Sr Betty Monaghan passed peacefully in the US on 9th August 2025
Funeral Mass: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Saint Columban’s On-the-Lake, NY, USA
HOMILY
On the day of our Religious Profession, on bended knees before the Blessed Sacrament, we profess our Vows – of poverty, chastity, and obedience…after which we express our trust in God with these or similar words:
I trust that the Lord,
who has called me to this life,
and in whom my sufficiency lies,
will enable me to respond with fidelity
all the days of my life.
In 1960, at the age of twenty-five, Sister Betty, born to her parents in Philadelphia and baptized: Elizabeth Monaghan, made her religious Profession of Vows in the convent Chapel of our Novitiate House in Hyde Park, in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Five years later, in 1965, during the Mass of her Perpetual Vows, Sister Betty received her ring, engraved on the inside with the text she chose for her life’s motto:
He must increase.
I must decrease.
-taken from the third Chapter of Saint John’s Gospel.
Today, we gather in prayer of thanksgiving to God for Sister Betty’s life, lived as a Missionary Sister of Saint Columban, for sixty-five years … during which time she became keenly aware that we, while on earth, are only pilgrims, and our home is the heart of God. Today’s Scripture Readings speak to us of the pursuit of spiritual readiness…evidenced in Sister Betty’s religious life by:
Her love of God;
Her generous service in God’s Church;
And the impact of her life on the People of God – to whom she was sent and served with untiring effort and characteristic selflessness.
Today’s three Readings encourage us onward to the faithful completion of a Christian life.
The First Reading, from the Book of Wisdom, describes the peace that awaits us in eternal life. The passage reminds us, that contrary to the world’s belief that “death is the end,” it is NOT. It is actually the beginning of eternal life, lived in the presence of God. For us who place our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, death is a passage and NOT a conclusion.
The Responsorial Psalm, “The Lord of my Shepherd,” identifies three entities that need to always be in relationship with one another: the owner of the sheep; the shepherd of the sheep; and the sheep. This beautiful psalm assures us of God’s presence, protection, and faithfulness. When we know the voice of Jesus, in the depths of our being, we can never be lured away by imposters.
In the Second Reading, Saint Paul writes to the Romans about the transformative power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. If we live our Baptismal identity, the promise of eternal life will be ours. This reading is about perseverance in faith. In it we are reminded that faith does not require us to understand what is beyond our human capacity. Faith only requires that we believe.
The Gospel Reading tells us that Jesus’ role was to fulfill God’s will…and by doing so, Jesus obtained for each of us, the promise of eternal life.
Many who are here today, only knew Sister Betty in her years of frailty. I have known her throughout all of my religious life. Years ago, Sister Betty played the guitar and sang with a lovely soprano voice. She enjoyed cracking-open nuts in their shells and having fun. She ate black licorice and enjoyed playing card games with other sisters, at recreation. Her laughter was contagious. Her conviction of faith overshadowed her shyness. Sister Betty was a person of authenticity and integrity. She was a deeply prayerful sister. Sister Betty was magnanimous…a person with a generous heart and nobility of spirit. She demonstrated kindness, compassion, and a willingness to overlook offenses. She was lighthearted and acted with courage and kindness.
I met Sister Betty here at Saint Columban’s On-the-Lake, decades ago, when I arrived to begin my initial formation. Two years later, I became one of her novices…and was actually her last novice.
Those of us who lived with Sister Betty know that she was a historian who not only chronicled history, but was in many ways, a living testament to it. She was also very creative. At ninety years of age, she leaves behind a legacy – as rich and as intricate as the beautiful handiwork she diligently made and shared with family and friends and us…in display in our Home and in the Cottage. Sister Betty’s passion for history was not a casual interest, but a profound calling. She had a way of approaching events and stages of life, with a commitment to truth, and a rare ability to breathe life into the past, making it relevant and engaging – for all who listened and learned. I know this because I was one of the sisters who did so. Sister Betty’s knowledge of our Congregation’s history was inspiring. As a novice, she helped me to not just grasp historical data, but to appreciate why it mattered, at all … shaping my understanding of the place of our missionary charism within the landscape of a suffering world.
Sister Betty’s Academic Studies were in the area of Education. She also had some Med Study in Laboratory Dispensing and Radiography. Her Theological Study was completed in Mundelain College of Loyola University, in the Archdiocese of Chicago… with further study in Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Sister Betty never mentioned any of this to me or within my hearing to others because she never drew attention to herself. Almost as if it were a private spiritual discipline, she worked quietly and avoided any spot light.
Sister Betty was heroic in her missionary response. She served Jesus in others. Wherever she was assigned, she went without delay and dedicated herself to the work. Recuay, was a mission assignment that remained very close to her heart, all her life. Recuay is a province in the Ancash Region of Peru, located 12,000 feet above sea level, within the Andes mountain range of South America. Recuay borders that Sancta River, sacred to the indigenous people of Quechua descent. Sister Betty was very happy serving the humble people of this very remote corner of the world, throughout ten years. I remember her enthusiastically sharing with me that Quechua was their revered language and had been the official language of the ancient Inca Empire … and to this day is the common language spoken by the people of the Ancash region. Sister Betty only learned a few phrases in Quechua, but was able to communicate fully with the people in their native Spanish.
In community life, Sister Betty was a kind and thoughtful sister who showed me, by her example, the value of hard work and perseverance. She worked quietly. More often than not, she undertook the tasks that while necessary, remained unnoticed by most.
In 1965, Sister Betty was assigned to our Mission in Peru where she faithfully served throughout fifteen years, in the apostolates of our communities in: Condevilla, Recuay, Ica, and Lima. In 2001 she was assigned to our Mission in Chile where she served for six years: in the ministry of the northern region of Iquique and in pastoral work in the metropolitan shantytowns of Santiago. In the United States, Sister Betty was assigned to the Chicago and Silver Creek communities and to the specific ministries therein. Her assignments included Leadership and Formation. The years passed. And still her heart and soul remained united with the people of Ancash who lived at 12,000 feet above sea level. Over the years, she would share with me her joy-filled memories from that mission assignment. She told me, on several occasions, that the tribal people of Recuay “taught her to touch the sky.”
Benjamin Franklin, who hailed from Sister Betty’s beloved home state of Pennsylvania, once said:
If you do not want to be forgotten,
as soon as you are dead:
either write things worth reading
or do things worth writing about.
I believe that Sister Betty did both.
Her example was her testimony of faith. Her life was a clarion for simplicity within her fiat of totality. She promoted a deeper understanding of our missionary charism – rooted in the person, the message, and the mission of Jesus. Hers was a deeply-held conviction that authentic community life would always remain relevant because of its capacity to engender communion in mission.
On behalf of the people of her beloved mission experience in Recuay, Peru:
Concédele Señor,
el descanso eterno.
Y brille para ella,
la luz perpetua.
Eternal rest, grant unto her, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon her.
The experience of Sister Betty’s missionary life, fully and richly lived among us, will long endure in the recesses of our hearts; and now lives forever in the heart of God, for whom she faithfully lived her Vows – generously, joyfully, and gratefully.
Many years ago, Sister Betty shared with me that she lived with a deep TRUST that her desire to please Jesus would guide her. She TRUSTED that Jesus would never leave her to face any storm alone … in the three countries, on the two continents where she was assigned. It was there that she left and today leaves here, her missionary footprints … a powerful symbol of our missionary charism that underscores that which we strive to live: Christi simus non nostri.
Rest now in peace, dear Betty, where NOW you can REALLY “touch the sky” … until the day when we are together, again.
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Sister Carmen Maldonado, SSC