Responding to the needs  of the times   by Sister Judith Ann Murphy, CSC

My life in Holy Cross has been full of adventure and challenge. I have found great satisfaction in working with the brothers, priests and sisters of Holy Cross in this larger congregation of men and women. We all live by the mission of meeting the needs of the people we serve.

I entered Holy Cross after being educated totally by the Sisters of the Holy Cross from age 6 through high school. 

A young Sister Judith with her mother and brother

I loved the sisters for their hospitality, humanness, sense of humor and their prayerfulness. I attended Saint Mary's Academy in South Bend, Indiana, and further became delighted with and made many friends among the sisters. I entered Holy Cross at the age of 20, which in those days was a delayed vocation. At the time of my vows, we were primarily involved in the mission of nursing or education. I chose education since I thought I would not be strong enough to handle emergencies in nursing! Either way I have experienced both and much more.

So I have been a teacher at some level all my life. In addition to teaching and serving as a principal in elementary schools, I was a family counselor in a parish where I worked with divorced persons and young couples thinking about marriage, as well as working with the terminally ill and their families.

In 1994 I came to Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Indiana, with a mission to formalize the academic advising program at the institution. I left after two years to respond to a need our sisters had in Bangladesh.

For two challenging but wonderful years I lived with and loved the sisters, priests and brothers of Holy Cross, the Moslems, Hindus and tribal peoples in Bangladesh. I taught English conversation to our young sisters and to many seminarians.

This experience taught me so much about myself. I learned how to cope with not being in control of anything because I did not know the language or many of the customs. The young Holy Cross women religious there were very supportive and really wanted to learn English. I found that learning another language while surrounded by your own native language is a real challenge. My patience and understanding grew greatly.

I also learned that one can be very happy with very little in the way of material goods. I was most happy among the sisters and people of Kulaura, Bangladesh, who ministered to the poor among them and also the tribal people in the hills. The area people worked six days a week in tea gardens, picking tea, and were paid very little. The tribal people, who are a matriarchal society, grow a betel nut that they sell in large quantities. Our sisters who are tribal have a very natural gift for leadership because they have been raised to make decisions and carry them out.

I found that living in a country that was less than 1 percent Christian is a large challenge. Being a minority Christian and a foreigner carries many lessons. Among these lessons are humility, honesty, deep love for the people, and the realization that we Americans have done much damage to poor countries, wittingly or not. I would have remained there longer but my health did not fare too well.

When I came back to the United States in 1998, I rejoined Holy Cross College and continued in teaching and academic advising. In February 1999 I discovered I had breast cancer. 

I continued teaching after the surgery, and the class I had at the time was very supportive and got me through those grueling days of chemotherapy. I wore a wig to class and one young man told me to "change off with some turbans, colorful scarves, etc." I did, and it gave me a boost – as well as everyone else. When that group returned the following fall, every one of them came to see me to check on my health. That is the family atmosphere at Holy Cross College.

In addition to teaching and advising, I have been visiting the maximum-security prison in Michigan City, Indiana, for the past three years. I felt I needed "another world" experience, and that certainly describes the Indiana State Prison. For the first time in my life I knew a man who was executed from death row.

Jerry had become a Catholic a couple of years before I met him and in my opinion he was very close to God. At his death he once again asked forgiveness of the victim's family and his own family. He also told everyone he forgave in advance all who would take his life, saying, "Father, they really don't know what they are doing."

Another volunteer ministry that gives me great joy is working with a dozen sisters who have signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. The Congregation provides a special setting in which they can live and relate with one other and with specially trained staff. I sing with them twice a month and participate in special activities like cookie baking, horseshoe throwing and a weaver's day retreat. I have come to learn that these sisters are treasures and are women of deep prayer who live so close to the life to come.

Sister Judith Ann provides academic counseling to a Holy Cross College student.

The Sisters of the Holy Cross continually search out new challenges and ways to appreciate and develop our internationality. As women religious we have the opportunity to minister and share our presence in every area of the United States, as well as in Mexico and the countries of Ghana and Uganda in Africa, Bangladesh and India in Asia, and Peru and Brazil in South America. If our health is sufficient we have the opportunity to serve in international locations throughout the Congregation.

At this time I have been asked to serve in Uganda for a year or more. I leave Holy Cross College in June 2004 and plan to arrive in Uganda in September. This is an exciting gift in my life and I am grateful to be asked to assist with some pioneering efforts there.