SCHERERVILLE – Religious sisters from around the Diocese of Gary gathered at St. Michael the Archangel to share Mass and a luncheon honoring the “beautiful, loving and caring way” they serve, according to Bishop Robert J. McClory.
“It is great to be together here today … to give more perfect witness to the love God has filled us with,” said the bishop as he opened the Mass.
While recognizing the service of all the religious sisters serving in schools, parishes, hospitals and social service agencies throughout Northwest Indiana, Bishop McClory honored in a special way four sisters celebrating milestone jubilees this year:
-Sister M. Janice Kolesiak, Dyer, 60 years with the Third Order of St. Francis;
-Sister Pamela Tholkes, East Chicago, 55 years with the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ;
-Sister M. Rochelle, Gary, 50 years with the Missionaries of Charity; and
-Sister M. Christa, Gary, 45 years with the Missionaries of Charity.
“We celebrate and honor your lives,” said the bishop in his homily, where he discussed the day’s Scripture readings and Christ’s intensity and “very harsh” tone with the Pharisees, whom he revealed as hypocrites, and the scholars of the law, about whom Christ said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”
“You do more than lift a finger,” Bishop McClory reminded the religious sisters. “Your primary love is Christ, but you also love each other in community and you love all people. You are a remarkable gift, not only to the Church, but to all men and women who see what you do.”
Sister Veronica Lopez, OSF, a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Franciscan Health Dyer, was happy to return to the annual Mass for religious sisters after missing last year. “We are celebrating community, service and the witness of these beautiful women religious. It speaks to me,” she said of the event.
“The bishop’s comments about the witness the sisters give to others and their dedicated service sets an example not only for other religious and clergy, but to lay persons, said the 18-year religious sister whose home parish is St. Joseph in Hammond. “He said that there is another way to live and how fulfilling it can be. There is another way to live, other than marriage.”
“The bishop always does a wonderful job of inspiring us, and he appreciates us, which is so encouraging,” said Sister Barbara Kuper, PHJC, a retired caregiver from the former Nazareth Home and volunteer at St. Catherine Hospital, both in East Chicago.
“It’s very nice to visit with other sisters and to see Peggy (Pera), who volunteered with me at the children’s home,” added Kuper, now an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
“There’s a different way to live, a different way to love, a way to care … and you have a beautiful, loving and caring way,” Bishop McClory said to the religious sisters. “You give witness to a better way of life.”
Caption: Four religious sisters celebrating milestone jubilees were honored at the annual Eucharistic Liturgy in Thanksgiving for Women Religious, (from left) Sister M. Christa, m.c.; Sister M. Rochelle, m.c.; Sister Pamela Tholkes, PHJC; and Sister M. Janice Kolesiak, OSF; congratulated by Bishop Robert J. McClory. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)