Sisters' Stories

We love sharing stories from and/or about our amazing SSND Sisters.

Please send us your submissions to comm@amssnd.org.

Jesus is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Early in the morning on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene visited the tomb. She found something unusual. The stone had been moved away.

Holy Thursday, Good Friday

Holy Thursday has held a special place in my prayer life. It was the ultimate gift of total love, sacrifice and complete self giving. It was a celebration of life with His beloved friends as He prepared to meet His final surrender.

Listen Each New Time

I find Lent a challenge. How do I keep to the good things I intend to do this year? As in all things, I pray to follow the example of Jesus who was led by the Spirit to the desert.

The "God of No Matter Whatness"

Recently, when I heard Father Greg Boyle talk about his work with gang members in Los Angeles, he talked to them about the “God of no matter whatness.” He said, "This God dissolves the toxicity of shame and fills us with tender mercy.”

Prodigal Mercy by Sister Delia Calis

By Sister Delia Calis, SSND

Oh Son, do you not yet trust my love for you?

You are always with me and everything I have is yours.

I need you to shepherd with my heart – my love, compassion.

Lent Collage Graces Bulletin Board at The Watermark

Creating the community bulletin board at The Watermark is a prayerful, artistic process for Sister Justine Nutz, SSND. Using scraps of paper, fabric, yarn, pictures, words, and other items, her evocative designs invite reflection. Her 2024 Lent board also recalls the Paschal Mystery.

Lent in a “Post-Covid” World

As we approach Lent, I wonder what will come. Will we be able to celebrate together? Will we face another Covid outbreak as family and friends come to visit?

Living into Prophetic Witness of Universal Communion

Every year, we celebrate the same feasts, often with the same liturgical readings. What can we do to ensure that our journey is a spiral and not a circular treadmill? How is God near to us this Lent in ways that will call us to be fully alert and attentive?

A Stella Maris Snowflake Party

“It snowed last night. It snowed last night!” The Notre Dame Prep Middle Level students sang the fun winter song to the Sisters at Stella Maris. They added hand movements to their song. This was just one of several activities that the students and Sisters engaged in during the “Snowflake Party” organized by the NDP Middle Level Campus Ministers on January 30.

Pajama Day and Vocations

February 1st was Pajama Day at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy in Jamaica, New York. I know this because I was invited to give a vocation talk to the girls in grades 5-8 as part of Catholic Schools Week.

Waterdown Sister Carla Shares Creative Flare

Sisters recently attended a Sip and Paint in Waterdown, Ontario. Sip and Paint is is a fun and social way to explore one's sometimes hidden creative side. The Sisters all enjoyed a relaxing and informal atmosphere while creating. Some enjoyed sparkling juice while others enjoyed wine as they painted their simple yet beautiful creations.

Celebrating 103 Years

On Friday, January 19th, Sister Cabrini Ganz, a resident at Resurrection Life Center in Chicago, IL, celebrated her 103rd Birthday! She was Queen for the Day! Click to find out her words of wisdom!

The Butterfly Effect of an "Ordinary" Small Town School Teacher

Sister Marcianne Bzdon, SSND, chuckles as she fans a handful of Starbucks gift cards in front of her. Wealth is not something Catholic Sisters are known for, but the cards - gifts from students past and present - are currency here...

Seamstress Par Excellence

Sister Jeanne McGue (left) is well known among Marian Village residents and staff as an excellent seamstress who is willing to use her talent to help in multiple ways. Sister Lucy Giacchetti is helping her hem a lovely, delicate dress for one of the staff who will wear it to her nephew’s wedding.

Catholic Charities of Baltimore Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary of Service

Bill McCarthy, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities Baltimore, invited the School Sisters of Notre Dame to be his guests at the 100th Anniversary celebration. In attendance were Sisters Kathleen Feeley, Delia Dowling, Peggy Juskelis, Miriam Jansen, Kathy Jager, Bernice Feilinger, Raymond Lorenzen, and Mary Fitzgerald. Also in attendance were: Sisters Sharon Slear, Linda Stilling, Patricia Murphy, Grace Okon, and Sister Grace Sciamanna who had served on the Centennial Committee.

Sister Marie Jeannette Blatz Interviewed for StoryCorps

Jane Johnson interviewed her aunt, Sister Marie Jeannette Blatz, SSND about her life and experiences as a School Sisters of Notre Dame as part of the national StoryCorps Archive. Sister Jeannette is currently living at Ozanam.

Offering Solace in New York After 9/11

After 9/11, Sister Laurentilla Back, SSND, was called to offer comfort as a member of the Red Cross’ Spiritual Care Air Incident Response team. She shares here a reflection on that experience that she wrote on the first anniversary of the attacks in 2002.

The Travels and Trials of Mother Caroline Friess

Today, July 22, is the Feast Day of Mother Caroline Friess. This archival piece looks at the many travel difficulties she encountered as she led the expansion of the School Sisters of Notre Dame across North America.

How the Sisters Leaving Saint Mary of the Pines Are Saying Farewell

Much like our province, the Central Pacific Province is going through many changes. They are finding comfort in memories and rituals.

Sister Valeria Wagner’s Fontanini Christmas Figurines Collection

The story of Sister Valeria’s collection of Fontanini figurines began when she was stationed at St. Pius X back in the mid 1970’s. She and Sister Ann Lohrfink would travel to Lancaster, PA each year in the summer and buy a figurine or two.

Blessed Antonina: WW II Martyr

Blessed M. Antonina Kratochwil died in Stanisławów, Poland on Oct 2nd, 1942. She was beatified with a group of 108 martyrs of World War II by Pope John Paul II, in Warsaw, on June 13, 1999. The feast of the 108 martyrs, including Blessed Antonina, is celebrated on June 12 each year.