God is Good

Sister Bernita’s call to religious life came when she was a student at Notre Dame High School in St. Louis. “I wanted to teach, bring goodness to children and make religion real in my life as well as the lives of those I would be teaching,” she said. “I believed I could best do that as a woman religious.”

As a women religious, Sister Bernita served as a teacher and principal at five schools in St. Louis and at Sacred Heart School in Poplar Bluff. She also served as a coordinator of religious education and pastoral ministry in Missouri and Illinois and ministered as the associate superintendent for the Diocese of Jefferson City in Missouri from 1985-88.

Sister Bernita is in her 25th year as pastoral minister at St. Martin parish in St. Martins, Missouri. At St. Martin she directs the parish religious education program for kids and teens; prepares high school youth for confirmation; coordinates the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults; instructs altar servers; visits the sick in nursing homes; and takes Holy Communion to nursing home residents and people who are too sick to go to church.

At home, Sister Bernita enjoys reading books and trying to keep the rabbits and squirrels out of her garden and flowerbed. She believes laughing frequently and smiling a lot make life brighter, friendlier and really enjoyable.

“Be happy,” she said. “Be the first to say ‘hello.’ Otherwise, you might miss getting to know someone wonderful. There are no strangers that way.”

What is one new thing you learned today? Who brought a smile to your face?

Information excerpted from an article by Jay Nies in the Catholic Missourian. Click here to read the complete article.

Photo Credits: Feature Box photo courtesy of Jay Nies in the Catholic Missourian
Ash Wednesday photo courtesy of St. Martin Parish