Sister Mary Jo Stoffel’s Birthday Reflection

In celebration of our sisters’ birthdays in 2023, we asked them to share an age they would like to go “back” to. On her birthday, Sister Mary Jo reminisces on the simple pleasures she’s experienced throughout her life.

By Sister Mary Jo Stoffel, SDS
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

As I look back on my 84 years of life it would be great to go back to two ages or places in time – my childhood (ages 6 to 14) and my early 30s.

As children, we worked hard to grow and raise most of the food we ate. Life was simple, safe, creative, and prayerful. The rosary was part of our day. We lived three houses up from church and were present for every devotion held.

In my early 30s, I experienced the best year of my life with Sister Rita Faust in Rothchild, Wisconsin. One evening as we sat down to eat, the doorbell rang, and a fourth-grade boy asked to come inside and visit with us. So, he sat down and talked as we ate. Upon leaving he said, “You two really like each other, don’t you?”