Sister Agnes Irene Huser — on her 60th Jubilee
PARENTS: Ben and Lonie von Lintel Huser
HOMETOWN: Salina, Kan.
RECEIVED INTO CONGREGATION: March 18, 1955
EDUCATION:
Marymount College, Salina (bachelor’s degree in music education); Rosary College, River Forest, Ill. (master’s in library science)
MISSIONS:
1957-1973 Teaching music and grades three to seen in Aurora, Ill., Chicago, Cawker City, Kan., and Leawood, Kan.
1973-1983 Reference librarian at Southwest Missouri Library, Lebanon
1983-1984 Archivist for the Sisters of St. Joseph at the Nazareth Motherhouse
1985-1993 Assistant librarian at Conception Abbey, Conceoption, Mo.
1994-today Living in reflection and solitude with prayer and study in Independence, Mo.
There are two events that have shaped my religious life over time. The first was Vatican Council II, particularly the liturgical reform and the new approaches to the study of Scripture. The second is the recovery of the original documents of the Congregation of St. Joseph.
For me those two became the solid base on which the whole process of the renewal of religious life took place.
They allowed us to see the Church and the world from a different perspective. They gave us a deeper understanding of ministry, and the form and the manner in which to carry it out.
Jesus’ teaching “to loved one another as I have loved you,” for example, became a standard, and Father Jean-Pierre Medaille’s emphasis on love of God and neighbor without distinction in the manner of Jesus, Mary and Joseph provided a concrete example to imitate.
These two things have been a source of joy for me in the past, and will continue to be so in the years to come.
Today my days are very quiet with time for prayer, study, my needlework, and anything it takes to keep a household running.
I socialize very little, but do participate in all our Sisters of St. Joseph congregational activities, sing in the parish
choir and enjoy getting together with a few close friends whenever I can.
I had never imagined this type of lifestyle for myself, and it took a long time to decide that it was the right lifestyle for me.
I am incredibly blessed in so many ways.