We Sing Thy Praises
Septembers on the Maryknoll campus of my youth were highlighted by College Day, held around the 8th of September, which Church tradition celebrates as the nativity of the Blessed Mother. For Maryknollers who left the beloved land of their birth a lifetime ago, and whose last participation in the event goes decades back, a sweet spot nearer to home in the USA offers refuge for a College Day of a different kind.
Like the proverbial roads that lead to Rome, a Maryknoll retrospective inevitably comes to a stop at the Maryknoll Motherhouse in Ossining, New York, which many alumnae regard like an ancestral home. Milette and I, and classmates who gathered there and sang the praises of our Alma Mater during our silver jubilee in August 1993, seemed to be of one mind about this. It is reflected in more than two dozen articles we wrote in four editions of Breakthrough Revisited, the newsletter created especially for the jubilee. Co-edited by Milette and Susie Ramos Montermoso, the publication took its name from Breakthrough, the 1968 class yearbook.
This is a special College Day recollection with Milette, as we trace some of our Maryknoll roots.
Our Mother, our Sisters – In and around the Motherhouse, one could sense the predominant spirit of Mother Mary Joseph, foundress of the Congregation of the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, as the Order is formally known. In the sturdy outlines of the stone edifice, within its quiet halls, chapel, garden, spaces for prayer, and even in the joyful hum of fellowship in communal areas, Mother Mary Joseph’s legacy is writ large. Her voice resonates to this day:
“You ask me what qualities should mark a Maryknoll Sister.
I would have her distinguished by Christ-like charity,
a limpid simplicity of soul,
heroic generosity, selflessness, unfailing loyalty, prudent zeal, gracious courtesy,
an adaptable disposition, solid piety –
and the saving grace of a kindly humor.”
- Mother Mary Joseph, 1935
Mother Mary Joseph (1882-1955), born Mary Josephine “Mollie” Rogers in Roxbury, Massachusetts, lived a middle class life in Boston, where she graduated from Smith College in 1905. She was the fourth of eight children whose Irish Catholic parents instilled in them “a passion for the church and its works worldwide.” In 1906, while serving as an assistant to a zoology instructor at Smith, Mollie organized a mission club for Catholic women. She sought and won the support of Father James A. Walsh, MM, co-founder of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, which received papal approval in 1911.
Mother Mary Joseph, foundress of the Maryknoll Sisters, was inducted to the National Women’s Hall of Fame on October 12, 2013, in Seneca Falls, New York.
Known to her peers as a charismatic, natural leader, Mother Mary Joseph demonstrated that she was best qualified to lead the first United States-based congregation of religious women dedicated to foreign mission work in 1912. Under her leadership, including as superior beginning in 1921, she guided the Sisters to engage in ministries in Hong Kong, China, and among Asian immigrants on the West Coast. Upon retiring in 1946, she continued to inspire and keep the mission spirit strong until her death in 1955. Maryknoll Sisters serve today in dozens of countries around the globe.
The "qualities (that) mark a Maryknoll Sister" were manifest in a number of serving Sisters who were a part of my daily student life. Two of them had significant impact on my formation as a woman of faith: Sister Cathleen O'Neill (Paula Cathleen), my high school Home Room and Religion teacher, and Sister Dorothy McGowan (Mary Terence), college Dean of Women. My experience of these teachers and guides is enriched by the perspectives of people close to me. I asked my husband Marvin McFeaters to share his recollection of Sister Cathy, with whom he talked at length in Ossining. And Milette left us an article she wrote in December 1992 about the Maryknoll Sisters' influence in her life. As well, she expressed her admiration of Sister Dorothy's "wonderful witness" in a December 2014 e-mail to the class. The reflections of Marvin and Milette help to round out the story of our Maryknoll Sisters.
Sister Paula Cathleen (1930-2007) was my high school Homeroom and Religion teacher. Assigned to the Philippines from 1959 to 1964, Sister Cathy was a memorable presence in the life of Maryknoll high school students in the 1960s.
At right, Sister Cathy and I pose in the garden across the main entrance of the Maryknoll Sisters' Center, August 30, 1993. Marvin and I stayed on for a few days after the reunion for a sightseeing trip around the Hudson River Valley. But first on my list was a return visit to the Heritage Museum at the Motherhouse for a more leisurely review of the story of my Maryknoll heritage. Learning of our plans, Sister Cathy offered to show us the public access areas of the Cloister. Afterwards, she graciously invited us to lunch, where we were joined by other Sisters.
