Ministry Moments
Serving as a pastoral minister in various parishes was part of my life for years. Now that I am retired, people continue to come to me in their need.
In late winter 2026, a young married couple from the Twin Cities called me. They said they were coming to Krewe, a local restaurant here in St. Joseph, Minn., for a birthday party. Before going to the party, they wanted to meet with me at the monastery to talk about their situation in life and pray with them. They came, we talked, I listened a lot and we went to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray together.
In March 2026, my cousin died in Santa Barbara, Calif. His wife called me asking for help with preparing the liturgy for the funeral Mass which would be held at Saint John’s Abbey Church in Collegeville, Minn. The cremated remains came from Santa Barbara and were inurned in the Abbey Columbarium. Many of my cousins attended the funeral. Cousins in my family stick together — we are there for one another.
In May 2026, I was invited to give the closing prayer at a retirement ceremony honoring a lieutenant colonel observing 22 years of military service in the United States Army. The ceremony was held at Saint John’s University in Collegeville where he was first commissioned when he was a university student. I learned to know him through his wife, who is my Benedictine Friend of 26 years. She has kept in touch with me ever since she was a first-year student at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph in 2000. Now they live in Iowa, and each year they bring their two daughters to God, Girls and Good Times (3G) Camp, our Catholic Benedictine camp for girls in grades 4-11 here at Saint Benedict’s Monastery.
Also in May, a woman was staying in one of our hermitages for a short time. She asked to talk with a sister about Project Rachel, which is the Catholic Church’s post-abortion healing ministry. It operates as a support group for people who are seeking confidential and nonjudgmental support as they grieve the loss of a child by abortion. This woman was about to help facilitate a Project Rachel group and wanted extra help with the process of support group facilitation. It was a good experience for me to listen to her as I had many years of experience in leading grief support groups of all kinds.
In addition to ministering for specific events, there are special requests for prayer. Through my sister, I came to know of a married couple in Toledo, Ohio. They were in their mid-30s with a one year-old daughter. Both were medical doctors working by night in emergency rooms in two different hospitals in Toledo. Recently they were both at home when she passed out. For 20 minutes, he tried to bring her back to life but could not. She died right before his eyes. His mother is a friend of my sister and asked me to pray for the family.
When I pray for people in need, I pray that the Life, Love and Healing of God would flow through me. I don’t do the healing — God does. I want to be the open channel through which God’s love flows out to people in need.
Lucinda Mareck, OSB
This article was featured on page 13 in the fall 2026 issue of Call.
Photo: S. Lucinda and guests at the retirement celebration at Saint John’s Abbey Church.
