Editor's Note Finding joy in moments of mischief By Darcy L. Fargo

October 2, 2019

To everyone else, she was Sister John Mary Brockway, a Sister of St. Joseph. To us, my sisters and I, she was “Sissy.”

Sissy was my grandmother’s sister – my great- aunt.

In the latter years of her life, I was away at college and then living for a time out of state. So, my fondest memories of Sissy were from my childhood.

Sissy would often visit my grandparents’ home and farm in Bombay, a tiny town in northern Franklin County. Fortunately, my sisters and I also spent a significant amount of time with my grandparents. My sisters and I – twins and a sister roughly two years older – were a handful. That’s actually an understatement.

I remember one occasion when some combination of my sister(s) and I were wreaking havoc of some sort.

Grandma was trying to get us back under control. While grandma raised her voice and quickly told us, “no more nonsense,” Sissy sat off to the side, trying suppress her laughter – rather unsuccessfully, I might add.

While I understand that part of the situation was that grandma dealt with our shenanigans regularly, and we were more of a novelty to Sissy, I also think that Sissy lived her life with great joy. She even found joy in mischief and mayhem. The more stories I hear about her from other Sisters of St. Joseph, the more I believe that to be the case.

I thought of that moment this week as I read through the biographies of the sisters celebrating jubilees this year.

While the sisters’ stories differ greatly, several expressed how much happiness and joy, and how many gifts and blessings they’ve been given living answering God’s call and living their vocations.

These are sisters who have given their lives in service – service to God, service to their communities, service to the faithful. They’ve served as teachers, nurses, physical therapists, pastoral associates, leaders in their communities and leaders in our communities.

Congratulations to the jubilarians! And thank you to all the consecrated religious in our diocese who show us the joy of following the Lord, the joy of service and even the joy that can be found in moments of mischief.