January 26, 2025
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One January morning, I stood with my sisters in our community cemetery. As our religious community ages, it is a ritual we practice all too often, as we honor the legacies of women with whom we have spent most of our lives. But that Saturday was unique. Let me tell you why.
That day, we celebrated our first military funeral for one of our sisters. It 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. As we processed to the graveside beside her flag-draped casket, three sailors awaited us at attentive salute.
Sister Bernard Mary, a farm girl from Trenton NJ, 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 suffused with 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 all the others gathered there, I drew so many lessons from her dedicated life. One is this: understand your duty and execute it with sincerity and love. If you do, no matter what life throws at you — be it economic, physical, or psychological downturn –your clear spirit will endure and will ring out like singular bugle notes in the crisp morning air.
Sister Bernard Mary lived for ninety-one long years. Still, I left her grave remembering these stirring words of the first Sister of Mercy, Catherine McAuley: “Do all you can for God’s people, for time is short.”
Music: Taps
For Your Reflection
- What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
- Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ?
- What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?
Lavish Mercy 