Nothing is too much for Jesus

Mother Anselma Felber

We will celebrate our Founder’s Day next week on Sept. 5th.   This past Sunday, August 26th, marked the anniversary of the death of our founding superior - Mother Anselma Felber in 1883.  As I read her story in our necrology book, I thought I would share some of our history in this blog.  The story of our pioneer sisters always makes for interesting reading.   Five brave souls left Switzerland in 1874 to trek across the ocean in order to start a fledgling community.   They were members of Maria Rickenbach which was devoted to Perpetual Adoration and had itself been founded about 17 years previous.  

There were 13 sisters in the young community when Anna Elizabeth Felber entered in 1859.  She was only sixteen at the time and not strong.  But she was determined and deeply devoted to the Blessed Sacrament.  Her father was a school caretaker and her mother had died when she was very young.  This is how she is described in our necrology - Her sterling character and virtuous life, enhanced by a good education and many talents, were to make her a real asset to the community.  Particularly useful was her skill in embroidery and fine sewing for the making of church vestments and linens.

She received the name Anselma at first profession and expressed her gratitude in this prayer: “O Jesus, how can I contain all the joy you are lavishing on me?  Give me the grace to be a worthy spouse and to love our Holy Rule as the way you want me to come to you.  O Jesus Eucharistic, set my heart on fire with love of you in your most Holy Sacrament.  For Jesus, no sacrifice would be too great, no labor too strenuous, no suffering too severe.  Only two years after her profession she was appointed sub-prioress and faithfully fulfilled that office for twelve years.  

In 1874, she and 4 other sisters were chosen to answer the call from the new foundation of brother monks at Conception, MO for help in the ‘new land’ teaching the local immigrant children.   America was mission territory at that time.  At the age of 30, Anselma was appointed the superior for the new community.  One of the four was 35 and the rest were in their 20’s.  Mother Anselma's dream was to have Perpetual Adoration in America which she thought was even more necessary than schools.  Prior Frowin Conrad from Conception had written to Switzerland as they prepared for their trip - “But they must not expect too much and I hope their zeal is greater than their expectations!”

I think this last line is worth pondering...if we try something out and it doesn’t meet our expectations right away, today’s culture would just say, move on to something else.  The problem can be with having the wrong expectations and it can also be not having enough ‘zeal.‘   In discerning religious life, zeal is an important aspect of whether or not someone stays the course or not.  Expectations can be dashed in the reality of our human frailty, but zeal can help us stay on the path because that zeal is rooted in desiring to do the will of God and wanting to deepen our union with God.  

Like our pioneer sisters who faced hardships we have never had to, zeal is what can sustain us in our own trials and hardships.     

Mother Anselma, sadly, would only live 9 years in the new land.   In early August of 1883, the community's chaplain, Fr. Pius, became very ill with typhoid fever.   Mother Anselma came down with it on the 13th and succumbed on the 26th.  Rumor had it that Mother Anslema had offered her life as a sacrifice for the recovery of Father Pius.  If so, it would seem that the sacrifice was accepted, for Father Pius recovered shortly after.  

"Nothing is too much for Jesus," Mother Anselma had written earlier to Maria Rickenbach and it was a fitting epitaph for her.  She gave her whole life to the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration endeavor.  Thanks to her zeal, we are still here 138 years later!