Sister Mary Brandt passed into eternal life this past Tuesday morning. As we sat with her and kept vigil at her bedside the final days before her death, I kept reflecting on the many ways in which she had touched my life and the lives of countless others throughout the years.
I met Sr. Mary shortly before I entered our monastic community. We actually became familiar with each other over the dishwasher--not usually something terribly memorable but for us it was. We had dishes the same night every week for my first few years in community so there was a sort of rhythm to it.
We also had the language bond since she had been a Spanish, French and Latin teacher and I was fluent in Spanish and had taken some French in school. She tried a couple of times to improve my Spanish skills but she would eventual say that I was probably not destined to be her language student. She and I would sometimes read Spanish poetry together. She had a great love for poetry.
In her later years, she and I would enjoy going out into our rose beds and grotto area on nice days for a ride in her wheelchair. We always had fun and enjoyed one another's company.
I learned many things from her about life. I learned how to grow old gracefully and to accept whatever life offered us. As she aged, she was a person who mellowed and accepted her declining health with a good attitude, her sense of humor and a sweet smile that she never lost. I need to remember that as I grow older because that type of disposition does not come to me naturally or easily.
Sr. Mary will be greatly missed by many.
May she enjoy eternal rest in God's care. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
Sister Catherine
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