In Loving Memory...

Sister Josephine McDonald, CSC
Birth: March 19, 1907
Profession: January 6, 1931
Death: March 2, 2006

It is my privilege this morning to highlight a few items in the full life of Sister Josephine McDonald, known to many as Sister Jo. Jo marched to a different drummer most of her life. The “drummer” for a large Catholic family in the South in the early 1900s was definitely different from that of their neighbors.

The spirit of independence that Jo developed as the third child of nine was with her when she entered the novitiate in 1928. She and two of her band mates dubbed themselves the “Striving Three,” and Jo never stopped striving, often against the tide. Her superiors through the years could attend to the fact that blind obedience was not part of Sister Jo’s personal mission statement. This made her an attractive person to some of her peers who may have been a bit timid about questioning authority.

Jo was a dedicated teacher, fiercely determined to have her first grade students learn first of all how to live their faith and secondly, how to read. She was forever coming up with new ideas and creative ways of presenting the lessons of the day. And if something worked, she could see no reason to change it. During some summers in the 1950s Jo was assigned to teach the young sisters how to teach phonics and reading both at Saint Mary’s College and at Dunbarton College.

As Sister Jo grew older, her spirituality deepened. After her retirement from teaching, which was heartbreaking for her, she became increasingly aware of God’s presence in her life, and this gave her great comfort and support. Jo’s devotion to the Eucharist began in earnest when she was a young sister in the Paulist parish in New York City. This devotion increased with each passing year. As aches and pains began to set in, her prayer of offering at the Consecration at the Mass was “Jesus, this is my body.”

One characteristic worthy of note was Sister Jo’s loyalty to her friends and her defense of those who may have been misjudged. Justice was very important to her, and along her path were those who were made stronger because of her support.

Sister Jo, the last in her immediate family to die, often spoke of dancing into the Kingdom. Last Tuesday her drummer was there with his instrument to accompany her, and the entire McDonald clan and the Sisters of the Holy Cross were there to greet her. May she rest in peace, justice, love and joy!

Written by Sister Judith McKenna, 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.