17 June 2021 · 2021-06 newsletter
For more than 72 years Sr. Mary Jockenhoevel was a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary who worked mainly in the kitchen. People testify to her organizing skills, her “good meals” but they also remember the prayerful, happy person, the ‘beautiful soul’ who always had a smile and was ready to serve wherever needed. God called her home on May 14 just after she had finished the evening meal and prayed with the Sisters in their dining room in Mulgoa. Adjacent to this dining room is a kitchenette where Sr. Mary had worked till just a few days before she had a heart attack which so suddenly took her to her eternal home. She was surrounded by her sisters whom she had faithfully served over so many years.
Sr. Mary was born in Germany in 1925, entered the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary in 1948 and came to Australia with the third group of sisters in 1956.
Already in Germany she was working in the kitchen in the “Covenant Home” where Fr. Kentenich lived and offered retreats. In this way, Sr. Mary got to know Fr. Kentenich and her encounters with him rooted her deeply in her faith in God and Schoenstatt’s mission. Her relationship with Fr. Kentenich gave her security and marked her whole life of service.
Sr. Mary’s first years in Australia were spent in Missions for indigenous children at Tardun and Wandering, WA. In both mission stations she worked mainly in the kitchen where she was responsible for the care of more than 100 people with completely different means than she was used to. She wrote about her first experiences in Australia: “Everything was new, Tardun – in the midst of nowhere, like a desert with plenty of heat, wind and flies; a beautiful sky, magnificent stars. And yet, life was lonely. I had to prepare sheep for dinner and had never done anything like that before. But all of us managed. We were young, enthusiastic, and trusted in God that he would supply what we could not do.
In 1968 Sr. Mary was transferred to Sydney and spent six years working as a cook in public institutions to help financially in the building up of the sisters’ community. She worked in the kitchens of a hospital, an old people’s home and a hotel. These were very difficult years for her, but she succeeded with God’s help, as she herself said.
Finally, in 1974, she assumed responsibility for the kitchen in the sisters’ new provincial retreat house. In this position she worked skilfully and prudently for almost 30 years. Since 2007 she took care of the sisters’ dining room and kitchenette.
The good food, shared with others and prepared by her to provide for the material needs at many spiritual days or retreats around the Shrine at Mulgoa is remembered by all. Even people who delivered food to the kitchen remember Sr. Mary as a friendly, grateful and always smiling sister, even ready for a little chat at times. Many felt “touched by her loving work of service”. When asked what made her happy, Sr. Mary replied: “It just makes me happy to work for others and make them feel at home. Besides, I also received a lot of praise because of my good meals."
Sr. Mary was prayerful and went each day to the shrine and prayed for all the intentions the people entrusted to the Blessed Mother. However, she was very reserved about religious matters and would never tell anyone what to do. Once in a while, however, she spontaneously gave some good advice. Someone confirmed that when she told Sr. Mary about her weak health, she received the advice: “Trust in God, that also helps me again and again.”
And once, after a person had told her about her experiences in the Holy Land which had put her on fire she replied: “Make sure to keep that fire always in your heart.”
Often times Sr. Mary was given the office as superior of the sisters next to her practical work. She was a good superior attentive to the needs of others, giving a good example, for what she demanded of others she practiced herself.
Sr. Mary was a splendid organizer with an eye for detail. Someone said of her: “Her expectations for sisters and working girls were high and were to be met. However, there was also a warm side to her, a caring attitude for each one’s wellbeing and reaching out for people in their dire need.”
That is why quite a few people still kept in contact with her, never forgetting her genuine concern when they needed it most. Likewise, she never forgot people who assisted her in manifold ways and was loyal in her prayers for them.
Sr. Mary was immensely grateful for her calling to the sisters’ family and considered it the greatest gift and grace from God that he led her to Schoenstatt. For this undeserved gift she could never thank him enough. And we thank God for the gift of Sr. Mary, for her faithful and ever-ready selfless service, for her genuinely apostolic life, lived for the most part in the kitchen.
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