"I am all Yours, and all I have is Yours, my most loving Jesus, through Mary Your holy Mother." —Total Consecration Renewal Prayer

Sister Jane Abeln
 

How long have you been a Religious Sister?

I made first vows in 1962, so last year, 2022 was my 60th anniversary.

After Bishop Sweeney's 2022 Jubilee Mass

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in Glendale, MO, with good Catholic parents and three younger brothers. We moved to Dallas, TX when I was 15.

When did you first think about becoming a religious sister?

In 7th grade, during a parish mission, I felt a priest there spoke directly to my heart. I had gotten entangled in making confessions and then doubting that I did everything right, so I feared I might die and find I never did clear this up.  But the priest explained about making a General Confession of the whole matter and Jesus rescued me.  After that, I felt a call to help people who might also be in a terrible place of guilt and loss as I had felt it. Ultimately, this led me to want to be a Sister and help people find Jesus and to know His great love and mercy and not live in a place of guilt.

Did you become a Sister right after high school?

Also in 7th grade, a priest from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) spoke about his missionary ministry, and I was drawn to missionary life. On my Senior Retreat in January, 1959, I found the call to the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God in West Paterson, NJ, where I entered that September.

What were your first experiences after entering Religious Life?

My formation intertwined religious life training, our Sisters' Tombrock College courses (now Berkeley College), and growing my love for God.  Four years teaching at St. Joseph's School in Mendham with summer schools at
St. Bonaventure University in New York state. I taught another year for my MA assistantship in English. During this time, I read Rev. David Wilkerson's The Cross and the Switchblade and learned of the new outpouring of the Holy Spirit also happening in the Catholic Church, I was totally drawn into that.

Some Sisters and I were prayed with for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I experienced gifts I had never imagined, especially speaking in tongues, hearing prophetic words, and spontaneous prayers for healing. I became part of a team at the Newman Center of Montclair State college in Montclair.

Did you ever go on to do missionary work?

In 1972, I got invited to teach English at our Sheng Kung Girls Middle School in Tainan, Taiwan. This time I knew better how to seek the Holy Spirit and to say “Yes.” This became an amazing adventure with our Sisters and students.
Especially Cheng Kung University Sophomores in that city where I taught American literature were searching for God in their lives.

After 6 years, I returned to the US to leave English teaching and find more direct evangelizing ministry, first with Sr. Pat at Christian Renewal Center in Dickinson, TX. I got an assistantship at Fordham's Graduate School of Religion. I ministered with the Religion Department for four years at Paterson Catholic High School, and for seven years at St. Joseph's Religious Education in Bogota, NJ.

No, that was in 2017, after my retirement in 2013. I chose to join St. Catherine's parish where Fr. Jared was building it up anew. He was the only priest, had no deacons, and almost no Sisters, so it seemed a new mission that I am happy to participate in.  Now under Fr. Parisi, I am a lector and Eucharistic minister both at weekend Masses and in rotation for Sunrise nursing facility. I accepted to be the contact person for St. Catherine's for the Bishops' initiative of “Walking With Moms in Need.” Two parish women work with me for a plan being designed by the Rockaway-Denville subgroup.

So where were you serving before coming to St. Catherine's?

In 1996, I had a sabbatical year at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio,
where I stayed on to teach 8 semesters of Freshman English to students with their deep faith lives. We produced my audio drama scripts on St. Augustine, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and our Sr. Dulce of the Poor. Then I accepted a new Missionary Sisters call to teach English to our young Chinese Sisters in the Philippines for 3 years.

Our Sr. Dulce Lopes Pontes was beatified in Salvador, Brazil in 2011 where her block- long hospital and a school continue to serve the poorest of the poor. She became Saint Dulce of the Poor in St. Peter's Rome, on October 13, 2019. I was privileged to be at both these events.  
(Listen to Sr. Dulce Audio Drama)

Two most important areas I am focused on in my retirement years are the following.

As part of the diocesan Charismatic Renewal Service Team under Fr. Nick Bozza, Bishop's liaison in our diocese, we followed Pope Francis' desire to bring Life in the Spirit to people by giving 7-week seminars at St. Paul Inside the Walls and some parishes, and healing Masses.

I have been involved in pro-life activities, but more now that I am active in Morris County Right to Life. (https://morriscountyrighttolife.org)

My current retirement gives me time for these key life priorities, besides writing and activities at the Oaks where 8 of us still can live independently. For giving me these years to live and love, I thank our Heavenly Father, Jesus Savior and Beloved, and their Holy Spirit.

Read Sr. Jane's poems click HERE