Today is a celebration of life!  The life of Sr. Mary Ellen Greene, Sr. Mary Leo, born to parents, both from Ireland and one of 8 children—6 brothers and 1 sister – no wonder she knew so well how to interact with her boys.

When teaching in Ogdensburg, she was sitting in her classroom and one of her students came in and mumbled:

Sister, I dreamt about you last night.

Oh what was it about?

I dreamt I threw you out of the window

Sister said, why didn’t you?’

He answered, I wanted to live longer.

Sister was a teacher and more she was an educator – sharing not just facts – rather sharing with students the thought processes needed in the fruitful relating and storing of facts.  She was interested and invested in the total person.

Sister was a nurse – and again she used her knowledge when practically challenged – she always acted quickly – with love and concern.  Sister was one of the foundreses of the hospital in Kodiak

Sister was devoted to her family – assisting them and responding to their needs

Sister was a Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart – a woman of love and compassion – dry humor – feisty – snappish – a wonderful listener – ever current in her thinking – determined – decisive – always with a depth of prayer.

Sister Mary Ellen, we thank you for your life lived among us your family and with all those to whom you ministered.  May you now enjoy peace and life with your God. 

Sister Marlene G. Butler, GNSH
President
May 5, 2006

Sister Mary Ellen Greene – Viewing – May 4, 2006

Born to Martin and Rose Carney Greene in 1911, Mary Ellen Greene was first and foremost a New Yorker. She knew how it was and did not hesitate to say so. This is more or less a necessity in New York. A few months ago, she told me this story about herself as a child. She was in 3rd grade and her Mother had her take her little sister to her first day of 1st grade. The teacher looked at the little girl and said, “If you are as smart as your sister Mary, you will do very well.” Mary Ellen piped in and said,” If she has you as a teacher, she won’t.” Somehow her Mother heard of this comment and said, “Mary, do you always have to say what you think?”  Mary Ellen replied, “I have to tell the truth, don’t I? And thus it has been through the years.

The Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky sent a fax in which he expressed his condolences for Sister Mary Ellen’s death. 

 Dear Sister Maureen, I join you and the community in mourning Sr. Mary Ellen Greene. She was a terrific nun, and she brought teaching and values to every life she touched. A few years ago she admonished me to pull up my socks and get busy about doing the job entrusted to me. She left no wiggle room. Now she has to pray for me and for all of us, a good advocate.

She was still issuing orders last week. I suspect she bypassed St. Peter and went straight to the top.  Now we Grey Nuns do not take too kindly to direct commands. But indirect was never Sister’s MO. If one was courageous enough to tease her about it, or give her a straight answer back, she would appear to be annoyed but the twinkle in her eyes belied her annoyance.

Sister Mary Ellen was a devoted and caring teacher to her students through the years.  Not only did she pray for them but also kept in touch by phone calls and letters.

Teenagers are notorious for seeing right though you. They appreciate competence and caring.  Pretense is unacceptable. They appreciated her.

Sister did not accept pretense in others either. Perhaps one of her greatest gifts was in forcing one to be authentic.

In these last months when her body was failing, her mind was still sharp, She never failed to thank you for coming by and at the same time tell you how kind everyone was to her, the wonderful care she was receiving , and how lucky we all were to live in such a wonderful place.

Two weeks ago we expected her to go to God, but she told one of the Sisters, “next week” AND exactly one week later she went to God. (She still commanded).

Sister Mary Ellen – Sister Mary Leo, a courageous lion, a gentle lion as only the strong can be, we will not see the likes of her again. May she touch the face of God as she rests in peace.

