Now that I am in my “upper middle” years I strive to balance a contemplative and active lifestyle.
Sister Evlyn Schnieders

Even at seventy-eight I am still amazed that I am a School Sister, given my intuitive and passionate nature. This I inherit naturally, from my forebears. My earliest memories include: eating watermelon with siblings on the back stoop, the smell of our Christmas tree hung with homemade cookies and popcorn, first snowsuit, Dad’s quiet talks with us. Mom’s surprises in our lunch boxes. Being dazzled by a velutinous red peony and Missouri bluffs in autumn.

The woodbox next to the kitchen stove was my place of daydreams, and there recurred one memorable dream of someday owning a mini-automobile filled with things for the poor which I would distribute. I interpret this as an early call to discipleship, and participation in church services. My falling in love with Jesus during high school retreats. Enjoying being a teenager with its newfound freedom, boyfriends, dancing, new hats and being told I was pretty. But all along there was a sense of wanting more. Yes, even coming home from a specially prepared for date left me wanting more! Thoughts of religious life played off and on during those years. During the month of August after graduation, I met a School Sister and we clicked. I met her on Thursday and traveled with her to Milwaukee the following Tuesday. That still floors me! Friends and family wagered they would see me returning home in two weeks.

The first weeks and months in St. Joseph Convent were times of homesickness (How I missed my sisters and brothers, friends, the new house we had recently moved into and my puppy!), but at the same time, I was captivated by the silence, friendliness, beauty, good food, and celebration of feastdays in the convent. College work was okay (I’d never really learned good study habits early on, so I struggled). Then came the exquisite experiences of Reception into the Community with a full habit and a new name, Sister Damien! Two years later, I pronounced the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. I was in love and very happy, next came mission life, which also was difficult at first (early on I cried myself to sleep many a night). Gradually I got the knack of teaching. This was due in large part to the mentoring of sweet older Sisters I lived with. There was a group of us young Sisters in that convent and we took every occasion possible to have Franciscan fun. I loved the children and the goings-on in the parishes and thoroughly enjoyed teaching for twenty-five years.

My next adventure was answering a call to missionary work in Costa Rica, where almost before I began, I become seriously ill with a bacterial heart ailment with subsequent heart valve surgery. The caring by Community and healthcare persons during that time helped raise my self-esteem, appreciation of my body and of life in general. Sometime later I had the opportunity to attend graduate school in New York City. The post-Vatican-Two classes, as well as new-found friends and getting around the Big Apple were immensely enriching experiences.

With all new growth comes new tests. Why should I remain in a celibate and confined lifestyle? I asked myself. I decided to bow out while I was “ahead”. Then rather unexpectedly I shared my thoughts with a wise Sister. She listened with empathy and caring like a wonderful big sister. Shortly thereafter I realized that remaining a School Sister was what I really wanted after all.

Always a deep sense of compassion remained part of my make-up, so I trained for hospital chaplaincy and found a new niche in that profession, and, to this day, continue in chaplaincy work with our retired Sisters. In my spare time I enjoy gardening, reading, and watercolor painting. I continue being happy and fulfilled as part of a challenging and loving group of women, who continue to complement my own birth-family relationships. Now that I am in my “upper middle” years I strive to balance a contemplative and active lifestyle. This has become my current passion; I believe this is the greatest contribution I can make both to my Community and to the world.

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