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Pictured above: Sisters Damian O’Brien and Matthew Cunningham.
Sisters Mary Matthew Cunningham and Mary Damian O’Brien celebrated their 80th anniversary of religious life with the Dubuque Sisters of the Presentation on August 15. The theme of the jubilee was based on the celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Welcoming all present to the liturgy, Sister Joan Lickteig greeted the assembly. In congratulating the jubilarians, she emphasized the extraordinariness of the occasion: how unusual it is for anyone to reach 80 years of a life-time commitment; in 144 years of the Dubuque Sisters of Presentation congregation only six sisters have celebrated 80 years; and never have two sisters celebrated in the same jubilee year.
Currently of Dubuque, Sister Matthew is community prayer and service at Mount Loretto. For 50-plus years she taught piano, organ and instrumental music in Catholic elementary and high schools in Iowa. She also served as a parish organist.
Reflecting on her 80 years of religious life, Sister Matthew states, “My religious vocation is a great blessing for me and always has been. I rely heavily on God’s generous gifts of grace to live as His spouse. This jubilee celebrates a life that brings me closer to God and more able to do God’s will. I pray for vocations to spread and teach Gospel values and the mission of Nano Nagle.”
Currently of Dubuque, Sister Damian is in community prayer and service at Mount Loretto. She is a volunteer with the Office of Archives of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. For 26 years Sister Damian taught piano, organ, vocal and instrumental/band music at Catholic elementary schools in Iowa. She served in congregational leadership and formation for Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque, for 10 years; as choir director at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey; as local director at Mount Loretto motherhouse; as administrator of Villa Raphael home for retired priests, Dubuque; as a member of the deacon formation team of the Archdiocese of Dubuque; as pastoral minister at parishes in Iowa, and in South St. Paul, Minnesota. During her years in parish ministry Sister Damian also accompanied at parish liturgies.
Celebrating this jubilee moment and the meaning of her religious vocation, Sister Damian comments, “After eighty years as a religious I think it is the best decision I’ve ever made! I have always aimed to serve and to be of help to others. I thank the Lord for being so good to me!
And we thank Sisters Matthew and Damian for saying “yes” to God’s call in 1938, and for repeatedly and enthusiastically answering yes, for eight decades, with exuberant grace, love and hospitality. We are grateful for the many ways they have and continue to bless our lives and the lives of all those they have encountered through their many missions.