Sr. Maureen Quigley

Sister Patricia Eileen McKeon shared at the wake service some of the comments of the Sisters at St. Joseph's Manor, whom she visited following the death of Sister Mary Ellen Greene.   Often, Sister Patricia Eileen brings Sisters Anna O'Leary and Christina Mary to Sister Mary Catherine's room, so that they can all visit together.   Patricia Eileen is a wonderful story-teller, and her stories will lose something in the written form, but you'll enjoy them anyway, so here they are:   
Mary Catherine:  Oh, may she rest in peace...she has suffered for a long time now and she    really isn't young either...oh, she was a hard worker, yes, a very hard worker, she           did much for others and did she love her boys...oh, did she ever love her boys...it will be a very large funeral, her boys will be coming back and many others....you           know, she saved my life...
Patricia Eileen:   Really, Sister Mary Catherine, how did she do that?
Mary Catherine:   She kept me in the closet.
Patricia Eileen:  (You can imagine what I was thinking with that remark!!!) Could you tell us about it?
Mary Catherine:   Oh, yes, we had Mother St. Bernard as our superior and she was very hard on us, oh yes,  very hard on us, she never wanted anyone to violate a rule...well I wanted my sewing kit and it was after retiring time, SMEG saw me up and going into the closet, she also saw Mother St. Bernard coming so SME told me, 'Stay in there!' and she  shut the door.  After Mother left sister let me out and I never got caught. -- she saved my life that night! 
Sister Patricia Eileen recounted that after she left Sister Mary Catherine, she was taking Sr. Anna O'Leary back to her room and she said, "How did you like that one?!"  PE said, "Which one?"    Anna answered, "Sister Mary Catherine!"    PE asked, "Why?"    Anna responded, "She saying Sister Mary Ellen wasn't young –  She should talk – She's 97!" 

“I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.”  John 10:10.  Yes, Sister Ann  Rita, Aunt Ann,  did live life to the full.  One of  her former novices recalled that this was a quote she often told them to remember.  Just a few weeks ago, the sister reminded her of this and Sister Anne Rita responded:  Did I not also tell you to stop during the day at 10:10 and remember the quote from John 10:10?  Sister Ann Rita lived life fully in every way.

When asked to write a personal update for her 40th anniversary from D’Youville College, she wrote:  “the forty years have been very full ones – rich inopportunity, abounding in grace.  As in every Christian’s life, the passion has been tasted, but more so, the hope and joy of the resurrection.”

One of Sister’s favorite songs was:  “Be Thou My vision”.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art:
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Jesus was her vision.  Jesus was her light. This was her motivation for everything in life.  Friday afternoon when I spoke with her, I asked if there was anything I could do for her.  Her immediate response and very clearly spoken was:  “It’s all in God’s hands.”

She was the handmaid of the Lord:  Humble, prayerful, self sacrificing, forgiving, spiritual and faithful; had deep trust in Divine Providence, and was ever responsive to the will of the Father.

Probably, her study of theology helped to deepen her vision of the Lord.  Upon earning a doctorate in theology from St. Mary’s School of Theology in 1957, the dean of the   school wrote the following:  “I felt that you would be pleased to know that your Sister Ann Rita passed a very creditable oral examination for her doctorate.   In fact, her priest professors informed us that it was one of the best examinations they have attended.

Sister has been an edification to us.  Her sweet humility was so evident at the orals.  Despite the fact that she answered every question with the greatest ease and correctness, she was so humble in her approach to them and did not seem to realize how well she had done.  Sister has a beautiful mind, is most meticulous, and is not only a credit to your Order, but to our Theology School as well.”

Sister insisted that novices and postulants have a sound theological background and gave them the opportunity for qualified spiritual direction with Father Heath and Father Maruca.
She worked hard to get accreditation for Sacred Heart Junior College.

Sister Ann Rita published an article on “Religious Silence” in Sisters Today which gives us a glimpse into her spirituality.  Religious silence “is an essential condition for God’s activity in the soul, for a life of prayer.  An exterior atmosphere of peace and tranquility is an indispensable means for the soul to become more profoundly attuned to the whisperings of the voice of God within.”  In this atmosphere, Sister lived. Yet she was known  for her hearty laugh sometimes getting in trouble for it with Mother Jane Frances. 

