by an Elvis impersonator, Rick<br />
Saucedo. Proceeds from the event will be used to assist the Sisters of the Holy<br />
Family of Nazareth’s outreach to families.<br />
For our sisters, just being with friends and benefactors is the best part of any<br />
gathering. We are grateful that so many take time out of their busy schedules to<br />
attend our Oktoberfest fundraiser. (photos above and left)<br />
18
PRAY THE HOLY FAMILY NOVENA WITH US<br />
The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the Sunday between Christmas and January 1. This year the feast falls on<br />
December 29. Since 1989, friends of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth have joined us in praying the special Holy<br />
Family Novena, written by Sr. Cathy Fedewa, for the nine days leading up to this feast.<br />
Each day of the prayer focuses on a different aspect or form of family life, some of them non-traditional. “For all families...<br />
for new families... for families in pain... for persons without families... for our brothers and sisters throughout the world...”<br />
Sr. Cathy explains, “When I was thinking about this prayer, all of those different aspects of family life came to me.”<br />
That year the sisters in Pittsburgh received ecclesiastical<br />
permission from the Diocese of Pittsburgh to print the novena;<br />
they sent it to friends and family on their mailing list, invited<br />
them to join the sisters in praying the novena. Eventually, the<br />
custom spread across what is now the U.S. province of the<br />
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth - and beyond.<br />
We invite you to join in spirit with this worldwide time of<br />
prayer and also to use this novena at any time of the year. The<br />
novena is available on our website at nazarethcsfn.org/prayer/<br />
holy-family-novena.<br />
We also invite you to watch our Holy Family Novena video<br />
series featuring our sisters reading the novena. The videos are<br />
available online at bit.ly/CSFNHolyFamilyNovena.<br />
NAZARETH CONNECTIONS // WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
19
310 N River Rd.<br />
Des Plaines, IL 60016<br />
www.nazarethcsfn.org<br />
Non-profit<br />
Organization<br />
U.S. Postage<br />
Paid<br />
Des Plaines, IL<br />
Permit No. 340<br />
MAKING A BEQUEST: GIVING A<br />
GIFT THAT LIVES ON<br />
Is there a CSFN sister who was influential in your life—someone<br />
who helped you become the person you are? Maybe she taught<br />
you reading or prayed for you at a difficult time?<br />
One way you can honor her or her memory is by remembering<br />
the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in your Will. By<br />
carefully planning your Will, you can remember those charities<br />
and organizations which have been close to your heart<br />
throughout your life.<br />
If you would like more information about remembering the<br />
Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in your Will, or if you<br />
have already done so, please contact Katherine Barth at<br />
kbarth@nazarethcsfn.org or 847-298-6760, ext. 143.<br />
We, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, are called to extend the Kingdom of God’s love among ourselves and<br />
others by living the spirit of Jesus, Mary and Joseph whose lives were centered in the love of God and one another.<br />
We witness to this love through dedicated service to the Church, especially in ministry to the family.