“The real legacy of Maryknoll was ‘the girls,’ as Sister Cathy called them”
by Marvin C. McFeaters, July 17, 2015, Virginia
A recollection of a memorable conversation with Sister Cathy in August 1993
I first met Sister Cathleen O’Neill during Evelyne’s Class 1968 silver jubilee (August 1993). Milette did not attend Maryknoll High School, so she did not know Sister Cathy. However, Milette met her in Ossining, and when Millette visited our home in 1999 we recounted my conversation with Sister.
One afternoon, the alumnae were in a conference room having a business meeting. I, as a spouse, was relegated to sitting outside. Sister Cathy, as she asked me to call her, happened along and took a seat next to me. For the next hour, we had a delightful conversation about her experiences as a Maryknoll missioner and teacher.
Sister Cathy was very warm and engaged and animated when speaking of her "girls." She always spoke of the Maryknollers as “the girls,” whether as students in the 1960s or as respectable family women in the 1990s. She recalled how little the young nuns knew of the Philippines and Southeast Asia when they first went there, hearts full of purpose and high hope. She spoke of the many challenges they encountered. Some of the sisters contracted skin cancer many years later because they did not know how to protect themselves from the hot, tropical sun. Or when traveling to distant villages in the provinces, at times they had to ford a stream, soaking their habits, and then sitting in wet clothes for hours. The Order required them to wear heavy garments in those days, even in the tropics, which the sisters could not remove in the name of propriety. But she emphasized that it was all more than worth it.
Sister Cathy said that the real legacy of Maryknoll was the girls – the girls who continued to live the Maryknoll traditions and beliefs and to share them with others: “Christ to the world and the world to Christ.” I was especially impressed by her devotion to mission work. She believed it was an evolving process that required continuous examination and revision while retaining its core beliefs. It was a privilege to meet Sister Cathy and I never forgot it.
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Above, Milette in October 1996 at the Hilton Hotel in Nuweiba, Egypt, in the Sinai Peninsula. Four years earlier, Milette wrote her impressions of how the Maryknoll Sisters influenced her life.
Looking Back: After 25 Years
by Milette Estrada
Condensed from Breakthrough Revisited (Issue 1, December 1992), Maryknoll Class ’68 Jubilee Newsletter
My four years at Maryknoll gave me the finishing touches before my journey into adult life. Maryknoll’s ideals helped mold me. They set my general concept of what life might be like “out there,” helped me develop my God-given skills and talents, opened my eyes to the beauty of this world, and grounded my belief in the great love and power of Almighty God.
At Maryknoll, I had the pleasure of growing up with young women who shared many of my aspirations. With them I laughed, wept, discovered new feelings, dared into unknown territory and quenched my thirst to “know” – all under an invisible veil of security in the guidance of the Maryknoll Sisters. I recall being gently and creatively encouraged to develop my potential at Maryknoll. In the course of my education, my desire to help others grew. My gaze gradually elevated itself beyond the vanity mirror in front of me. Knowing that the Maryknoll Sisters have been in the forefront of the crusade for social justice in the world has opened my eyes to see things more clearly.
Maryknoll made available to me various opportunities to challenge my capacity to perform my personal best. And so today, I feel some connection to the Maryknoll Sisters and Associates who are present in many countries around the world, serving through education, medicine and social work. They are constantly “searching out and training for whatever form of ministry serves the community that invites them to share in its Christian life and practice.” I have often wondered what is in me that makes me want to reach beyond my grasp. Today, I can’t help but inwardly smile with gratitude – being a Maryknoller must have something to do with it!
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Sister Dorothy McGowan, Maryknoll’s Dean of Women at the time of the graduation of Class 1968, wrote a letter to the celebrants in their silver jubilee commemorative book Lead Onward. For several weeks during its production – because this was before e-mail – the air mail services between East Timor and Virginia flew precious cargo of a series of letters for the big project. The editor’s “afterword” on the inside back cover of the book acknowledges Sister Dorothy’s work:
“A very special ‘thank you’ to our dear Sister Dorothy McGowan, who thoughtfully sent her letter and duplicates of it via different routes to the editor to ensure its safe and timely arrival for the commemorative book. We are blessed to have her words and thoughts recorded for posterity during this special year.” – Evelyne R. McFeaters, editor, 1993
Click on the Lead Onward cover to see Sr. Dorothy's letter dedicated to the silver jubilarians of MC'68.