Recently, she asked a sister:  “Do the people you care for laugh?  When the sister said yes, they laugh a lot at our meals and when we go places, she smiled and said,  “That’s good.  It’s good to laugh.”
  
In the third verse of “Be Thou My Vision” we hear: 

“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and thou only first in my heart
High king of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Although sister appreciated the “finer things” of life, her own living and style of working were always simple, often even austere.  Her simplicity caused her to use but not abuse whatever she had and always with gratitude. She was absolutely “other centered”, and rarely focused on self or how she was feeling.

She wanted no part of center stage or open leadership.  This stemmed both from her sense of the humility she sensed and admired in Jesus, Mary and Marguerite, and from the suffering she experienced when criticized by others even when such criticism was unfounded.

Sister was genuinely interested in people – whether it was the sisters, her family, the employees or a volunteer sitting at the desk waiting to see someone. Every guest received her warm smile and welcome.

Her own family was the first to recognize what a gift they had in Ann.  How tenderly she saw to the care of her aging mother until her final days in the Nazareth Nursing Home.  How she comforted Jimmy in her mother’s passing, and tried to laugh at all his jokes and to share his appreciation of Hawaiian music.  How proud she was of the research her brother Dr. Walter, was doing at the Roswell Cancer Center.  How pleased she was to be allowed to spend the last months of Mary’s life living with and caring for this beloved and highly gifted older sister.  How she valued and passed onto us the many stories of achievement of her talented nieces, Mary Ellen, Regina and Cecelia.

 In Proverbs, verse 26, we hear: 
“When she opens her mouth, she does so wisely,
on her tongue is kindly instruction.

Mother Ann Rita   “raised” novices during changing times:  changing attitudes of young people, changes from Vatican II, changes in Constitutions, changes in the habits we wore.  She handled all of this with grace; even when she perhaps did not agree with decisions.  Sister was always careful to encourage novices to accept and move with whatever Church and Chapter decisions were promulgated and she continued to be supportive and loyal to Leadership until her death.

Novices were told from the beginning that she had heart problems and they were to be careful not to cause her undue stress.   This caused the novices concern at the many times they surprised her:  hosing down Mother Jane Frances by accident, putting a shoulderette on the statue of Our Lady of Victory after a snowfall, or hearing the postulants being awakened by a trumpet playing “Reveille” or the morning bell being rung at 12:25am because a novice thought it was 5am.
  
Sister was particularly empathetic to anyone who was ill;  a novice or the family of any sister.  She visited, wrote or made phone calls.  One novice’s father died; the novice asked where she would go when she went home and without hesitation, Sister Ann Rita replied:  “Go to your mother.  I will clear it with Mother Jane Frances.  She needs you now”.   Her wisdom was truly evident as she instructed novices and continued to be interested in them and in their ministry.  She was very attentive to the mother of one of her novices via phone calls and visits up to the time her mother was dying.

Sister Ann Rita was a scholarly, cultured, immensely capable, gentle woman religious who lived to give dedicated, loving service to others for the love of God, the vibrant center of her life.

A gifted writer, she reviewed  35 books from 1959 to 1980 for “Sponsa Regis”, later called “Sisters Today”; among them, “Hymn of the Universe” by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.   She used this gift as Secretary General of the congregation and in the many notes and letters she wrote up to her death.  One could always tell when she wrote the Prayers of the Faithful.

She and one of our sisters often spoke of heaven and what it might be like.  May you, Sister Ann Rita, now be enjoying the best moments of this life, magnified and shared with those you love – your family, friends and Grey Nuns who have gone before you.  And what a reunion there must be in heaven.  Not first with those whom she served but with Him whose love was her motive force through all these years.

In 1938, Msgr. Garvey, from St. Joseph’s Cathedral, wrote to the congregation in recommending Ann Rita Murphy:  “with God’s grace and your spiritual guidance, I feel sure she will be a great asset to your noble Order of Nuns.”  Yes, he was absolutely correct.
Today, we are saddened by the loss of her presence among us.  Let us not be stuck in the loss, but let us carry on her presence in our lives:  her graciousness, her warm hospitality, her compassion, her prayerfulness, her stance of gratitude.  This, I believe is what she would wish.

