Was I ever wrong!

I am over 35 years in vows, all but one lived in Hankinson. In 1991, while still in first vows, I was asked to test my abilities in the business office. The Sister who managed our finances before me had been doing the job for over 40 years. Rightly, our superior needed to prepare for her replacement. When asked to consider following Sister Ria’s era, amused and mystified, I admitted that I had never quite caught on to balancing my own checkbook before coming to community. Encouraging me, Sister Ann Marie said that since I had three years behind me of successfully sewing for the Sisters, maybe I could transfer that attention to detail to accounting. Long story short, it worked out. 

Fast-forward 25 years. We Franciscans in Hankinson had grown fewer in number but were still zealous to serve. At that time, and still today, we maintain a strong Catholic presence in health care and retreat works at St. Gerard’s Community of Care and St. Francis Convent, both in Hankinson, and at St. Anne's Guest Home in Grand Forks. My heart had always been immersed in the apostolates at Hankinson, and for years I dreamt of and openly spoke about how “we need to bring those Sisters at St. Anne’s back to help here.” My selfish hope was to get Sister Elaine Marie home to help in the business office. “She and I would be a great team,” I told myself. My superiors would always say it’s not yet time to do that. 

Was I ever wrong! My attitude quickly changed in the fall of 2024. Eight more years had passed, and we needed someone to temporarily manage the low-income housing side of St. Anne’s, 30 apartments for elderly or disabled persons. Sister Jean Louise, our Superior, sent me there in mid-September to figure out a plan to keep the apartments going and to hire a new manager. Thus, began what has turned into a year of learning to understand this ministry attached to the labyrinth of government policy, forms, report requirements, and the joy of helping our HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) tenants with the variety of situations that crop up just because people are people. I have worn the “hats” of Sister, mom, social worker, chauffeur, intercessor before the Blessed Sacrament, bookkeeper, board member, confidant, confessor, housekeeper, dog sitter, and have been able to computerize the office. I get it now, how wonderful it is to be a part of life at St. Anne’s! 

How wrong I was to think of St. Anne’s as a dispensable mission compared to our other ones. Why? Because over 100 souls call St. Anne’s home, or their place of employment. God reminded me that St. Anne’s is about people, his people. I get it, now.  

After over 30 years at a desk, the Holy Spirit took me on a tour this past year to remind me of what’s really important: love of neighbor. It is evident everywhere at St. Anne’s. I hear it in conversations between residents who have become neighbors. I hear it in Father Ejike’s homilies calling all to greater fidelity and charity in the imitation of Christ. I see it in the generosity of our volunteers. I hear it in the concerns of nurses, cooks, and care staff when residents take ill. I hear it in the compassionate but necessarily practical voice of our administrator when corrections or congratulations are the best input. I see it in our maintenance director and housekeeper who keep an eye open all the time for improving life from the front door to the back. And I hear it at board meetings where Sisters, officers and directors, relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance, wrestle with options to decide on the best decisions for this ministry. 

One of the greatest joys of the year has been my contact with the social workers at Northland Rescue Mission in Grand Forks. Together we’ve been able to help half a dozen homeless individuals settle in at St. Anne’s. My experience with personnel at HUD offices in Grand Forks, Fargo, Bismarck, and Denver has left me utterly impressed by their commitment to helping people find affordable housing.  

Love of God and love of neighbor—people helping people—isn’t it that the notion that the Holy Spirit inspires us who are called to church vocations? Isn’t that what I came for, and not any job I perform for my community? Maybe it’s a good idea to change course now and then to see how God might transform attitudes and understanding about one’s place in the world. I can’t help but question what else I might be wrong about. Come Holy Spirit!