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| +Sister Mary Jane Fulton, OP She entered eternal life on June 22, 2007 |
My Sisters and Brothers:
Today we are here, not in sadness, but rather to celebrate a life.
We celebrate the life of Sr. Mary Jane Fulton who gave sixty-seven of her eighty five years to the service of other human beings.
As I sat doing the math the other day, I recalled that I first met Mary Jane fifteen years ago when she was already seventy-one years old. By that age, many people, like my own parents, have already retired from their jobs, moved into a retirement community and settled in to a sedentary life characterized by community recreational and social activities, relaxing by the pool and of taking bus trips to Atlantic City, New Jersey or Mohegan Sun, Connecticut, or even traveling to exotic destinations around the world or to Carribean Islands on cruise ships. Not Mary Jane!
I met Mary Jane in 1992 when she was seventy-one years old and I was only thirty, and a newly ordained priest. The juncture point of our meeting was at Most Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, New York. She had arrived there six years earlier in 1986 at the very young age of sixty-five years old.
In that year Mary Jane had already given forty-seven years of her life in service to others: as an elementary school teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Leonard, as a high school teacher at Dominican Commercial High School (for twenty-one years), as principal of Holy Spirit School in New Hyde Park (for fifteen years) again as an elementary school teacher at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary School.
No doubt when Mary Jane arrived at 157 Graham Avenue to serve as the director of the Most Holy Trinity SRO, she came with a wealth of experience as a servant to others, especially those who were most in need.
The obituary printed for Mary Jane states the following: “If we were allowed just one word to describe Sister Mary Jane, that word would be dedication. She had ministered to the People of God in a number of capacities, but always with the same selflessness and devotion.” This is certainly the Mary Jane I knew. She was a woman who had tremendous faith in the God who loved her and she lived out that faith through dedicated service to others. She truly put her faith into action and she did so with great “selflessness and devotion.” And so today we are here, not in sadness, but rather to celebrate her life.
Some time ago, Mary Jane chose the Scripture readings that we have heard in today’s Mass. I imagine she chose these readings with a great spirit of prayer and devotion. And so through these readings she has given us one more opportunity to experience the manner in which she, during her life, gave testimony to her faith. We might say that through these Scriptures she has continued to minister to us, even today.
Mary Jane was always very dedicated to the marginalized people of our society. We heard in the first reading from Isaiah today the following words: “God gives strength to the fainting; for the weak God makes vigor abound . . . they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” Mary Jane knew that she had the ability to do God’s work of uplifting those who were considered to be the weak of our society. She served others with the knowledge that she could make a difference in their lives.
I recall being introduced by Mary Jane to a young man who had been a resident of the Trinity SRO. This young man had a serious addiction problem and probably was considered by most people to be useless and “good-for-nothing.” But Mary Jane treated that young man with tremendous dignity. She spoke to him, and about him, with great affection. When he would arrive at the doors of the Trinity Human Service Center, Mary Jane would receive him as if he were a dear friend. Sometimes she asked him to do odd jobs around the Center, such as unloading the van of boxes of donated food or cleaning the yard. She made it known to him that such work was a great help to the mission of the Center and was greatly appreciated.
As such she instilled a great sense of self-worth and dignity in the life of not just this one man, but in the lives of many people who came to her door. Mary Jane always treated others in this manner– She desired to do God’s work of giving strength to the fainting, for making vigor abound for the weak; and for lifting up, as on eagles wings, the otherwise downtrodden of this world.
We heard in the second reading from Philippians today the following words of St. Paul: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Mary Jane knew her good works in service to others were nothing less than a response to the Gospel call to serve others, especially those most in need. She knew there was a lot of work to be done, and she also knew that God would someday bring it to completion.
And so through these readings we have heard today, Mary Jane encourages and challenges us to continue this work in service to others. I love that Mary Jane has chosen the words to the Magnificat for our Gospel reading today.
Mary Jane, along with Mary, our mother in faith, speaks to us and says: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior . . . God has shown might with his arm, has dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. God has thrown down the rulers from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. The hungry God has filled with good things; the rich God has sent away empty.”
Today we are here, not in sadness, but rather to celebrate a life.
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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