The final verse of Heart of Eternal Love  by Joyce Rupp captures our wish for you, Sister Ann Rita.

Heart of Deepest Peace,
Center of Tranquility,
Resting Place at the core of our being
You are waiting always for our return
To this sacred home.

May you rest in peace and tranquility.

Sr. Marlene G. Butler, GNSH
President

Mary Eilizabeth Hoffman, Sister St. William, Aunt Mary, Sister Willie or just plain Willie  -- we honor your life today.

And how fitting it is that today is the day we celebrate your Mass of Resurrection!  First of all it is the birthday of Our Blessed Mother, Mary, the feast that celebrates Mary’s personal holiness and vocation as the mother of Jesus.  So we celebrate your holiness and while not a mother, I think all would agree that you are an excellent aunt!

We recall the often told story that your own mother, Delia, asked her husband William to call Father Baker to come and bless you just five days after you were born when you were in critical condition from internal bleeding.  As he prayed with your parents and blessed you with a medal of Our Lady of Victory, you began to recover and cry lustily.  Father Baker told your parents, “Name her Mary, and give thanks to Our Lady.  So you, Mary Elizabeth Hoffman and Mary, our Blessed Mother were joined from your earliest days.   

Today, too, is the traditional day that you and many of us Grey Nuns “entered” the convent, in fact it is exactly 65 years today that you came to Philadelphia and became a postulant!   How exciting that must have been for you and how you must have chuckled when you saw the statue of Our Lady of Victory in our Motherhouse courtyard.

We know the old saying, join the convent and see the world.  As an educator in the primary grades you traveled and served in schools in Ogdensburg, NY, Jackson Heights, NY, Atlanta, Georgia, Strafford and King of Prussia, PA , Depew and Buffalo, NY. In your many years of teaching you especially cherished the times that you prepared children for First Holy Communion.  

You welcomed the changes of the Second Vatican Council and when the community asked you to get a degree in Religious Education and consider a new ministry of Coordinator of Religious Education you set out for St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana.  Later, St. Meinrad’s appointed you to the Board of Directors for their Summer Session Alumni Association. Your years as a CCD coordinator, at St. Monica’s parish in Buffalo and for 13 years at Mother of Divine Providence Parish in King of Prussia, PA were rich in experience working with youngsters, their parents, volunteer faculty, teaching them to know Jesus and stay near him.

You loved your family deeply and were there when your sister, Patricia, husband, Frank and their children needed your presence and support. You returned to Buffalo, living and ministering at Holy Angels Academy for 15 years as school librarian.  Each weekend you would go to visit and enter the life of your sister’s family, getting to know the children and share the love of this family, a love that continues in your nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.  Witness to the love that brought your nephews, Peter and his son Shawn, and the youngest, Jamie and his wife, Yasminda; your nieces, Beth (she who packed the trunks at HAA and drove you to Yardley), and Donna and Karen to grieve your passing from this life.  We pray especially for you nephew Bill (although you always called him Billy) who had planned to come here, but who is hospitalized and for his wife Ellie.  You are all special to Aunt Mary and she never tired of talking about you and praying for you.

The HAA girls loved to go to the library and talk and share with Sister Willie.  Sister Willie in turn loved them.  She would attend all the school events to be with them and the faculty of Holy Angels.  One day a student asked to use the copy machine in the office; the vice-principal, Sister Jean O’Shaunecy asked why she didn’t use the one in the library.  She replied with a smile “Sister Willie is sleeping.”

