Golden Jubilee: Blessed be God the Faithful One

Greetings,

 On Saturday, July 19th, we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Sisters Jeanne and Mildred. The chapel was filled with sisters, family, and friends as our Sister Jubilarians renewed their monastic profession at the celebration of the Eucharist. The joy overflowed from chapel to the reception as they celebrated and praised "Blessed be God the Faithful One". Please join us in lifting our Golden Sisters up in prayer throughout this their jubilee year.

Sister Jeanne grew up on a farm near Tyndall, SD, second in a family of four children. She is the daughter of the late John and Louise Ranek. After graduating form Tyndall High School, Sr. Jeanne attended Mount Marty College graduating with a BA in Social Sciences. Mount Marty opened worlds both academically and spiritually and lead her to enter Sacred Heart Convent that fall. After her first profession, Sr. Jeanne taught at Mount Marty High School until its closure in 1969. This was followed by graduate studies at the University of Notre Dame where she earned both a Masters and Doctor of Philosophy degrees! Sister ministries have varied from teaching at the college and graduate levels, to consulting and facilitating for religious communities. She has also served in leadership roles for the American Benedictine Academy, Association of Benedictine Retreat Centers, and Monastic Interreligious Dialogue.  Since 1990, Sr. Jeanne has been engaged in serving full-time retreat ministry and directing the ecumenical Spiritual Direction Ministry Formation Program. Sr. Jeanne earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Spiritual Direction through the Graduate Theological Foundation including a summer attending Oxford University in England. She continues as the director of our Benedictine Peace Center established in 2001 with the completion of a new wing of the monastery. 

Sr. Jeanne shared, " Fifty years have passed quickly, filled with experiences and opportunities I hadn't dreamed would be mine. Whatever the years before me hold, my hope is that I will be ever more attentive and responsive to the profound and amazing gift of God's loving Presence among us. I am deeply grateful to my family, my sisters and all those whom I have been privileged to serve in a variety of ministries. With a long way to go yet, my hope is to attain what St. Benedict promises to a disciple after long years of fidelity in our monastic way of life, that is: "to run with heart enlarged on the way of God's commandments" (Rule of Benedict, Prologue: 49).

Sisters sub-Prioress, Mildred, Jeanne, and Prioress
on the day of the Golden Jubilee celebration.

Sister Mildred was born in Luverne, MN, the fourth child of Mildred and Walter Busch. She joined three brothers and three sisters growing up on a farm in the St. Rose of Lima parish of Garretson, SD. Parish life was an anchor of her family's faith life as her father became the first layman to lector and serve as communion minister in their church following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Sister graduated from Garretson High School and attended Mount Marty College for one year before she entered Sacred Heart Convent in 1962. Later, she received her BA in history of Mount Marty College and an MA in education from the University of Nebraska in 1981. For 33 years, sister taught at the elementary and high school levels in parish schools in both South Dakota and Nebraska. During 20 of those years, she was principal and states that her years in education have brought great joy and satisfaction for the privilege of being involved in the lives of hundreds of children and young people.

Throughout her years in religious life, Sr. Mildred was involved in community administrative areas, serving terms on the council, committees, and task forces. In 1999 she entered a new phase of ministry by serving on the task force for co-sponsorship of our Benedictine Health System with the Presentation Sisters Health System which is now known as Avera.  She continued to serve the health system as a member of several Avera hospital Boards of Directors as well as System Member Chair. In 2005, she was appointed Procurator to the community. She loved those years of serving the community very directly, adding that "the learning curve was huge, but the challenge was enjoyable." Currently, sister is the Pastoral Administrative Assistant at St. Michael's Parish in Lincoln, NE. Her newest venture has been writing and sharing guided visualizations on Gospel passages, stories, and events. In closing, Sr. Mildred says, "On my jubilee, I celebrate with everlasting gratitude, my call to the monastery and thank God for His faithfulness."

Blessings

Easter Chatter

Greetings,


If you've been following the events and activities of our elder sisters, we shared their Lenten Nesting.  They incubated a few dozen eggs from our Novice's farming family in the hopes of the sounds of a new clutch of chicks peeping on Easter morning.

Well, there is good news and bad news over our hopes for a CHATTERING of chicks for the Easter Octave.  The good news is that the sisters were all prepared with a warm enclosure for the chicks first weeks.  Our Gardening Sister was also prepared the the clutch to be moved to their newly finished coop near the gardens when the chicks were ready.  

The bad news is that only two of the three dozen eggs hatched.  The sister in guiding the incubating has years of sharing this experience with students and has some guesses as to why the hatching failed.

