Memorial Day
May 29, 2023

On Memorial Day and Veterans Day, I always remember one Saturday morning in February, when I stood with our Sisters in our community cemetery. As our religious community ages, it is a ritual we practice all too often, as we honor the lives of women with whom we have spent more than half our lives. But this Saturday was unique.

On this Saturday, we celebrated our first military funeral for one of our sisters. The burial was a solemn and thrilling sight. The cold February sky sparkled like blue crystal. Sun reflected off the time-polished tombstones, creating an honor guard of light. Three sailors awaited us at attentive salute as we processed to the graveside beside her flag-draped casket.

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Sister Bernard Mary, a farm girl from Trenton, became a Navy nurse in World War II. After her service to our country, she entered the Sisters of Mercy and served in our healthcare ministries for over fifty years. She cared for the sick and poor with unrivaled perfection and compassion. Her entire life was marked by a profound sense of duty – a duty transformed by love.

As she was laid to rest, the clear notes of “Taps” rang out to the heavens, inviting her compassionate soul to “go to sleep”. Like everyone gathered there, I drew many lessons from her dedicated life. One that I share is this: understand your duty and execute it with perfection and love. If you do, no matter what life throws at you – be it economic, physical, or psychological downturn, the clarity of your spirit will endure — and it will ring out to others like the crystal notes of a golden bugle in the crisp morning air.

Sister Bernard Mary lived for ninety-one years, still I left her grave remembering these stirring words of Catherine McAuley: “Do all you can for God’s people, for time is short.”

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Today, I remember her and Sister Dorothy Hillenbrand who served in the U.S. Army in World War II. Thank you both, and the many other Sisters of Mercy who have served in the military or ministered to our men and women in uniform. Thank you all for your generous service.