When I graduated from high school, my father explained that if I wanted to attend a college or university, I had to choose a women-only, Catholic institution.  I wasn’t thrilled by those instructions, but I was determined to pursue a degree.  I found a higher education catalog in my high school library (no internet in those days!) and discovered a college in the middle of the Kansas plains—Marymount College in Salina, Kansas.  It was a college for women, staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas.  Dad whole-heartedly approved and I arrived on Marymount’s doorstep at the age of seventeen.  (The college became co-ed my sophomore year and I didn’t tell my father for a long time but that’s another story!)  

My wondrous years there were marked with the joys and struggles of young adulthood.  My faith was impacted dramatically because I was no longer simply reading or hearing the gospel…I was learning how to live it. The Sisters of St. Joseph and the lay professors invited me to view the world, see the dramatic beauty of other people and cultures and become deeply aware of the suffering of people on the margins.  They challenged me to reflect and pray about how I might do something about it, and I was changed for life.

In today’s first reading, Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi focuses on the gospel inviting everyone to live it. This beautiful letter is rich in insights into Paul’s theology and his apostolic love and concern for the gospel. 1.  Paul writes Brothers and Sisters:  As long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, …in that I rejoice.

Marymount closed in 1989 due to declining financial resources. The announcement was cataclysmic for alums.  Our anchor was gone.  Our hearts were broken.  Then about a year ago, some alums realized that 2022 was the 100th year since the college was founded.  They said, Let’s have a grand party to celebrate!  This past weekend was the Marymount Centennial Celebration.  Those of us on the steering committee had hoped to entice 100 to 150 people to attend.  We were astounded when 440 people from around the country and throughout the world registered.   It was an incredible weekend filled with laughter, photos, love, prayer, music, and tears as people from past decades gathered to renew friendships, walk on the sacred ground where the college had stood, and celebrate their experiences at Marymount College. The impact and legacy of Marymount truly does live on.

Marymount was founded for women by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas and as Sr. Marcia Allen CSJ so eloquently spoke during the closing dinner:  One hundred years ago--a dream--a vision--a passion for education--a passion for learning--a passion for women's full life and place in the civil life of a community, not only in the home.  A woman's full life with meaning based on self-worth, effective voice founded on knowledge integrated with life into wisdom.  Women, refined but not a decorative piece, beautiful but strong of character and intellect, all developed through education. 2.

My dad entrusted me to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Marymount College.  Little could he have known that even if one day the college would close, I along with thousands of others would continue to carry the legacy of Marymount-- the character, gospel, and values-- into our lives while passing them on to all whom we would love, mentor, teach, heal, minister to or care for.  St. Paul would be proud and so would my dad.