Sister Julia Rice 

Although the 75th anniversary of my reception into the School Sisters of St. Francis is a significant mark on the “chart” of my life, its real importance has to do with the present moment.

The years I lived my family life, my community life, my school years, my years as a high school teacher, campus minister, lawyer, and now in retirement, have all fed into the depths of this moment. They live on each day as I awake to new actions, new experiences, and new relationships. I wake with the intention of living each day honestly, kindly, and usefully in the presence of God.

In my teens, I gave thought to what was being asked of me as I left high school, and I sincerely listened in my heart for an answer to my prayer. I trusted that what God wanted would be revealed to me, but I never asked for the perfect, clear answer that could not be questioned.

I made the decision to answer the call to religious life, knowing I knew as little about that as I did about journalism, which was my alternative path. From there on, each decision would come on in its necessary moment. There has never been great certainty about what lies ahead.

An openness to what will come is the color of my life. Would I prefer to be a teacher or a nurse? Honestly? Neither, especially not a nurse. That simply was not who I was. The essential decision had been to enter religious life, a choice certainly influenced by my reading of Thomas Merton.

As the years unfolded, my life became a story that I wrote without writing an outline to clarify the directions and without sureness in the results of daily choices. At pivotal moments, changes in my work led me in directions I could not have anticipated, for example, moving to Cleveland to serve as a campus minister at Case Western Reserve University. Fortunately, the entire team was new, and our ministry developed organically.

Since I could not depend on God’s clear word for every change in my life, I sometimes relied on practical steps, like taking exams, to guide my next move. I knew that becoming a tax lawyer was not the right fit, but it opened a path forward. That path eventually led me to study spoken Spanish in Mexico and to begin practicing immigration law, which occupied the first half of my legal career.

As I approached 70, I was told by my supervisor that I would have to lay off one of the attorneys for the university students, so, feeling the effects of aging, I laid myself off, leaving the position for the younger person with whom I worked. During the final years of that work, I had few clients, which allowed me time to begin drafting a novel (still in rough form). When I moved to Milwaukee, I joined a poetry writing group.

Meanwhile, religious life itself was changing. As a person who loves change, I did my best to adapt as the years passed. Retirement, however, was not the exciting change that had marked my earlier years. I wondered what would come next. Still, something always seemed to interrupt my favorite fallback activity: reading library books for hours, days, or even years.

My first retirement volunteer activity was to assist Sister Marietta in the Mision Advancement Office with office work. Years later, I would volunteer in our archive for six hours a week – plenty for a 92-year-old. That, and membership in two book clubs, keeps me out of mischief.

Over time, I have come to appreciate even more the variety of lives and accomplishments among my sisters. Thus, my present retired life has variety, activity, rich prayer experiences, and challenges to keep me going forward. My 75th anniversary Jubilee will be one more day of ongoing life. A day with a new tomorrow.

Congratulations. Sister Julia, for the varied ministries you have shared with so many people during these 75 years as a School Sister of St. Francis. As in the past, may you continue to remain open to each new moment.