Coming April 10: It's all about 40
members of St. James Catholic Church in
Arlington Heights, Illinois, who find
God--and love-- in all nature that surrounds
us; they passionately believe this nature
urgently needs your care. whoever you are.
They they call themselves EARTH SHEPHERDS.
A Report By Robert R. Schwarz
This report was originally
posted on April 14, 2011. A 2022
update of Sr. Grib's life appears
at the end.
There she was, a nun who at age l6 had vowed obedience, chastity and poverty, now working in the oil fields as a research chemist. For the next 20 years, she'd be a co-worker among 1,400 employees, sometimes refining the language of men and, as one boss said, "showing but never telling" them how to live.
Today, after her career in a company blue jump suit and then followed by decades as an educator, Sr. Joanne Grib, lives out her vows as an active 76-year-old member of the Sisters of the Living Word in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once trekking through oil fields and steel and paper mills throughout America or Venezuela, you now see her holding Rosary beads while in a pew at the St. James Catholic Church .
We met on a March day in an activity room of Sr. Grib's convent. The morning sun was casting long shadows across the outside garden where the convent’s 70 sisters often come to meditate and stroll. I encouraged this white-haired nun with the brown eyes to reminisce about her life, and she did, talking freely with a transparent respect for facts. In a self-effacing manner, she spoke with low, articulate tones, flashing an occasional grin over some memory that obviously humored her but which she chose to keep private. It was St. Patrick's Day, and I complimented her on her teal green slacks and sweater and her shamrock-shaped earrings. “I’m Polish and Czech,” she said, “far from Irish.” She saw me gaze at the glass Celtic cross hanging from her neck. "It's from Ireland, a gift from a friend."
We started at the very beginning. “I was born in Cook County Hospital,” she said, then quickly added: “In those days it was a reputable hospital.” Her father was a tool designer, who insisted that her mother remain a homemaker to care for their son and daughter. “I’ll take two jobs before you take one,“ he promised. Both parents were "staunchly” Catholic. Since youth her mother had wanted to be a nun. She died when Sr. Joanne was seven. Sr. Joanne's dad married his wife's sister, who gave birth to two girls.
Our nun grew up on the city’s South Side in the St. Gall parish. "I've been going to mass daily since I was knee-high to a grasshopper,” she said. In her high school senior year she took vows and entered the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph and became a postulate, then spent two years as a novice in a convent in South Bend, Indiana. Next came a B.S. degree from DePaul University in Chicago, followed by a master's degree in chemistry from Kansas State University. “I wanted to be a pharmacist, " she said, " but the sister superior of my religious community said they needed a chemistry teacher. I didn't want to be a teacher, but in those days, it was ' no, sister, yes, sister.' "
After teaching chemistry for 25 years, Sr. Joanne served a three-year term as school principal. One day she expressed her desire to go into industry. She was given permission along with the Sister Superior’s comment: “We certainly can use the money.” Whatever money Sr. Joanne would earn throughout her life would be donated to her religious "community "
At Work in the Fields in a Blue Jump Suit
Except for a four-year break to teach at St. Ignatius College Preparatory school in Chicago, Sr. Joanne donned a blue jump suit for the fields and laboratories of the Nalco Chemical Company, then headquartered in Chicago, now in Naperville. Did Nalco hesitate to hire a nun? "No. I went for an interview and they hired me on the spot. Then they sent me all over America, to Rome, even Venezuela. I worked in paper and steel mills, in oil refineries. I was instrumental in getting lap top computers for the salesmen and in setting up a computer chemistry program for them. "
I asked her what it was like working as a nun—the only one— among 1,400 employees and many of them men who likely saw her as a woman from a world they only knew from afar. “Well, everybody called me ‘Sister.’ They also called me, though not to my face, ‘Nalco's Blue Nun’ because I wore a blue jump suit and a white hard hat when I worked in the fields. Blue Nun wine was popular at the time, and so when an occasional salesman took me home to eat dinner with his family, there was always a bottle of that wine on the table. But in the beginning, the men were uncomfortable in my presence—until they got to know me. I was very careful to let them know I was a nun. I did clean up some of their language. "
I asked: "Any—well, how can we say it—'relational' problems?”
"One man was flirtatious and I had to tell him I was a nun. The man explained, somewhat defensively, that he was from the South and thought she was too, and that in the South everyone calls a woman 'sister' in the intimate manner as he had just called me. "
Asked if she ever help convert any Nalco employee, Sr. Joanne recalled that two workers approached her one day to tell her that they had returned to the Catholic church after a long absence because of her behavior as a "nice and caring" person. "If there was gossip at the lunch table, I would get up and leave or change the subject," she continued. Another man still sends her a Christmas card along with a "good" donation to Sisters of the Living Word (S.L.W.) because she helped walk him through a divorce from a woman.
