November 19, 2009
Last updated:
“You have chosen the better part.”
Sister Ildefonsa joined our community through our Novitiate in Bad Pyrmont, Germany in 1933
Taken from her speech at her 70th Jubilee celebration.
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His love and mercy endure forever.
Today my heart is full of thanks in a special way to my beloved parents. So, I would
like to tell you a 70-
My father was a convert to Catholicism. When he learned of my intended vocation he was very upset and he told me that he would not give me his permission. Out of love, he feared and grieved the thought of separation as though it were a death. But I was not of age, so I needed my parents’ approval. By God’s grace I was finally allowed to follow my call in spite of his opposition. Then, on the morning when I received the Franciscan habit, my family came for what we believed would be the last time we would see each other. (Sister Ildefonsa came from Germany.) That afternoon as we departed, my father came to me, blessed me and his last words were, “You have chosen the better part.” His eyes and words were fervent, touching and convinced me that his heart had changed.
“You have chosen the better part.” Those words have remained with me during the past 70 years and they have also echoed in my heart during the trying times in my life.
Thanks be to Almighty God for his wonderful gifts and graces. This calling to the religious life is a tremendous blessing. My father said it best: “You have chosen the better part.”
