50th Jubilee Celebrations Come to a Close

On June 4^th we celebrated the closing of our 50^th Anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church. Throughout the year we remembered our Foundress, Mother Marie Alma and the others who helped our community. The Sisters shared for the first time their memories of what it was like when the community was founded. The younger Sisters in the community have a new appreciation for Mother Marie Alma and the Mothers and Sisters who worked so hard to keep the traditions of Religious Life. The most important thing we learned this year was to cherish one another’s vocations.

Our motto for this Jubilee Year was “Listening like Mary, Loving like Jesus”. We had plans for celebrating with close friends, family, and other Religious Communities. Because of the COVID restrictions, those gatherings were not possible. It seems as though Jesus wanted us to be celebrating by listening to and loving one another throughout this year in a special way. In this way, we lived out the motto “listening like Mary”. We were able to encounter one another in a new way. As Our Lady hastened to spend time with Elizabeth and serve her, Jesus called us this year to strengthen our inner family life simply by listening to one another – cherishing one another.

We were called to live out the second part of our motto, “loving like Jesus”, as we supported one another and became more attentive to another’s needs. During the pandemic, many people had the experience of needing to modify communication with family and friends, had the opportunity to deepen their relationships, and be more attentive to what God was doing in their hearts. He called us to work on matters of the heart and deepen our relationships as well. We took the time to listen to one another and strengthen our bonds. We had to be creative in ways to connect during our Jubilee Year. Through prayer, primarily, and small gatherings we shared the love of our Bridegroom together. What a perfect way to celebrate our Jubilee!

Pictures to come.