Prayer Corner

Adopters Share Small Miracles Received

Dear Sr. Mary,

I received your letter yesterday thanking us again for adopting Sr. Claire Perino…however it is I who should be thanking you, for she has added another dimension to my life; both as a friend and the way she lives her life.

I was raised Episcopal in a small town outside of Buffalo, NY and nearly everyone who lived nearby was some Protestant sect. We had a few folks who were Catholic and what I knew from them is that nuns were very strict and there was no meat served on Friday…this was during the 50s and 60s. If we were ever in the city and saw nuns we would cross the street because of their foreboding garb and habits and the punishment we heard they could mete out!

And then I moved to New York City for college and became more or less worldly…at least educated if not worldly, and those fears passed; however, religion played only a small part in my life. For my career from 1974-1997, I worked for a Jewish hospital in one of the out-patient psychiatric day programs. The patients sponsored fund raisers and half the proceeds went to them for an outing and half to help someone else. One of the patients came to me and said she had read about this Adopt-a-Nun program and asked if half the money could go there. The administrator said no because the hospital was Jewish and the money could be donated to the Jewish Federation. The patients were disappointed so I said I would adopt a nun for no other reason than the patients would be happy…and we would all be prayed for! I am not certain when I adopted Sr. Claire…’96 or maybe ’97, but I got more bang for my buck than ever expected. I know of her family as she knows of mine, we exchange gifts and celebrate birthdays. She is a wonderful role model…never preachy…she demonstrates to others how she lives her life…not how she thinks others should live theirs.

I feel grateful to have Sr. Claire in my corner and count on her and the other Sisters as friends…my yearly donation may have helped build the retirement home but more than that…it has helped make me a better person.

With sincere gratitude,

Tobyhanna, PA