Jubilarian – 2010
Mary Catherine Jarema, SSND
Professed in January 1961
Sister Mary Catherine Jarema celebrates 50 years as a School Sister of Notre Dame. Her current ministry of spiritual direction for the unemployed is a project in process.
A meaningful time in my ministry…
After 50 years of living as a woman-religious (Sister), there have been many meaningful experiences when I have served as teacher, pastoral associate and now spiritual director/retreat facilitator. Saint Vincent de Paul Parish, in Fort Wayne, Ind., is a parish of “10,000 souls,” to quote the pastor. Huge! As pastoral associate, I had the privilege to create and nourish Small Christian Faith Communities, 50 or so at any given time, geared toward helping adults to grow in faith. We set an upper limit of 12 per group to promote the intimacy needed to share what God was doing in participants’ lives. I was present for visits periodically; the group leaders came from among the group members. The Parish Mission team “sold” the idea with deep conviction to the parishioners. One weekend, the guys on the committee, taking up the theme of fishing for souls, brought a kayak into the church vestibule and “fished” registration cards out of it to hand to folks as they came out of each Mass. They also hung their poles and gear on a display board showing who had already joined. Recruiting a mission team every two years was easy!
What drew me to the SSND Community…
SSNDs served Saint Adalbert Parish School, Grand Rapids, Mich., which I attended for eight years. During the Sisters’ 15-minute morning break, I was one of the eighth graders who supervised the second-grade Sister’s class. Loving art, I would go down and help the “younguns” do a quickie art project. One day, Sister returned and called me out into the hallway to give me a scolding like I will never forget because I had been too hard on one of her students. What came to me out of that scolding was the love that Sister had for her students! I credit this loving experience as one instance of hitting my heart in a way that moved me to look seriously at SSND life as my life, too.
One thing you might like to know about the School Sisters of Notre Dame…
All Christians invest ourselves with God as our “Constant Inventor,” day-after-day, in whatever lifestyle we choose. The choice is a “calculated risk,” and I believe that each person needs to grow in discovering more meaning in that life.
Being single enables us to be single-hearted in nurturing life with God in others, as well as ourselves. By embracing the very real, compelling call to be in God, we strive to live the mystery of our Vow of Consecrated Celibacy.
SSNDs regularly engage in prayerful, searching dialog with the other Sisters with whom we “have thrown in our lot.” By listening creatively to where God might be pointing us, we look at what’s going on in the Church, in the world and in our lives to decide where we believe God is leading us to act today. This is a very small slice of the meaning of our Vow of Obedience in Community.
It is our responsibility to use well our resources—body, soul and earthly gifts. Today, we see the need for heightened care of creation on a planet that has its limits, too. Individually, we ask for whatever money we need each month, ever cognizant of the needs of the community of Sisters. This is a bit about the Vow of Gospel Poverty.
Investing my life with my Sisters in God makes more sense today than in 1960, when I said “yes.” In my 50 years, this life has been delicious!
In my current ministry…
At present, I am developing a spiritual direction/retreat facilitation ministry to serve the unemployed in the Milwaukee area. “It’s who you know” applies to getting a job, but also to keeping our balance in hard times and keeping the faith that God is with us, even in pain. The bottom line in such spiritual companioning: How is God working in me now, in my life, so that I can cooperate in God’s creativity within me?
Looking back and looking ahead…
In the SSND community, we believe that God works in every person and that each person grows spiritually according to her/his vocational choice in life. I believe that faith-sharing and listening with open hearts is the essence of our lives. We try to see how God is working in each of us and to follow those insights with appreciation and/or action. This includes reflection together on what is going on in the Church and in the world community. As we dialog together, we may be led to action as a faith community.
Being able to serve from out of our SSND faith community has had its “moments,” as any person has in life. But I hold in my heart all of the SSND women and the folks whose lives I have had the privilege to enter.
Sister Mary Catherine’s missions:
Christ King, Wauwatosa, Wis.
Holy Angels, Gary, Ind.
West Catholic High School, Grand Rapids, Mich.
East Catholic High School, Detroit, Mich.
St. Anthony, Detroit, Mich.
Our Lady Help of Christians, Saginaw, Mich.
Milwaukee Wellness Clinic, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.
Spectrum Alternative High School, Milwaukee, Wis.
SS. Peter and Paul, Merrillville, Ind.
St. John de Nepomuc, Milwaukee, Wis.
St. Augustine, Milwaukee, Wis.
Motherhouse, Milwaukee, Wis.
SSND Provincial Offices, Elm Grove, Wis.
St. Vincent de Paul, Fort Wayne, Ind.
St. Ann Roman Catholic Mission, Manchester, Ky.
“Moving Within” Ministry, St. Francis, Wis.
How to Reach Jubilarians
Cards and letters may be addressed to:
Sister's name c/o SSND Jubilarians, Provincial Offices, 13105 Watertown Plank Road, Elm Grove, WI 53122-2291.
If you would like to honor sister with a tribute gift, please click HERE.