Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Sister Julie Marie Oxley, O.S.F.






On August 04 friends, family, colleagues and fellow Religious came together at the USF chapel to celebrate Sister Julie Marie Oxley’s Silver Jubilee.

Twenty five years as a Sister of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration is no small accomplishment. Sister Julie Marie has worked at serving the aged Sisters at the motherhouse. She has served our students at the University of Saint Francis. She is currently a student in the Pastoral Counseling graduate program. When she is done she will be a servant to an even larger group of people.

Sister Julie Marie is a good servant. People leave her knowing they had been heard and that they had been cared about. She is funny, creative and clever and she is mischievous! So there was no surprise that many, many people came to mark this important milestone in her life.

The ceremony was beautiful. Father John presided. The Renewal of Vows was touching and the music was in harmony with the occasion.

Sister Julie Marie has the artist eye and this was reflected in the chapel. There were roses next to the statue of St. Francis, each with meaning.

The Red Rose stood for all the Sisters in her Community serving around the world.

The White Rose stood for all of the deceased Sisters

The Orange Rose stood for Sister Julie Marie’s family and friends.

There was also a bouquet at the alter and again there was nothing haphazard about its arrangement. The Lily was in memory of her father. The Daisy was in memory of her brother Dan and the Yellow Rose was in memory of her brother Jeff.

The attention to detail only reflected how she cared about so many people that have crossed her path.

After the ceremony there was a reception in the USF dinning room. People spoke of their experiences with Julie Marie. I sat with her high school employer who spoke of her as if she had only left the job to go to college last year!

Sister Julie Marie is humble, she embraces Lady Poverty. She embraces life, she jokes, laughs, cries and does not take the world for granted. In short she is a wonderful ambassador for Brother Francis and Sister Clare.

Congratulations on reaching this important milestone.

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