Sister Mary Frost, SDS
It’s a Wonderful Life

She has created a tapestry of people and ministries over the course of fifty years. Sister Mary (Albert) Frost, SDS, is grateful to the many wonderful friends she has ministered to and with. On Saturday, June 28th, she was among the North American Salvatorian men and women marking their Jubilees. Harvest of Service—Others Will Follow is the 2008 Jubilee theme. The 11 a.m. Mass was offered at Mother of Good Counsel Parish and a reception for family and friends followed at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, both in Milwaukee.

It is a season to reflect and celebrate and she continues to do both. She is grateful for her own call to the Sisters of the Divine and believes that her life in a religious community is built on her belief in God’s providence and fidelity. For the last four years, she has worked on the parish team at Holy Mother of Consolation in Oregon, Wisconsin.

“I am a teacher and I love people. In our parish, this is a ministry of presence. I walk with people at the happiest and saddest moments of their lives. At all times, I believe God is walking with us and these relationships are important facets of our faith. I love where I am at,” she added. She is involved with adult Faith Formation. Including RCIA, baptismal preparation for Baptism for the parents of infants, helping with liturgy, helping with the sick and homebound, as well as social justice and concerns.

Previously, Sister Mary has taught on elementary, high school and college levels from Wisconsin and Maryland to Africa. She served as a pastoral associate in large urban areas in Illinois and small rural ones in Mississippi and in campus ministry in Laramie, Wyoming. Then she was the SDS Vocation Director. Sister Mary understands how each ministry helped her with ones that followed. Teaching first graders phonics in Wisconsin helped her teach English in Africa; being an elementary principal in the United States provided the knowledge she needed when she led an girls boarding school in Masasi, Africa. “Every ministry was life-changing and I was continuously learning what community and internationality meant. Again, it was the relationships that I remember and cherish,” she pointed out.

Sister Mary was missioned to Africa for nine years in Zambia and Tanzania. She believes that God’s faithfulness has enabled her to serve around the world. She recalls grace-filled moments in Africa and the support of the Salvatorian Fathers. Sister Mary has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Mary College, Milwaukee. She holds a doctorate in African Languages and Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Master’s in Religious and Religious Education from Fordham University, New York, New York.

She was one of thirteen children born to Karl and Caroline Frost in Lead, South Dakota. She enjoys being part of a large family that is spread from coast to coast and from Wisconsin to Texas. She is also grateful for her Salvatorian Family.

“I firmly believe that not only does God know us better than we know ourselves, but God loves us more than we can love ourselves. If we trust ourselves to Divine Providence, God has great things in store for us. I have been surprised and gifted over and over again with deeply rich spiritual and human, intercultural experiences. It is such a joy to be all that I could be through education and to share those gifts through ministry in many way. It has also been richly rewarding to share these experiences through the SDS community and in SDS community. St. Therese of Liseux said,’My vocation is to love!’ Religious life provides the opportunity for a person to love many people in many ways.”