Parish honors Saint Joseph and women religious he inspires
On March 19, two groups of women religious dedicated to Saint Joseph gathered with parishioners from Saint Anastasia Parish in Teaneck, NJ, to celebrate the feast day of their patron, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.
“The people of Saint Anastasia’s are blessed with not just one group of Sisters, but two — the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill, as well as the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace,” said the pastor, Father Joseph D’Amico. He added that he was delighted that the parish had a new tradition of celebrating Saint Joseph’s feast day with the two congregations.
The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Gregory J. Studerus, who said that he was “honored and grateful” to “not only be celebrating the Saint Joseph, but this wonderful tradition of Sisters of St. Joseph serving the Lord.” Concelebrating with Father D’Amico were Father Esteban Granyak, parochial vicar, and Father Peter Palmisano.
Hero, protector, and finder of parking spaces
In his homily, Bishop Studerus shared that his devotion to Saint Joseph began simply, with the desire to find a parking space one day while visiting the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
“As I’m driving down Fifth Avenue, the big question, of course, comes up: ‘Where am I going to leave this car?’” Bishop Studerus said. “Perhaps because I was at that time pastor of a parish called St. Joseph of West New York, I called on St. Joseph. ‘Hey, maybe you can help me find a parking space.’”
When he arrived at his destination, “to my surprise, immediately across the street from the front door of the Guggenheim Museum was a blank, empty parking space for me — free!”
“I’m embarrassed to say that from that day on, St. Joseph has been faithfully finding parking spaces for me wherever I go, and I have called people to trust him as the patron of parking spaces,” the bishop said.
Bishop Studerus pointed to St. Joseph as a supreme example of those “inspiring human beings who have put their utter and complete trust in almighty God.”
“I like to think of Saint Joseph as the hero of the Nativity story,” the bishop added, “the one who could hear the message of God calling him to do something that everyone else would find a scandal.” Not only did St. Joseph “take Mary into his life,” but he also found shelter for his wife so that she could give birth to the baby Jesus, Bishop Studerus said.
Joseph then became “the protector,” who not only had to discern whether the strange shepherds and kings who showed up at the manger were trustworthy, but then had to lead his family on “another long journey into the unknown” to Egypt.
“So, we can turn to Joseph and reflect and meditate on a life of faith and courage and dedication to God’s will,” Bishop Studerus said. He noted that the women religious present at the Mass had “lived the inspiration” of Saint Joseph in their everyday lives.
“I’m grateful to St. Joseph, especially when he finds me a parking space and doesn’t let me get lost,” Bishop Studerus concluded with a smile. “I’m (also) grateful to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace who have dedicated their lives to fulfilling God’s will in so many different ways.”
The best wine for last
Following the homily, three Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia renewed their vows. They were joined by a Franciscan sister who resides with them.
“My God, my God, I renew my vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience,” the women proclaimed before the congregation, asking for the grace to observe their vows “faithfully all the days of my life.”
All the sisters went to the parish hall after Mass, joined by parishioners who had prepared cake and refreshments. After taking a group photo with Bishop Studerus and the other priests, the women sat down to share stories and insights about their vocational journeys and their patron saint.
Sister Joan Sullivan, SSJ, told Jersey Catholic that she discovered her vocation as a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia in the fifth grade while being taught by women from the congregation. “The sister who was teaching us read us a book about a missionary in China,” she recalled. “I wanted to be a missionary and go there.”
The trip did not happen, but “the desire was there to give my life to God,” she said, “and it just kept growing.”
Sister Joan, who has dedicated herself to religious life for almost 72 years, spent most of her ministry in elementary education, first as a teacher and later as a principal. After retirement, she taught ESL part-time to immigrants. “I love them,” she said of the students she has helped. “My parents were immigrants from Ireland.”
She continues to volunteer as an ESL teacher at a soup kitchen, saying she never plans to fully retire. “Now I get to do the things that I never had time to do when I was teaching full-time or running a school,” she said. “So, I feel that God has saved the best wine in my life until last.”
Working for peace through justice and service
Also present at the Mass were two siblings who found their calling through the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace. Sister Terry Donohue, CSJP, has been part of the congregation for 49 years, inspired by teachers at her high school and by an aunt who belonged to the community. Her sister, Maureen Donohue, CSJP-A, became a lay associate of the congregation in the mid-1990s, after feeling “drawn by their spirituality and charism.” She is now the executive director of Peace Ministries, a corporation formed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace to strengthen and support their sponsored ministries in New Jersey.
Sister Terry served as a teacher when she first entered the congregation, working at schools in Ridgewood and Newark. It was while teaching in Newark that she experienced a “call to our charism of working for peace through justice.”
“I thought I might not only teach the students in Newark, but represent them in court,” she said. Encouraged by her community, she attended a law school in Washington, D.C. that trained lawyers to work with the poor. After passing the bar, Sister Terry provided housing law legal services in Newark, NJ, for the next 16 years before being called to a leadership position in the congregation. After nearly half a century of religious life, she continues to serve, now as a pastoral life minister.
Sister Terry explained that her community promotes peace through prayer, awareness, and public witness. “We pray a peace prayer every week,” she said. Members of the congregation seek to be intentional not only about who they pray for, but also about the conflicts and “oppressive systems that are right in front of our faces,” while “praying our hearts out for peace.”
As a lay associate since 1994, Maureen Donohue has long been committed to faith-based service. In her role as executive director of Peace Ministries, she helps the sisters exercise governance and mission oversight over a family of ministries begun by the congregation, works that are now mostly carried on by lay people. They include Teaneck’s Holy Name Medical Center, founded in 1925, Peace Care, St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, and York Street Project, all in Jersey City, and Waterspirit, an eco-spirituality ministry in Rumson, NJ.
Those and the congregation’s other ministries “respond to the signs of the times by emphasizing the core values of the congregation — the inherent dignity of each person, collaboration, inclusiveness for all, welcoming all, and serving the most vulnerable,” Donohue said.
“Pray, and he will answer”
Sister Suzanne Reynolds, SSJ, said she has spent “67 happy years” with the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia. “I had the Sisters of St. Joseph all through high school, and I think it was their example and dedication that attracted me to them,” she said.
Though retired, Sister Suzanne continues to serve by bringing Communion to the sick and shut-in and praying the Rosary with them.
Her friend, Sister Regina Chassar, SSJ, another member of the congregation, said that she was moved by Bishop Studerus’s homily. “I love what the bishop said about Saint Joseph being a hero,” she said. “He did all these things, but he did them quietly. I think that’s the example we should follow, doing things not for thanks or adulation, but because we love Jesus.”
“When I pray to Saint Joseph, I never feel that he will not intercede for me,” Sister Suzanne added. “He’s there for you. Pray, and he will answer. That is what I found out about him.”
To view more photos of the Feast of St. Joseph celebration at St. Anastasia Parish, click HERE.
Featured image: Bishop Studerus congratulates three women religious who renewed their vows at a Mass for the Feast of St. Joseph held at Saint Anastasia Parish in Teaneck, NJ. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia were joined by a Franciscan religious sister who resides with them. (Photo by John Touhey / Archdiocese of Newark)