 Sister St. William loved music and she sang in the choir at St. Rose of Lima Parish where she worshipped.   She was a favored speaker there for the Retirement Fund for Religious and she always responded when Sr. Annie Striegl asked for volunteers to preach.    She participated in the Legion of Mary in the parish and in 2003 she was appointed Spiritual Director of the Buffalo City Curia of the Diocesan Legion of Mary by Bishop Henry J. Mansell.  I remember how proud she was when she showed me the appointment letter!  In our Local Area Government group Sr. St. William was in charge of the sunshine club and produced cards for the group to sign for celebrations and for those who were sick.  She participated with the Grey Nun Associates and was instrumental in attracting Joan Almendinger, a parishioner from St. Rose’s to the Grey Nun Associates and in forming her in the spirit of Marguerite D’Youville and our devotions to the Eternal Father and Divine Providence.

Lest you think that Sister spent all her time praying, ministering and going to meetings, let me assure you that she had an active social life.  One sister described her as a “party animal.” In her last days at HAA when the convent was closing, she made a trip with the choir to New Orleans to sing in Father Tony Rigoli’s church.  That night they were socializing and Father Tony said “I never thought I would be having a drink with my 2nd grade teacher.”  Yearly she went with friends to visit in Kentucky.  I am told that she never missed an episode of Law and Order or ER.  She enjoyed trips to Anderson’s for ice cream with Sister Mary Jean and when she moved to Yardley had frequent outings to Goodenoe’s with her friends from King of Prussia.  For her last Birthday party in June she had one request: she wanted a Manhattan!  Sure enough, a Manhattan was made and carried to St. Joseph’s Manor to grant her wish.

The decision to close Holy Angels Academy Convent precipitated Sr. St.  Williams’s missioning to our Motherhouse here.  It was a difficult move for her, Sr. Mary Jean and St. Florence Ann, leaving family, school and friends in Buffalo.  She accepted this change in obedience and was cooperative and helpful during the closing of the convent.  Here at the Motherhouse she was warmly welcomed and encouraged by old friends, including Sr. Anne Marie Gastle, a friend since 1st grade and she renewed visiting with parishioners from Mother of Divine Providence.  Her family came from Buffalo to visit her and she always looked forward to these visits and talked about them for weeks afterward.

As her health began to fail and her breathing became more labored Sr. St. William went on oxygen.  She would spend much of her resting, entering into the sufferings of weakness.  Even so, she made one more trip to Buffalo to spend time with her family, despite the cost to her.  At the end of that trip she told me “That will be my last trip.”  When Sister needed more medical attention she moved once again to St. Joseph’s Manor where the staff loved her and she graciously received visits from the sisters, and her other friends and family.  The last time I saw her in July she was still trying to communicate, though she could barely whisper.  She always wanted to know that was going on in Buffalo and how everyone was dong.  Eventually she received the care of the hospice team as she prepared to die and enter once again, this time into the loving arms of God.

In the gospel today we hear Jesus say that God reveals the meaning of Jesus’ words and deeds not to the wise and learned but to the childlike; Jesus invites us “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart.”  Sister St. William was certainly one of the little ones.  Not only in stature.  There were no pretensions about her.  She learned from Jesus how to live life to the full, to invite people to draw near to Jesus.  She learned from Jesus how to love people; she wa warm, cheerful, not aftraid to be affectionate and welcoming.  In fact one of the associates said at our recent prayer service, “Sr. Willie always made you feel welcome.”  She learned from Jesus how to be herself, enjoy herself and have fun.

In the words from Sr. St. William’s retreat reflections that Sr. Maureen O’Hara quoted last evening we learned that Willie referred to God as her father, her daddy, as Jesus did.  Sr. Mary Jean shared with me that Willie’s own father was generous to a fault, that if you went in Hoffman’s Drug Store in the old First Ward in Buffalo he would shower you with gifts.  What an image for God, her father!  Sister St. William, Aunt Mary, may God, your daddy, welcome you in a loving embrace.  May you be surrounded by parents, Delia and Will and your sister, Pat and her husband, Frank.  May Jesus say “Come to me Willie and I will give you rest.”

Sr. Sheila Stone