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Published on 06/02/1999 All articles from this issue

A View from the Hills

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By Mary Cristy

Monastery bell tolls for Sister Miriam Joseph

I first met Sister Miriam Joseph years ago at the Poor Clare Monastery when I called for a trio of nuns who had requested a ride to their Altos Oaks dentist.

While we waited for the others to join us, she told me of the bell that was mounted temporarily (and somewhat precariously) on the Monastery roof.

Benefactor Jane Janssen wanted to make a gift to the Monastery, and the Abbess, not wanting the generous woman to go to undue expense, asked for a bell for the Refectory. Shortly thereafter, the huge bronze chapel bell, "a far cry from the tinkling little glass bell Mother envisioned," arrived. After the initial flurry over its grandeur subsided, the bell was mounted on the roof.

"It needs a proper tower," Sister Joseph said. Her wistful smile acknowledged the challenge of funding, but her voice rang confidently when she declared, "God will provide."

The bell remained in its make-do space for five years until l992, when, true to Sister Joseph's prediction - and much to her delight - God did provide. The bell tower was built.

For years Sister Joseph would be thrilled at the sight of the bell tower, until, "In the 72nd year of her life, the 48th year of her Religious Profession, and the l9th year of her Profession as a Poor Clare nun," the bell tolled for Sister Joseph.

Only weeks before the March 7th phone call, I had driven Sister Joseph to a doctor. The stately nun with the brilliant smile seemed to radiate health and well-being. We discussed a story I'd written. "I hope we're going to read it," she said and, never dreaming this robust-looking nun, whose inner light shone so brightly, was terminally ill, I said she'd be the first to get a copy.

Sister Colette's touching newsletter that followed chronicled Sister Joseph's life.

"Nursing was her special gift," Sister Colette wrote. "Sister Joseph kept up her registered nurse license in true cloistered fashion by correspondence courses, and cared for the needs of the elderly sisters and her first Abbess with a love and dedication that will long be remembered.

"She was an excellent knitter, a skill learned from her mother, who laughingly referred to herself and daughter as 'the knit-wits.' Sister Joseph clothed the entire Community in warm winter wear, each knitted with characteristic perfection. She would not hesitate to unravel something she didn't think was good enough."

Sister Joseph's last days were lived in a circle of love as

all the nuns crowded into her tiny cell each evening to cheer her.

"We shall miss her," Sister Colette said softly, but the sisters know that Miriam Joseph has been received into her Heavenly home. And, as Sister Joseph herself reminded me the day we drove together, "Our Community is growing."

Members each bring their special gifts to their calling. Those who have gone on leave their blessings, dedication, and devotion to exemplify the role of a cloistered nun. The departed are missed and remembered, not only within the Monastery, but beyond its walls where their presence has made a quiet, but highly significant, contribution. Many lives have been touched and made richer by their reverence.

Mary Cristy is a Los Altos Hills-based free-lance writer and longtime contributor to the Town Crier.