Opening of 150th Anniversary
Reflection
Bay St. Louis, MS

Once upon a time. . .so the story begins. . .Once upon a time, just about one hundred fifty years ago, three black-habited French women stepped from a boat onto this Mississippi shore tracing with their feet, as it were, the first lines of a story that continues to this day. With those humble beginnings, on that cold January day, the French congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Bourg opened a new chapter of their life as an apostolic congregation of religious women.

Mother Eulalie, Sister Anatolie and Sister Marie de Gonzague answered "yes"—"Oui!" to God's call. "Oui!" "Yes!" They would commit themselves to spreading the Gospel in an unknown land, carrying to the dear neighbor the good news of God's great love. This is how it all began, once upon a time. . .

Today, one hundred-fifty years later, we remember these Sisters of St. Joseph as pioneering women who braved the strange and unfamiliar ways of the place we have come to know and cherish as Bay St. Louis—its sandy beaches and cooling breezes, its salt water bay for fishing, boating and swimming, its long and lazy summers and welcoming seasons all through the year. We have grown up knowing and loving this place, but for them, the Mississippi coast was still rough and untamed. They had left the land of their birth. Now, they were being born into a new time, an emerging culture. To paraphrase Robert Frost, "The land was theirs before they were the land's." The passing of the seasons, the turning of the years would slowly forge bonds of affection for a place which in those early days was strange and even fearsome to them.

So these three sisters were not unlike Abraham and Sarah, called by God to pull up stakes in Haran and travel to an unknown country, there to forge a new beginning. Records show, however, that they were considerably younger than their Biblical counterparts: 58, 33 and 22 years old.

What they brought with them across the ocean was an abundance of courage—great heartedness—generosity, trust, personal faith and an unwavering conviction that God's great love was not theirs to hide under a bushel, but must be handed on, shared with those first generations of Americans. They would find a way to speak of the God who had stolen their hearts and given them a special inheritance.. Their spoken English—halting, no doubt, and often in search of the right words—was it seasoned with a sprinkling of French in those early days? with accents and phrases that must have brought a smile to American faces?

Even so, we can be sure that their lived language—the language of the heart—spoke volumes. The God they knew, the Gospel written in their hearts needed no translation.

Over the decades, more than 209 French and American sisters would follow these first three women from Bourg. Good works would increase; outreach would extend in ever-widening circles. They taught at St. Rose School for African Americans, they taught in the public schools of Hancock county and they taught native Americans. Brothers of the Sacred Heart, priests, lay faculty and staff shared with them a variety of ministries here. United to Jesus, as branches to the vine, this community of faith-filled women and men went about doing good. Classes at St. Joseph’s grew to include not only all elementary grades, but a secondary school, a boarding school and summer camp. They made time for visits to the sick, the homebound and elderly, and attended to the needs of the poor and the forgotten.

But the story was not always a tale of sunny days and starry nights. No stranger to fierce weather systems, the Gulf coast suffered numerous hurricanes over the years. And each time, the community managed to rebuild and repair, always with the support and assistance of generous benefactors. The furor of Hurricane Betsy in 1965, however, was unparalleled. Raging winds and angry waters destroyed life and property, tearing down St. Joseph's pier—not only a familiar landmark, but essential to summer camp. The rebuilding and additional renovation needed on the property, the upgrade of educational facilities to meet accreditation requirements, just salaries for the growing lay faculty—all of this placed an impossible strain on limited financial resources. Hard and painful decisions had to be made: eventually, the Congregation would have to entrust this beloved place and its ministries to other laborers in the vineyard.

So it was with heavy hearts, but greater faith that Sisters of St. Joseph handed over their founding ministries to companions and co-workers. St. Joseph Academy closed in 1967, but sisters remained at Our Lady of the Gulf School until 1976—one hundred twenty-one years! If handing on the Gospel were truly Christ's work, then Christ would guide other disciples. Our Lady Academy and Bay Catholic continue the tradition of Catholic education as Mercy Sisters and dedicated lay leaders serve here. United to the vine, they bring forth good fruit, as your presence here today testifies.

Now in 2005, at the beginning of a new millennium, we CSJs engage in ministries of education, health care, community building, works of justice and mercy. You find us in parishes, prisons and prayer centers. The Gospel witness continues. We stand at the threshold of a new year, and mark 150 years of service in the U.S., as well as missionary work in Latin America.

Once again, we hear Christ's call echoing down the years, and across generations: Go forth and make disciples of all nations. . .and behold I am with you always. It is with that hope that we turn our faces toward the future.

Those first sisters who crossed the Atlantic, letting go of the secure and the familiar, were not unlike Peter stepping out of his fishing boat to walk on water in answer to Jesus' call. With faith—and no doubt waves of fear—they began a journey that stretched their horizons and led to unknown possibilities in this brand new, brave new world.

And that journey begun in faith and in fear is not unlike the journey of each one of us here today. Each one of us, baptized in living water, hears the invitation of the Lord in diverse ways, numerous times over a lifetime. Always, it is an invitation to step out in faith to do something, to go somewhere we have not gone before. Most often, there is a struggle— to stay safe or to set out on the untrodden path; to refuse the change or to embrace the challenge; to remain in the harbor or to set out for deep waters. This is the unknown that stretches before us in 2005.

We know not the exact direction of the future. We cannot claim certitude about the twists and turns in the road. What obstacles lie ahead of us? What challenges will test our will? Like those first sisters, we have no sure answers to any of these questions.

And with them, we cling to the Gospel promise that Christ will be with us always—will be companion on the journey, will be our way, our truth, our life. We turn our faces to the future, with faith that is firm, faith received in baptism and nurtured, shaped and strengthened over the years in the crucible of life, in the crucible of life as Sisters of St. Joseph. It is that faith, that conviction that is the wind at our back, pressing us to lean into the future, to lean upon each other and to answer the invitation to come. . .to step out onto the waters (as M. Eulalie, Sister Anatolie and Sister Marie de Gonzague), to step out onto the waters to meet the One who calls us into a new future—and awaits us there.

Our prayer as we begin this Jubilee year in this sacred place—is that all of us here today

Standing at this crossroads where the past meets the future, we Sisters of St. Joseph admit we do not know the details; we know enough to take only a few steps at a time. We are a smaller number now than the two hundred nine sisters who served here. But like those who have gone before us, we know and believe in the strength and support of a community of believers and associates, a great crowd of witnesses like you who gather with us today.

Of only one thing are we certain!
In God's story, that great cosmic drama that embraces us all, those who love will always live happily ever after!

With that undying hope, we continue the journey!

Eleanor Bernstein, CSJ
January 15, 2005

Posted 2-23-05