Sister Jean came on the National stage in 2018. The Loyola-Chicago University Ramblers went on a Cinderella run into the Final Four that year. She was the Chaplain of the team. She was 98 years old. She was enthusiastic. She caught the imagination of a nation.
She may have been a new personality to much of America in 2018, but she was not new to making an impact on University students. As she herself said, “It only took me ninety-eight years to become an overnight sensation.”
In her book, Wake Up with Purpose!: What I’ve Learned In My First Hundred Years, she shares her story. In the unfolding of her first 100 years she shares snippets of wisdom she has gained. In 2023 she turned 103. She remains alert and active.
Reading her book was fun. It was fun because you could sense her enthusiasm and energy. It was fun because as you read her story you find hope for your present and future. It is a given that heredity contributes a great deal to aging. Yet everyone who has longevity does not wear it well. Sister Jean is well clothed.
Following is my baker’s dozen gleaned from her first 100 years. The number in parenthesis indicate the page number of the provided quote.
Have a plan and a purpose everyday. She begins each day with prayer. She reviews her schedule. “I do think having a daily, consistent purpose has kept me not only alive but young and vibrant.” (x)
Let belief lift you. “Believe in life, believe in God, believe in the future. In doing so, it’s important to help others find happiness.” (19)
Build trust. “If you want to build trust with another person, the best way is to be honest with each other.” (68)
It’s not how you look, but how you look at life that matters. “My face may not have been quite so fresh, but my spirit was still young.” (79)
Listen, but decide. “It’s good to solicit people’s opinions, but in the end, you have to have one person making a final decision.” (115)
Don’t wait to know everything before you begin. “I did what I always did what I got a new job—dove in with full enthusiasm and good intentions and trusted that whatever I didn’t know, I’d come to know in due time.” (121)
Live in partnership with God. “That’s the beauty of God—we never really know what He’s doing, or why. We have to trust Him to do His part, and then it’s up to us to do ours.” (166)
We can draw people to God. “I’d also like to think people were interested in me because, whether they realized it or not, they wanted to be closer to God.” (171)
God knows us best. “We can put on whatever costume we want, but God sees who we really are on the inside.” (189)
Shouting drowns out understanding. “I believe that even if someone says a lot of things we disagree with, oftentimes it’s worth hearing them out…if you’re only willing to shout at people and not listen to them, you’ll never be able to bring them over to your side.” (197)
Resist hurrying the process. “People don’t want to wait for things, even if it means ending up in a better place.” (207)
You really do have time. “We can do whatever we want with the time we have. It’s up to us to decide whether we want to use that time profitably.” (207)
You are responsible for you. “I believe happiness is a choice. As hard as things get sometimes, we can still choose to be happy.” (212)
Ultimately Sister Jean was an ordinary person who dedicated herself to follow God’s call. “God called me, and I answered Him as best I could.” (214)
God has called each of us to something. We can wake up each day with purpose if we strive to fulfill that call.