Once upon a time, there was a campus minister of a School Sister of Notre Dame (SSND) sponsored ministry who believed that service is at the heart of the SSND charism, of that which gives focus to the SSND life and mission. She wondered how she might make service happen with young women who could simultaneously learn more deeply of this charism. An inspiration of the Spirit came when she reflected on a past moment listening to sisters tell their stories of ministry. The inspiration led to possible scenarios and a new moment was birthed - invite the young women to serve with the sisters while living side by side with them … ah, yes, an “alternative spring break!”
And so it happened that on March 4, 2024, campus minister Theresa Utschig from Mount Mary University, Milwaukee, arrived in St. Louis with 13 university students to live for a week with the SSND at Sancta Maria in Ripa and accompany sisters in ministries throughout the St. Louis area. This became for me the beginning of new relationships and experiences rooted in the same SSND spirit and charism I so cherish.
Theresa and I began to plan and sort out the details of preparation both on her end and on our end in St. Louis, including what ministries would offer valuable learning experiences while giving service, what do our host sisters needed to know, how students would get to the ministries, and how the students could best learn about our charism by living daily among us. What overshadowed all those tasks were the incredible possibilities that began to emerge. Our foundress Blessed Theresa wrote in a letter to the sisters in her later years, “Frequently visit the Lord of blessing in the most holy sacrament! You will always go away from him to your work enriched with new graces.” How true! Grace led us and amazing new relationships were born through service and community living.
As we planned, paragraph 23 of our Constitution You Are Sent stirred in me, “We continually choose ways of living and serving that call to growth. … we engage in a diversity of ministries, specific services through which we work for the enablement of persons.” Hence I called sisters for collaboration, and they were all in! Every sister was ready to welcome Mount Mary University students, knowing that it meant some adaptations to her day while allowing for that call to growth in service. And indeed, our student guests and the sisters grew!
Whether it was sorting clothes, cleaning apartments or hillsides, or listening and encouraging students, growth happened. Daily evening debriefings gave evidence to that which always touched me, as students shared what resonated within them: “Small things can leave huge positive impacts” … “I need to step back and learn myself in order to serve” … “Working as a team needs openness to give and receive” … “Root causes of injustice are so hard to eradicate” … “I embraced an incredible amount of kindness and gratitude.”
Morning prayer daily with the sisters in the chapel and then prayer in small communities in the evening provided strength for service, appreciation of community and another understanding of religious life.
Evening meals were in common with students sharing about their day and sisters sharing a lifetime of ministry experiences. I greatly delighted in witnessing the students enjoying the sisters and together contributing to our SSND charism evolving among them.
Clearly the blessing of this week was the mutual impact it had on both sisters and students. Sister Rose Rita Huelsmann shared, “The students steadily kept on working and gave me hope for the future of the garden.” Sister Karl Mary Winkelmann commented, “They certainly brought honor to their school. We would be thrilled to have them back.” And another once-upon-a-time memory was engraved, as one student gratefully summarized, “There is so much commitment here and I got to see it!”
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