Sister Stories Part I

I heard lots of wonderful stories this weekend. This one keeps putting a smile on my face so I thought I'd share. It was told over dinner Saturday night by a youngish priest friend of one of the Jubilarians who was celebrating 75 years as a Sister! Sister C. is in her 90's and still does parish ministry - she's pretty sprightly! This story took place a few years ago.

The youngish priest (YP) and Sister C (SC). were out visiting a sick parishioner. They shared the Eucharist and prayed with the gentleman and his family. While they were inside, it started snowing heavily outside. This posed a problem as the family lived at the bottom of a steep hill. They were worried they wouldn't get back up the hill, so YP borrowed some kitty litter that he spread out on the snow to create some traction. YP & SC said fairwell to the family and got in the car. The kitty litter helped a bit, but they were having a hard time making it up the hill. YP was driving and SC was sitting in the passenger seat. On the first failed attempt up the hill, SC started praying the rosary. On the second failed attempt up the hill, she started saying her Hail Mary's even faster. YP looked over worriedly at SC before the third attempt, and she said "Don't worry Father, the third time's a charm I'm sure." He looked over at SC and said, "I hope so Sister. You keep praying and I'll try one more time." So they did and almost made it to the top when they started to slip back down again. At this moment SC stopped saying her Hail Mary's and yelled emphatically, "Come on Mary, get out there and PUSH!!!!!." At which point the car spurted up to the top of the hill without any problem. YP ended the story by saying, "I knew Sister was a holy woman. I didn't realize she had a direct connection and could boss Mary around."

Now, Sr. C is small and cute as a button, but I can just imagine her saying this! I love this story, partly because I can relate to the part about saying Hail Mary's super fast. I'd always did that as a child when I was scared during thunderstorms. It was as much a calming meditative exercise as a prayer for intercession on Mary's part.

(Point of clarification for non-Catholic readers. No we don't worship Mary. No we don't think she has super powers or is "in charge." But that doesn't mean you can't ask for her help every once in a while! She's a member of what we call the "Communion of Saints" - wise and holy men and women who have gone before. Mary did manage to raise Jesus after all. After the handful he must have been, she can certainly help us out with some of our little problems. :) ... )