Nine children were born to the union of Henry and Anna (Tschacher) Gasseling, the first two of whom died in infancy. Eleanora was born on August 19, 1903, in Hemingford, Nebraska, joining two sisters and one brother. Seemingly unable to survive, she was baptized right after birth. Eleanora grew strong both in body and in faith.

Anna and Henry had a deep and fervent faith. Their children said their morning prayers together, and said their meal prayers and night prayers with their parents. Every Sunday and holy day, they drove a team of horses to church in Hemingford, ten miles away. On Christmas eve, they took a sled in frigid weather through deep snow to attend midnight mass. Each night, before they went to bed, her father would bless each family member. Even after Eleanora entered the convent, her father would say , “and one for Cordula.” Her mother continued this custom until her death in 1961.

Living on a farm, all the children had their chores and responsibilities. At home, Eleanora did house keeping, and from the age of twelve loved to bake bread, cookies, and pies. She enjoyed swimming and fishing in the nearby Niebria river during the summer and ice skating during the winter. All the children attended the country grade school.

Sister Mary Cordula wrote of the beginnings of her religious vocation: “I felt that our Lord was calling me to be a religious when I was fourteen. Between sixteen and seventeen, I prayed daily for light. Having decided, and with the advice of my pastor, I wrote just one letter to the Benedictine Sisters at Clyde, Missouri, asking what would be required of me if I wished to enter their convene She knew a little about the community through Tabernacle and Purgatory. She received a prompt letter of reply, in which the life of the community was further explained. ‘‘I did not reply to this letter; I purchased the needed articles, packed my trunk, and on Easter Monday, 1921, left my home, my mother accompanying me. The family wept as if it was a funeral taking place. ” Mother M. John and the recently-elected prioress, Mother M. Dolorosa, welcomed her. Sister M. Cordula was Mother M. Dolorosa’s first postulant.

As a postulant, Eleanora worked in the book bindery, and later, as a novice, worked in the kitchen and bakery. She wrote of those times, "The cooks needed to rise at 3:30 a.m. to prepare breakfast, as we had an old coal and wood stove, and we needed to take out the ashes before we started the fire in the morning. It was quite a task to make coffee for the large community on this kind of stove; also to make the big pots of oatmeal. ”

Sister M. Cordula made her first monastic profession in 1923, being one of three prepared to do so by Fr. Lucas Etlin, and her final profession on August 26, 1928. After her first profession, she worked for a few months in the reception room. "Then after Christmas I was asked to learn varnishing, painting, etc., later, outdoor painting. We also worked in the fields at times; also with milking 30-some cows. We had no milking machine; we got out of bed at 3:30 a.m., started milking at 4:00. Then we scrubbed the barn with hoses and broom before going to mass at 6:00 a.m.”

In November 1933, Sister Mary Cordula was transferred to Mundelein, where she helped with the painting of outside window frames and doors, and later of interior walls. Following two major surgeries in 1951, she was sent to Tucson, where she was one of a group of twenty-eight sisters to celebrate the consecration of virgins on January 6, 1953. In March of that year she returned to Mundelein, where she served as portress for ten years. Returning to Clyde in 1963, she worked in the Altar Bread Department and also served as refectorian for some time. Two years later, she went to San Diego, where she lived before becoming a member of St. Benedict Health Care Center in January, 1992.

In March, 1999, Sister Mary Cordula fell in her room and suffered four crushed vertebrae. With sisters keeping watch, God took her home to Himself, on March 23, 1999.

Sister Mary Cordula is remembered as a woman of many talents, all of which she gave to the utmost of her ability in her desire to be and do much for the community. She loved flowers, and spent many hours arranging them for use on the altar. She is remembered for her pies, with crusts “light as a feather.” But most of all, she is remembered for her gift of friendship, testified to by the many friends who came to St. Louis in May, 1998, to celebrate her 75th Jubilee of Profession.

Among her notes this reflection was found: "In the light of eternity, we see things as they are, how empty everything is that has not been done for God and with God. I must set the seal of love on every that I do, that alone is lasting.”