The Most Important Lesson

ELAINE JUHASCIK OLIVER | ST. GABRIEL SCHOOL & MOUNT ASSISI ACADEMY

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THEN

I don't remember thinking about nuns as a child, but I do remember seeing them from a very young age and, I suppose, learning from them, as well. My Slovak Catholic parents, neighborhood, church and school left me no choice. As it turns out, interacting with the nuns at St. Gabriel’s and Mount Assisi Academy was quite a blessing. They were “teaching” me, both in and out of the classroom!

Book learning was good, challenging and interesting, but what I was taught by watching them “live” their faith and love was, by far, the most important lesson. Seeing God’s Holy Spirit at work through them made me want that for my life. It made me want to search and try and strive and work towards that goal of mine. Isn’t that what a truly good teacher encourages?

Two Sisters easily come to mind who led me on that search. The first was my first grade teacher, Sister Anita (Kuchera). She was beautiful, inside and out. I was selected as a “recipient” of her Home Economics project of sewing a suit for one of her students. Because of this, I received access to the convent — enlightening, to say the least! I got to see the Sisters living ordinary lives outside of school. They were cooking, cleaning, reading and sewing and did so with such joy and peace. I could just feel the love! This experience gave me insight into the joyful, peaceful life lived in communion with Jesus. Besides that, after many fittings and alterations, I got to wear my new green, box-pleated suit to Church on Easter Sunday.

Sister Kathleen (Gelatko), who taught me in third grade, had a beautiful countenance and smile and just seemed to be enjoying life. She enjoyed poetry and taught our class to appreciate it, as well. It worked for me! With her words of encouragement and the good grades she gave me, my passion for writing poetry soared. I saw it as God’s gift, considering how much enjoyment it’s given me through the years and life’s ups and downs.

Thank you, Sisters, for helping to teach me, through example, the most important thing in life — a close, personal relationship with Jesus. I hope the poem at right blesses you, as you blessed me.

Now

Elaine married in 1969 and worked for many years as executive secretary to the vice president of Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel. Widowed since 1989, Elaine and her late husband, Chris, raised “three amazing children.” She lives in Knoxville, Tenn., now, where she volunteers with the local Ladies of Charity food bank. In addition to precious time with her 12 grandchildren, Elaine loves long walks, reading, gardening and, of course, writing poetry.

Turns out that Elaine’s beloved green suit was one of Sister Anita’s sewing projects for a Home Economics class she was taking at Mount Mercy College (now Carlow University) at the time. Sister Anita spent three separate tenures teaching at St. Gabriel’s in the 1950s and 1960s before spending nearly two decades teaching at our St. Francis Academy in Bethlehem, Pa. Among her specialties, of course, was Home Economics. Sister’s passions then turned to retreat work, as she spent nearly 30 years as director of our St. Francis Center for Renewal (SFCR), also in Bethlehem. Sister Anita retired from SFCR in 2019, celebrated her 70th jubilee in 2020, and remains active as co-coordinator of our lay Associates program.

Sister Kathleen left the community in 1986, but continued her career in education, working with the Diocese of Pittsburgh and with children with special needs in Florida, where she lived for the last 25 years of her life. She died in 2009 at age 76.

As for the whereabouts of that special green suit … it lives on only in memory.

read more then & now features

A Soft-Spoken Voice Still Echoes | Setting a Fine Example | ‘Angel’ Among Them
Home Away from Home | A Critical Lifeline | Eye-Opening Influence
Laughter That’s Lasted a Lifetime | Before the Parade Passes By
The ‘Type’ of Teacher She Needed | Women of Strength & Influence
Stirring Her Skills & Self-Esteem | ‘Baskets’ of Fond Memories
An Ode to St. Ann’s | Opening Paths to a Wider World | Unforgettable Life Lessons

The Calling

By Elaine Juhascik Oliver

She said, “I just can't do it.”
God said, “I know you can.”
She said, “I’ve no direction.”
God said, “I’ll take your hand.”

She said, “I have no vision.”
God said, “I’ll chart your way.”
She said, “My time’s of essence.”
God said, “I’ll make your day.”

She said, “What of my family?”
God said, “The world is Mine.”
She said, “Mom, dad, and siblings?”
God said, “My heart’s divine.”

She said, “I have not reached yet
The step where I should be.”
God said, “And you’ll not ever,
Until you rest in Me.”

She said, “But I’m too burdened
To walk along Your road.”
God said, “My road winds easy,
And I’ll take up your load.”

She said, “It sounds so easy,
I’m guided by Your light?”
God said, “There will be hard times,
So keep the end in sight.”

She said, “What of my cravings,
My passions, and my needs?”
God said, “You’ll reap My harvest,
I’ll let you plant My seeds.”

“The seeds of faith,
The warmth of love,
A showering of hope,
Can cultivate My message
To My world
And help it cope.

Help My children realize
No matter, I will be
There to help and guide them
To set their spirit free:

Free to choose to love Me
And follow in My way.
Free to scale the highest heights
If close by Me they’ll stay.”

She said, “Take my hand, Lord.”
God said, “Please, your heart!”
She said, “I’m all Yours, Lord.”
God said, “Let us start!”