February 22, 1913 marked my entrance into the world, March 2, my entrance into the Mystical Body of Christ. So began the life of Josephine Wojtanek, fourth child in a family of eight. Born in Chicago, she lived in its suburbs all her life. She finished grade school in six years, skipping 4th and 6th grades; then attended high school for three years, concluding the final year in night school (at Loyola).

My first job was at a food store, which I liked very much. They wanted me to manage, but at the age of 16, 1 found a very good job as a secretary at a publishing firm where I worked for ten years. During that time I attended night school (after finishing my last year of high school I took college classes). I attended Holy Mass daily before going to work, and was active in swimming, ice- skating, horseback riding, tennis, and dancing, fully enjoying everything. I was also actively engaged in social work, a Jesuit Youth Movement, and Dorothy Day projects, (attending all of her lectures in Chicago, for which I am so grateful.)

God graced me with another privilege - belonging to a small group of deeply spiritual young ladies, the Marian Pages, who followed the DeMontfort way of life. We made annual vows of chastity, lived a life marked by poverty and service to the poor and to young women in need of counsel. Every month we made a day of recollection at the Mundelein Convent, which was my first contact with the Benedictines. Our plan to eventually live a communal life had not materialized by the time I was 26, so my spiritual director advised me to enter an organized community.

Deeply attracted to the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, I decided to enter, realizing that through the recitation of the Divine Office and Perpetual Adoration we could reach out to the furthest corners of the world, far beyond what I could do personally. My mother was thrilled, but the rest of the family was dubious about my staying in a contemplative community since I had always been so active socially. I loved Clyde, but the adjustment was “trying.”

Though Postulants usually worked in the Altar Bread department, Sr. M. Angela (the Postulant Mistress), found out she could mimeograph and had a smattering of Latin, so she requested that Josephine assist her in realizing her life-long dream, that of translating the Monastic Breviary into English. Sr. M. Sennorina supervised the work which took five years to complete. We also translated the Psalter and arranged it in parallel columns, so that while we prayed the Latin, we could readily scan the English. It proved a real spiritual experience for all of us. We were the first community to undertake such a gigantic task, and many Benedictines swamped us with requests for copies.

Her next assignment was the Infirmary - cleaning all three floors - all day long. This lasted six months and I loved it. From there she went to the Correspondence Departments in Clyde, Tucson, and Kansas City. Later she worked in the Craft Shop in Clyde, learning ceramics from scratch. When the Craft Shop closed and the St. Louis house was opening, Sr. Mary James went to be sacristan, helping out wherever else was needed. Nine years later she returned to Clyde where, over the years, she helped with Marriage Encounter groups, served as Portress, assisted in the sacristy, and reorganized the tape room.

Sr. Mary James was gifted artistically. Whether decorating a room, arranging flowers, hanging pictures, restoring old treasures, or just doing the ordinary task of cleaning - she had the “Midas Touch.” Likewise in appearance and manners she was refined, yet an incredibly hard worker. Even into her 80’s she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floors or doing whatever it took to achieve just the right look for the project at hand. Although the workmen often joked about another “Sr. Mary James project” they were assigned to, they were impressed by her “drive.”

A high point of her life was the pilgrimage she went on to the Holy Land, Greece, Egypt, Rome, and Assisi in 1985 with Sr. M. Vivian. Having recorded the sights and sounds on film and tape, and taken copious notes, she later compiled a 31 page account of the trip.

Gracious hospitality was another quality of hers, being solicitous to sisters, guests, and Abbey monks alike. An avid pool player, she also enjoyed listening to her favorite record albums, and was ardent in her spiritual practices.

Her life was an interplay of work and prayer - both of which she did faithfully and with equal zeal. After she could no longer work and her mental faculties were deteriorating, she walked from her room to the chapel in Our Lady of Rickenbach. Memory had failed her, but love for the Lord Jesus still burned in her heart and she desired His eucharistic presence. When confined to a chair and hardly able to speak, her silently mouthed prayers at Mass were tokens of her adoration of Christ in the Eucharist to which she committed herself on the day of Profession.

Sister M. James died on March 10, 2005.