90th Birthday!

 

Today is the 90th Birthday of our Sr. Mary Daniel of God, OP!

Sister holds the distinction of being our eldest sister both in age and in religious life. She is such a treasure for our community, as she has the experience of almost 70 years as a Dominican nun here at Rosary Shrine! As you may know, nuns never retire. Sr. Mary Daniel's main charge (besides praying, of course!) is answering the mail. She spends hours every day handwriting thank you letters for donations and encouragement to those in difficulties. Sister's memory is fantastic (almost as good as her sense of humor) and she is always willing to share at recreation stories from 'the old days'. She's a wonderful story teller and is always called upon to tell her famous Inferno joke to the newcomers in our community.

One of the younger sisters' favorite stories of Sr. Mary Daniel is the time a few years ago when sister discovered a little Ring-necked Snake slithering its way around the basement. Sister told one of our workmen who was able to catch the little critter and a few of the novitiate sisters promptly adopted 'Rahab' as a new pet (although the novice mistress was adamant that it remain in the basement and not step one...scale?....into the novitiate). One day at recreation Sr. Mary Daniel asked the novitiate sisters, "How's the baby?" Thinking that she must be referring to our dog Sabina, they replied that she was fine and running around the yard. Sr. Mary Daniel explained, "No, I mean the snake!" Rahab was released into the wild after a few days, but the sisters have never yet gotten over Sr. Mary Daniel calling the snake by such an endearing name as 'baby'!

Happy 90th Birthday, dear Sister! May God grant you many more!