Above left, Sister Dorothy McGowan, from Breakthrough, yearbook of Maryknoll College Class of 1968. At right, a clipping of Sister Dorothy sent by Milette, from a December 1999 article published in Maryknoll magazine. Milette clipped only the page containing Sister's image; the article, "Fragile peace in East Timor," was written by Frank Maurovich. Milette typically stuck colored notes on her correspondence for quick commentary.
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The 2014 Christmas season recalled an event within the Maryknoll family that in its way looped back to Milette. The weeks before Christmas brought somber news from Susie that Sister Dorothy was gravely ill. From the intense e-mail traffic, it was evident that class members were juggling holiday preparations with news updates, requests for prayer and suggestions for a class Christmas gift to wish Sister well. A health update on December 5th conveyed brighter news for the class and elicited this response from Milette the next day:
“Thank you for the update … It is in this season of expectant hope that we give thanks for Sister's steady recovery and continue to accompany her with our love and prayers. The Year for Consecrated Life also began last Sunday, where the whole Church gives thanks to the wonderful witness of special men and women like Sr. Dorothy, bearers of Christ's joy and light to others.”
It was to be Milette’s last communication to the class, just 11 days before her death. Although she could not rejoice with us when the year closed with the good news that Sister Dorothy was out of danger and recovering at the Maryknoll Motherhouse, surely Milette rejoiced with us from a far better clime. Her last offering of prayers and thanksgiving lingers yet with sweet resonance.
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We sing thy praises...
as CHILDREN OF MARY, HAND IN HAND
...for
THY JOY, THY WISDOM AND LOVE...
“Our religious Institute is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus…By example of her entire life and her act of personal assent to God’s Will, ‘Let it be done to me according to Your Word’ Lk 1:38, Mary serves as a model for our lives as women religious missioners.”
– Maryknoll Sisters Constitutions 1990
“Ours are to be the labors of the apostolate at home and abroad, hard, unflagging, continuous; we are to expect reproach, ingratitude, weariness of soul and body; to be betrayed – to have our own passion – and in the end, death. All with joy, eagerness and exhilaration.”
– Mother Mary Joseph, 1940
...we follow as you
LEAD ONWARD, HEAVENWARD...
In the after-party hush: Evelyne enjoys a quiet visit with Our Lady of Maryknoll near the chapel at the Motherhouse.
“We strive to go beyond boundaries: ourselves, our cultural background, geographical limits, economic, social, and religious categories to work in a global context.”
– Maryknoll Sisters Constitutions 1990
GOD'S BLESSING BE YOURS FROM ABOVE!
The Maryknoll College Anthem
THE BLUE AND GOLD OF MARYKNOLL
WILL KEEP OUR SPIRITS FLYING HIGH
WHEREVER WE ARE, WHEREVER WE’LL BE
FAITHFUL WE’LL ALWAYS BE TO THEE
ALMA MATER, WE’LL BE TRUE
TO YOUR SPIRIT THROUGH AND THROUGH.
R./
WE SING THY PRAISES, MARYKNOLL
THY JOY, THY WISDOM AND LOVE
LEAD ONWARD, HEAVENWARD, MARYKNOLL
GOD’S BLESSING BE YOURS FROM ABOVE.
O MARYKNOLL SO FAIR AND TRUE
WE PLEDGE OUR LOYALTY TO YOU
BEARERS OF CHRIST THROUGHOUT THE LAND
CHILDREN OF MARY HAND IN HAND
ALMA MATER, YOU WILL BE
EVER FAIR AND DEAR TO ME.
R./
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REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Material on Mother Mary Joseph (her image, statements and quotations from the Maryknoll Constitutions) from Maryknoll Sisters TOWARD A DISTANT VISION ©1992 by Maryknoll Sisters. Photograph of Sister Paula Cathleen from Maryknoll archives.
©1993 Ossining, New York photographs at the Maryknoll Motherhouse by Evelyne R. McFeaters. Photograph of Milette Estrada in Egypt is from Evelyne's personal collection.