In l992, Sr. Joanne transferred from Sisters of St. Joseph to her Arlington Heights convent, an order that began in l975 when 90 women of the Sisters of Charity (headquartered in Europe ) " joined hearts and hands" to form S.L.W. In 2000, Sr. Joanne retired from Nalco . She took her pension in one lump sum and, obeying her vow of poverty , donated it to her community of sisters.
A Typical Day…Lots of Praying
This nun’s typical day begins at five, sometimes five-thirty a.m., with a prayer, or the "morning office” as the church calls it. It's followed by 20 or 30 minutes of meditation when she “just communicates with God.” Before breakfast, she recites the Rosary in church . Then she might teach a computer class at the Arlington Heights Senior Center or help feed the homeless at the nearby "Journeys from Pads to Hope”, where she also applies her computer skills to client data intake. Bedtime is between 9 and 10 p.m., before which she prays the "evening office." There is always time for a "good” spiritual book (she is currently reading “The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything”).
When asked about her day off, she replied , "You never get a day off from God ." Of course. The question of why she became a nun, however, caused Sr. Joanne to searchingly look out the window for a moment as if neither she nor anyone else had ever asked her this. "Prayer, I guess, led to it,” she finally said. She paused again, recalling something from many years ago... “They always told me I got my vocation from my mother. She always wanted to be a nun but never could. I didn't know about this until after she died. And then, by an act of God, I entered the very same religious community she had wanted to enter. “ Sr. Joanne's eyes became teary.
When we talked about her life challenges, the nun summed them up with three: remaining faithful, being patient with the senior citizens she teaches, and taking time for prayer—"you're tempted to neglect that sometimes and sleep in." She then admitted: "I guess I don't have any real challenges. Many times God seems a million miles away but you just keep working at it.. ” Again her eyes had tears.
What about spiritual warfare? With that, we shared a laugh. "Oh, yeah," she said, a bit leery about where we might go with this. “I pray constantly for wisdom and understanding and for a deeper spiritual life. I'd like to be able to pray better, get rid of those distractions." She said she handles distractions during mass or a homily by resolving in that moment to "see what message Jesus may have for me…and during the offertory I offer myself up to the altar of God…and at the consecration, I am very aware that Jesus is coming into that piece of bread and into that cup of wine. I have a deep love for the Eucharist and a deep desire in my heart to be more Christ like."
Since her trip to the Holy Land last July (a gift from her best friend), the Holy Mother and the Rosary has become more alive for her, she affirmed. Now when she recites her Rosary, she sees in her mind's eye those Holy Land churches and other sites associated with the mother of Jesus.
I had to ask if life came easy for her. “I don’t know if it comes easy. I make it come easy. I'm free. God takes care of me. I don't have to worry where I'm going to get food or where I'm going to live." Her goal, she says , is to "spread the living Word of God." This she does by teaching a weekly Bible class and speaking only positive, “life-giving words" to people.
Sr. Joanne obviously sensed that I needed to ask if she had any regrets about a lifestyle which had been one of frequent self-denial .She became mellow and deeply thoughtful... " There's have been been temptations. Like 'why not quit and get married …you could have children of your own'…I love children. But these temptations are fleeting. I know better. As you get older, it's not that big of a struggle. The life here isn't that austere."
She waxed some delight—and some relief—when we went to questions about her recreation. Yes, she does see a movie now and then (a James Bond one or the recent "'Kings Speech”, which she found "fabulous") and, on television, she watches "Gun Smoke" or “Jeopardy” or "Andy Griffin ." She likes to read mysteries by women authors and loves Chinese food. She also mentioned the dice game “Farfell" , which the sisters play.
Any big plans for the future? "Keep on keeping on," she said as we parted in the convent parking lot. “By the way," I shouted to her,” who’s your patron saint?"
"Joan of Arc!”
Naturally.
Here is an update submitted to me
by Sr. Joanne in March 2022:
I have lived in Arlington Heights since I retired 20+ years ago. Currently I have resided at 212 N. Dunton for almost 5 years. I really enjoy living in this low-income building that I share with other
residents with whom I get the chance to minister to. The majority of the residents are low income African Americans and people with disabilities.
I have been an active member of St James Parish, which is exactly one-half mile from my home , and I can walk there in good weather. I am the only active witness to consecrated life at that parish. I am currently involved in several ministries there. I am a lector and extra-ordinary Eucharistic minister on both weekdays and weekends. I lead the rosary before Mass every day with the congregation .
Each week I lead a bible study with women of the parish. I lead the discussions and share my wisdom of the Gospel with them each week. I also am involved with WOSJ (a group of 30 women at St. James who meet bi-monthly) .
Every Friday I spend the day at Journey's-- the Road Home, which is the main organization that runs PADS in all our churches. I minister to the homeless men and women at the day center. They know I am a religious sister, so quite often I find myself with them doing one-on- one conversation of a spiritual nature. I also feed them lunch, do laundry and get them clothing and any other necessary supplies. I have been doing this for over 20+years, and I really enjoy this ministry.
THE END
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