Fr. Peter Goldbach CM is often teased about being the Energizer Bunny of the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission and usually responds with a humor-filled wry comment. This video captures some vintage moments of a Vincentian born in 1911. Listen to him tell how his vocation began in 1910!
And then there is Sister Cecilia who at the age of 110 now qualifies as a “Supercentenarian” even as she follows her convents daily routine, “I follow the religious rule of the congregation (Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary), that’s what I do,” she said, “nothing special.”
“That routine includes attending early morning Mass, making time for meditative prayer and visits to the Blessed Sacrament as well as saying three rosaries a day, something she loves to do as “Our Blessed Mother” is her favorite saint.
She still works in the order’s archives department where she continues to type up notes on her trusty black enamel typewriter. The pace of change elsewhere in modern life, though, often leaves her a little exasperated.
“It’s the speed with which everything changes. Every week there is something new. Take the computer…urghh,” she sighed. “When I was a child there were no automobiles, for instance, they started when I was a child.”
Sister Cecilia has lived through ten pontificates starting with Pope Leo XIII and concluding with Pope Benedict XVI. Of them all, who is her favorite? “I liked them all. It’s the Pope! I liked them all,” she laughed.
Why does she think God has allowed her to live so long? “I am wondering why” said Sister Cecilia, “I often say that it is time for me to go.” So is she looking forward to meeting God? “Yes.”
And what will she say to Jesus upon meeting him? “I’m pleased to see you, I’d think” she replied with a smile.
Tags: Aging, vocations
