In Loving Memory...
Sister Josephine Callahan, CSC
Birth: August 27, 1917
Profession: February 2, 1941
Death: August 30, 2006
It is not easy to capture the integral spirit of Josephine Callahan –
a person of faith whose life was nourished by the strong faith of her
Irish parents, but also with an inner free spirit that led people to
describe her as a “breath of fresh air.” Yet, her life knew light and
darkness.
Josie grew up in New York attending Saint Paul’s School in Manhattan
and apparently received her vocation there, entering Holy Cross in July
1938. A career in education started even prior to first vows and continued
for 28 years, primarily in secondary education. Saint Mary of the Wasatch
was the site of her first degree and was followed with a master in arts at
Catholic University and a master in education at American University. Her
major was French and it definitely fit with her personality. She gladly
exchanged the fluted cap for a maroon French beret, which she frequently
wore at a rakish angle – her free spirit at work.
The first thing people noticed about Jo was her gracious and welcoming
smile. She created an environment of acceptance. People were comfortable
in her presence and students found her a delightful teacher.
Humor was another quality she shared and she could laugh at herself.
She told the story of being in the dentist chair and he seemed to be
having some difficulty. She asked if she needed to open wider – and the
dentist said, “Oh, no! It’s like the Grand Canyon in here.”
But in every life there is light and darkness. Jo struggled – much as
St. Paul describes his darkness – “that which I do not want to
be.…” You know the rest of that quotation. It is in the admission that
we are powerless that the greatest grace can come. A consistent remark
from many of her sisters was that they had never known Jo to be critical
or verbally destructive of another person. In her own powerlessness there
was insight into God’s deep respect for the sacred identity of each
person; in that love, God blessed fidelity to the effort, not necessarily
success. Someone has said that God does not call the equipped, but rather
equips the one called. Jo’s reverence and compassion for others in their
darkness may be the greatest gift she gave us. As in our reading today,
she understood that “God will wipe away the tears from all faces: the
reproach of the people, God will remove…. Let us rejoice and be glad
that God has saved us” (Isaiah 25:6-9).
Jo never let go of God’s hand or of hope. May she now know the
fullness of God’s embrace…while wearing her maroon French beret!
Written by Sister Olivia Marie Hutcheson, CSC
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Cross
Ministry With the Poor Fund, Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556.
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