"One of the special people in my life is one of 10 children. She knew what it was like to be poor and in need. Now she is a mother of five and would be willing to help anyone in need. She has a great devotion to Mary to this day. She turned 90 this August and, if I could, I would send her to Fatima to experience Mary in a very special way."

— Sister Jean Makovsky

“I believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Gift-giving has become another ministry to me. I like to see needy people and special people in my life, like the Sisters in my community, happy. Therefore, I would attempt to find out what the person needed or wanted and send it, preferably anonymously."

—- Sister Teresa Misyak

To Walk Among Them

SISTER RECALLS GRACE-FILLED MINISTRY WORK
WITH THE HOMELESS of WASHINGTON, D.C.

When Sister Barbara Ann Webster recalls her time ministering to the poor in Washington, D.C., her eyes light up and her voice grows thick with emotion. It’s as if she’s still there, working tirelessly to help the homeless meet the most basic needs of daily life.

Although she was well into adulthood, Sister credits 1988-1989 as “the year I grew up.” She’d been taught about the truly impoverished, but now she’d actually walked among them.

It was just a year. Just a single year. But those 12 months at Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Home hold a lifetime of memories. “God imprinted the song of the poor on my heart that year,” she says.

As the only shelter that took in entire families, the ministry challenged its staff to take on all the aspects of poverty that face the homeless. Whenever a new family moved in, the team arranged the furniture to meet their needs, sometimes giving up items from their own meager rooms. They did the intangible things too, like teaching parents how to relate to their children ranging in age from 5 months to 16 years.

They also listened and learned. “I became an interactive listener, never judging,” she says.

Twice a week, the team was dispatched to the streets to feed the homeless. They begged, searched dumpsters for salvageable items and picked up leftovers from restaurants to stock the pantry. In their spare time, they advocated for peace and justice. Rain or shine, they peacefully protested in our nation’s capital, praying the Divine Office for an end to nuclear weapons testing and to bring awareness to the plight of the poor.

Sister loved every minute of it. It’s the kind of work she signed on to do when she became a School Sister of St. Francis 70 years ago.

“No longer was I the naïve person that threw a few coins in the poor box and felt satisfied. Nor did I just say a prayer for that pitiful soul selling pencils on the corner,” she says. “Instead, I truly empathized with those I served.”

"I would like to give my niece, Lisa, who is not with us anymore, the blessing of good health so she would be cancer free. Lisa had a special gift in that she was able to relate to the teenagers who came to her for help. She won their trust so good things were happening in the lives of these young men and women. At her funeral, the church was packed with young boys and girls who came to show their last respects to someone whom they loved."

— Sister Amata Shina

“How I wish I could give myself to be present to those who are suffering from sickness, loneliness, death, natural disasters, violence or abuse. For now, my prayers accompany them.”

— Sister Mary Xavier Bomberger