Four Mount Sisters Celebrate Anniversaries of Profession



PICTURE ID: (Back) Golden Jubilarian Sisters Mary Beth Niehaus, Trinitas Miles, and Rita Claire Judge
(Front) Silver Jubilarian Sister Mary Teresa Morris

How does one stay committed to anything for fifty years? “You do it one day at a time.” “You roll with the punches,” “You just go with it,” are among the bits of advice from one experienced group. Three sisters celebrated their golden jubilee of monastic profession and one her silver jubilee at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison on July 9.

Sister Mary Teresa Morris, originally from Kansas City, Kansas, has spent her twenty-five years of monastic life in the health care profession. A nurse and nursing instructor, she currently lives at the Mount and works for Southview Home Care as a visiting home health nurse in the St. Joseph, Mo., area.

The three sisters who were professed fifty years ago have maintained their joyful service though a variety of experiences. Sister Rita Claire (Mary Gerald) Judge was raised on a farm in western Nebraska and taught elementary school for many years. She later became involved in parish ministry and was particularly drawn to ministry to the elderly. She now does in-home care in Maryville, Mo. She also spent two years as a missionary in Brazil.

Sister Mary Beth (Francella) Niehaus has come full circle in her travels. A native of the Seneca, Kansas, area, she is currently the pastoral associate in the same parish in which she was raised. In the meantime, however, she has worked in the education of children as an elementary teacher and of adults in English language programs.

Sister Trinitas Miles came to Atchison from Sedalia, Mo. She has followed a similar path to the others in having begun as a teacher and later moved into parish work. Her specialty has been social services and pastoral care, which she continues to provide as an assistant for services to the sisters in Dooley Center. She adds one more important piece of advice about living a long, faithful life. Her best advice: “Pray, pray, pray.”

Reflection by S. Anne Shepard, Prioress, given at the Jubilee celebration.