Undaunted by the first round and encouraged by the peeps coming from the activity room, Sister has started a new chattering of three dozen eggs due to hatch around the feast of St. Isadore.  May St. Isadore, patron saint of farmers, pray for us!

Blessings,

Lenten Nesting...Egg-static preparation

Greetings,

The sisters are awaiting the glory of our risen Lord, they are also awaiting the arrival of the new clutch that should be hatching during Easter Octave!  On Wednesday of Holy Week, Sister Margo and others on 'egg-watch' decided to build the excitement and prepare some sweet treats for the upcoming celebrations.   The sisters in St. Joseph's Care Center worked creatively with some rice-cereal treats!

Sisters Stephanie and Leonette shaped Easter eggs
by filling the plastic eggs with the cereal-marshmallow
mixture, but left just enough room inside the 'egg'
for a sweet surprise! 

Sister Grace gets a helping hand from Sister Sarah
while creating more Easter eggs.

All these eggs will need a nest or two!
Sr. Virginia created rice-cereal bases with some
green coconut grass for the nest.  

The finished product!  It could be a long few days until
Easter Sunday when these treats will be seen again!

 Have A Blessed Triduum!

Lenten Nesting?

Sisters Judith, Leonette, and Veronica 

Greetings,

We are continuing to wait in patience through our Lent.  However, a bit of excitement entered into our elder sisters activity room during the third week of Lent!

Sisters Margo (center) and Virginia (far right)
joined by one excited little helper.

Our sisters looked on with great interest as Sister Margo began to reveal the living symbol of our Lenten waiting for the next three weeks. Sister Margo brought out her 'egg incubator' from her 5th grade teaching days, and Novice Peggy's family shared a few dozen eggs from their farm.  Our Care Center sisters' prayer and sacrifice will now be joined with anticipation of NEW LIFE and baby chicks!

Novice Peggy showing the filled incubator
to Sister Stephanie.

As the sisters filled the incubator, they were joined by Nurse Jane's 4 year-old-son.  He was so excited that he asked Sister, "Well, where are the chicks?"

The egg incubator is now nested quietly in the southwest corner of the Care Center activity room.  It is looked over with tender care as sisters young and old stop by to peek at the still waiting eggs.

Join us in hovering and hoping for a newly hatched clutch (also called a chattering) in time for Easter!  After the celebration, Sister Virginia will be gathering the growing brood to raise.  A peep of chickens might be just what the garden needs to clear up bugs all organic!

Blessings,

The Heart of Our Home

 Greetings,

The Rule of Benedict calls upon the prioress and the community to a particular love and care for the elders in their midst.  At Sacred Heart Monastery, we are blessed to have St. Joseph's Care Center in the heart of our home.  Our elders, the sick, and those recovering, all receive care and comfort not only from our nursing help, but also our own sisters in the monastery at home.

 The Volunteer Valentine party celebrated the sisters and friends who volunteer around the monastery and the sisters receive their joy-filled care.

"Although human nature itself is drawn to special kindness towards these times of life, that is towards the old and children, still the authority of the Rule should also provide for them.

Let their weakness be always taken into account, and let them by no means be held to the rigor of the Rule with regard to food. On the contrary, let a kind consideration be shown to them, and let them eat before the regular hours."
  (RB 37, 1-3)

 The sisters, volunteers, and staff of the Care Center enjoyed an annual soup supper organized by Barb, coordinator of activities for the Care Center.

"Before all things and above all things, care must be taken of the sick, so that they will be served as if they were Christ in person; for He Himself said, "I was sick, and you visited Me" and, "What you did for one of these least ones, you did for Me".

"But let the sick on their part consider that they are being served for the honor of God, and let them not annoy their sisters who are serving them by unnecessary demands. Yet they should be patiently borne with, because from such as these is gained a more abundant reward. Therefore the Abbess shall take greatest care that they suffer no neglect."
  (RB 36, 1-10)

Sisters Margo, the junior, and Leonette, the senior, preparing veggies for a weekly soup supper in the Care Center activity room.

"The juniors, therefore, should honor their seniors, and the seniors love their juniors." (RB 63, 10)








The monastery's retreat house for the sisters has recently been refurbished! After tearing up the old carpet and laying a new floor, the sisters stocked the rooms and cupboards and added some finishing touches. The changes have made the retreat space available to our sisters of all ages and abilities.

It is wonderful to have a home away from home to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of the 100 sisters around to house; to be with God in the silence of creation.

Blessings,