Slowing the Pace of Time

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work

in hand. The sun's rays

do not burn until

brought to a focus.”

— Alexander Graham Bell

“Be mindful of how

you approach time. Watching the clock

is not the same as watching the sun rise.”

— Sophia Bedford-Pierce

Over the past year, Sister Georgette Dublino (seated at center in blue) especially missed ministering to the residents of Mt. Assisi Place personal care home. Just recently – after she and they were fully vaccinated – she was able to return to lead weekly Bible study. “I so enjoy sharing and relating with them,” she says.

Sisters Barbara Brown, Regina Ann Rokosny and M. Virginelle Makos take part in a masked, socially-distanced gathering of Sisters in April.

Vaccination has enabled us to resume some of our sacred practices. Here. Sister Roselyn Kuzma offers Communion to Sister Barbara Makar, a fellow resident of Mt. Assisi Place in Pittsburgh.

Resetting & Reconnecting

It seems that, worldwide, we remain in a very precarious position with the pandemic. While more and more of us have been vaccinated and are tempted to drop our guard, some countries and communities are seeing a resurgence that reminds us to remain cautious and diligent. Considering all that we have been through in the last 14 months, we all are eager to get back to what we have missed, including our religious rituals.

“As a religious community there are so many times we gather – significant holy days, our summer assembly and jubilee celebrations – that we’ve missed,” says Sister Georgette Dublino. “An especially regretful time was not being able to have a funeral when one of our Sisters died, including for three that passed away over the past year.”

We all must continue to proceed with caution, monitoring updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, and ever so slowly reconnecting with other fully-vaccinated friends and family members. We also must take stock of the lessons we’ve learned.

“The pandemic has taught us about the need to slow down,” says Sister Frances Marie Duncan. “Forced into slowing down, many of us have found a real value in being more present and not being always on the run.” While she so looks forward to visiting and soon offering others a greeting beyond an elbow bump, Sister says she hopes to cling to this new appreciation of time once the pandemic has fully passed.

“This pandemic has affected a great part of our lives as a religious community, and affected our ministries as well,” adds Sister Georgette. “Hopefully, because we are now vaccinated, all these relationships and events will be part of our daily living again.”

“Time is one of the greatest gifts to humankind. We often heal

with time, forget with time, adapt with time, learn with time,

and even improve with time. So please ... take your time!”

— Izey Victoria Odiase (Self-Care Advocate)

What Wasn’t in the Schoolbooks

Elaine Juhascik Oliver shares in prose and poetry the powerful inspiration she gained as a youngster by watching our Sisters, not just in the classroom, but in going about their daily lives.

Were you taught by our Sisters in high school or at a Catholic grade school? We’d love to hear from you! Update us on your whereabouts and share your Then & Now Story through our Alumnae Portal.

Read Full Tribute

Recommended Reading

Looking for some good spiritual reading? Try these suggestions from our Sisters:

The members of my profession group have been “Zooming” weekly just to chat for an hour and talk about what's going on in our lives. At first, we exchanged recipes, talked about Covid-19 and — God forbid — politics. Now we have made a choice to avoid those topics and to talk about spiritual books that we find uplifting. Someone shared last time about how she “discovered” Thomas Merton and Franciscan Father Dan Horan, and I spoke about Sister Mary Beth Ingham’s way of making the teaching of Duns Scotus palatable, especially with her book Scotus for Dunces.

— Sister Nancy Celaschi

A few years ago, my brother bought me the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I begin my day every morning with trying to live in the presence of God and learning how to trust. So often, I am reading what I need to hear.

— Sister Jean Makovsky

I read the Bible every day, and I suggest to others to do the same. It will give you peace of mind and the energy to face difficulties.

— Sister Gracy Kundukulam

I am reading a book entitled Rediscover the Saints: Twenty-Five Questions That Will Change Your Life. The author, Matthew Kelly, asks one question for each saint mentioned and explains how saints are our friends. I have never read a book about saints as interesting and spiritually-filled as this one. You could change your life, especially your spiritual life.

— Sister Rosalia Giba