Sister Martha Herzog, OSB
Sister Martha Herzog, OSB, 94, a resident of St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, died Friday
October 31, 2008 at the Monastery. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 am
Tuesday, at St. Mary Monastery Chapel. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Rock Island.
Visitation will be 4–7 pm Monday at the Monastery, where a Christian Wake Service will be
held at 7:00 pm. Memorials may be made to St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island. Wheelan-Pressly
Funeral Home, Milan is assisting with the arrangements.
Sister Martha (Frances) was born March 14, 1914 in Peoria, IL the daughter of Frank and Josephine (O’Gorman) Herzog. She attended St. Boniface Grade School, Peoria, IL and Manuel High School, Peoria, IL . Sister Martha entered the Benedictine Community on September 7, 1933 and made her first profession as a Benedictine Sister on July 22, 1935.
Sister Martha’s ministry included: work in food service, housekeeping, guest services and as assistant procurator at St. Mary Monastery; supervision of the dining room and hot lunch program at St.Mary’s Academy, Nauvoo; service at St. Mary’s in Wenona and St. Joseph’s in Ivesdale; work with refugee families from Slovenia and Vietnam and creation of over 600 baby quilts.
Survivors include her Benedictine Sisters and many cousins. She was preceded in death by her
parents and several cousins.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.wheelanpressly.com.
Sr. Martha Blessed with Big Family
The one thing young Martha Herzog knew she would aspire to when she grew up was a large family. An only child who had lost her mother as a toddler, Martha craved the companionship and chaos of a large, bustling household.
“I planned to get married and have lots of children,” laughs Sr. Martha, who recently celebrated her 70th jubilee as a Sister of St. Benedict. “But God had other plans. Instead, I entered this community, and got lots of mothers and sisters.”
Indeed, Sr. Martha got daughters, too, by way of the high school girls who attended St. Mary Academy, the Sisters' college preparatory boarding school, in Nauvoo, Illinois. In the kitchen and dining room, Sr. Martha meted out board jobs while getting to know and love the girls she supervised. Although the school closed in 1997, Sr. Martha still hears from her many “daughters” nearly every day, by phone, mail and visit.
“I went to the doctor recently and was told, ‘It's a good thing you entered the monastery, because you couldn't have carried a child,’” Sr. Martha says. “I would have been broken-hearted. But here, I have had a big family. I have the love of those girls, and the love of my Sisters. I have been very, very happy.”
Today, Sr. Martha serves the community in prayer ministry and in care of her Sisters.
Reflection: Funeral Liturgy of Sr. Martha
By Sister Susan Hutchens Nov. 4, 2008
For several days now we’ve been listening to many beautiful readings appropriate for a Funeral Liturgy: Saturday – the Feast of All Saints, Sunday – the Feast of All Souls, and again today. These readings speak of death, Resurrection, and promises of eternal life. They are rich with symbolism, words of blessing, doctrines of our faith, reasons for joy, as well as sorrow and of hope. They are filled with images of sparks that shine in the heavens, and of God’s faithful love for us. Sister Martha certainly picked a beautiful time to die. But then, we all know, as did she, that she didn’t choose this time at all – God decided this was the time to call her home. And we know she was ready to follow that call.
Sr. Martha knew it was God’s will that we have eternal life. Last Tuesday, she said to me: “I’m ready to die, and I can’t wait to see God.” Like Job, Sr. Martha knew she would finally see God with her own eyes. As our first reading from Job says: “My own eyes, not another’s shall behold the Lord.” And like Job, “her inmost being was consumed with longing.” That is truly a beautiful image of death – the final surrender: to be consumed with and transformed by longing for God, not consumed with illness, or pain, or grief, but simply and totally with a longing for God
Sr. Martha dearly loved her namesake, Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus. And she always felt that that Martha sort of received the short-end of the stick in the gospel of John, because after all, someone had to set the table, and make sure the house was clean when Jesus came!
Sr. Martha knew well the importance of cleaning and cooking for guests. She took to heart not only those tasks of her namesake, but also the instructions of Jesus in our Gospel reading: “Whatever you do for one of the least of my brothers or sisters, you do for me.” She gave over her life in community to service and hospitality for so many others: her sisters, the chaplains, the refugees who came, especially the Slovenian and Vietnamese families the community sponsored, our employees, the neighbors, the students at St. Mary’s Academy, and so very many guests who came to the monastery doors for nourishment, whether of food or prayer, or a smile and a loving embrace. She was there to provide it all to them – no strings attached, no holds barred.
Sr. Martha fed the hungry, visited the sick, and especially welcomed the stranger, young and old alike, in such a way, that after a brief time spent with them, they weren’t strangers any longer. And I might add, she continued doing those things even at the age of 87, through the sewing circle after we moved here. She epitomized Benedict’s directive in the Rule: that “All guests are to be welcomed as Christ.” So when Sr. Martha said, “ I can’t wait to see God, I thought – Sister, you’ve been seeing God all your life in the face of anyone and everyone you welcomed – you recognized Christ in the other with every smile. What a model your own life was for the entire breadth of Benedictine hospitality!
Sr. Martha trusted totally in the words of St. Paul to the Romans, which we heard in our 2nd reading, that “Hope does not disappoint.” These were the same words she said in the Suscipe - “do not disappoint me in my hope” at her own Profession, Silver, Golden, and 60th Jubilees, and at those of so many community members. In her later years, she knew she would soon be called home, and she trusted she would not be disappointed. Maybe that is why she was in such peace these last few days. Her body grew weaker, but her hope held firm. Beyond a doubt, she trusted that Christ had died for her, that God’s love for us was proven in the death of his Son, which reconciled us totally to God, and to life forever with God in heaven. This liturgy we celebrate today – the gift of Eucharist – is perhaps the most significant sacrament of Reconciliation. More profoundly than any reading, or any doctrine or any explanation of our faith, this Eucharist brings to reality for us the one, primary truth of our faith, the very meaning of Jesus’ life and death: “I die, that you may have life. I give to you, that you may receive me into your heart, share me with one another, every moment of every day, and receive new life in the process.”
This is what Sister Martha knew – this is what did not disappoint, and this was her, and is our, foretaste of the kingdom – the reign of God: the banquet we celebrate here today points to the ultimate banquet where all the hungry, the poor, the naked, the strangers, will gather together around the table, when God says to each: “Receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” That will be the biggest party of all – the banquet with God – Father, Son, and Spirit!
As these final days of her life went by, Sister Martha asked several of the sisters: “Do you think I’ll see my mother? No doubt her Mother and Dad were there on either side of Jesus and St. Peter at the gates of heaven, accompanied by Srs. Alberta, Constance, Fabian, Philomena, Adele, Jane, Marie Therese, Celine, and so many others, all ready to welcome her home, to welcome her to that one final, never-ending party with God! – face-to-face, no holds barred!! And we all know how much Sr. Martha loved parties. So Sister Martha, drink deeply of the joy of your new life – and Enjoy the party!! Enjoy the party!!