of the Divine Heart of Jesus
(Lottie Moll)
July 8, 1922 – July 6, 2005
Sacred Heart Province
Des Plaines, Illinois
“May the Divine Heart be you refuge, your shelter, and your repose. May He be your model, your light, and the object of your love so that the affection and dispositions of His heart would permeate you.” (To Mother Raphael, June 3, 1900)
Lottie Moll was born July 8, 1922, the fourth of nine children to Ignatius and Victoria Moll. She was baptized July 23, 1922, at St. Hedwig Church in Chicago. Young Lottie grew up during the depression. Her father’s family manufactured orthopedic shoes, a business they lost during the depression. Shortly after losing the business, her father became seriously ill. It was at this time that she learned from her mother, patience in suffering, faith and trust in God’s providence. During her father’s prolonged illness, her mother cared for her husband and the children. In order to alleviate some of her burdens, the children assumed many of the chores. In spite of the suffering, poverty and hard work they were very happy and became a very close knit family.
Sister Anne attributed her vocation to her mother who was a very pious woman and taught her children that God should always be the main focus of their lives. Her desire to serve God was deepened by Sister Pearl her second grade teacher at St. Hedwig School. As she continued her elementary education at St. Hedwig, the desire to serve God became stronger. Her greatest longing was to become a missionary sister. So her focus began to turn to the Missionary Sisters in Techny. However, her mother kept encouraging her to enter Nazareth.
On June 10, 1939, Sister Anne entered the congregation. She pronounced her temporary vows August 16, 1942, and perpetual vows August 15, 1948, taking the Divine Heart of Jesus as her mystery. Sister had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart. Her favorite prayer was: “Jesus grant that I may be Thine, wholly Thine, forever Thine.” For her, prayer, silence and solitude were moments of grace that awakened her to a deeper love of the Sacred Heart and service to her Sisters.
Sister Anne’s deep faith and willingness to accept God’s Will led her in many different directions. She was a student, teacher, dietician, pastoral care associate, superior and kitchen manager. Sister was always willing to fill Nazareth’s needs even in pursuing her education, which led to a multi-faceted background. She received a B.S. degree from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, a master’s degree in education with a minor in science from St. Louis University, a Theology Certificate from St. Xavier College and completed her CPE courses at St. Joseph Hospital in 1985. Sister Anne also did her internship at Good Shepherd Hospital to become a registered dietician. All her hard work prepared her to minister in many places and diverse areas. It led her to become a life long learner. She continued to attend numerous workshops, many Elderhostel programs, and brush up courses. She had a great love for reading, music, travel and communicating with her family and friends.
Sister Anne stated in her Portrait of Life that her first love was teaching. She taught in elementary school for three years and for twenty-seven years on the secondary level at St. Ann, Holy Family Academy and St. Michael High Schools. She loved teaching religion, home economics, chemistry, English, and sociology. One of the most difficult ministry changes came in 1961 when Sister was assigned to St. Mary’s Hospital as a dietician. She accepted the change, but it brought about a deep loneliness because she missed the students, the challenges and rewards of teaching. She prayed that as God asked her to wear these many “different hats” she would be earning her way to Heaven.
All her life, Sister Anne exhibited a great respect and love for people who performed unskilled jobs, especially those with whom she worked and had a limited knowledge of English or formal education. This compassion was the result of her philosophy of life: “The Lord does not look at the magnitude of what we do, but the love with which we do it.” Her strength came from prayer, faith and commitment to her calling. She never sought power or titles, she said her only desire was to be evaluated by Christ’s standard and she knew because of His love she would be “declared unconditionally accepted and loved.” Because of her firm belief she lived everyday of her life to the fullest, accepting change, working through her physical disabilities as God’s sign of his personal love for her.
Her spirit of resignation and acceptance of God’s Will was especially evident in the way she responded to the nurses and staff at Nazarethville. As her health declined, she became a resident in 2000. She remained cheerful and loved a good time. She was never one to do things half-heartedly...like the “trooper” she was she accepted all that her declining illness dealt her. Diabetes took its toll on her body, which resulted in needing dialysis three times a week. She had several amputations: first her toe, then her foot and finally she lost her leg just below her knee. None of this ever daunted her spirit. She spent several months in physical therapy at Holy Family Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was determined to learn to walk with her new prosthesis. She was a model patient and soon endeared herself to the nurses and the therapists. In all of this suffering, she continued to place her trust in God, accept His Will and find her strength in prayer.
Sister Anne began to make progress and decided that she would accept a transfer to Holy Family Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in order to continue her dialysis and therapy. However, on June 30 she had a relapse and was taken to Northwest Hospital for an angiogram. This last set back took its toll on Sister’s weakening body. It was on July 6, just past noon that Sister Anne accepted God’s last request “Come my love...my dove...my beautiful one.” ...as serenely as she lived, she answered his invitation... “Here I am Lord, I come to do your Will.” God intended to give his faithful spouse a grand and beautiful party... Sister Anne’s Mass of Resurrection was celebrated on July 8, her 83rd birthday. Although her family and the community will miss Sister Anne, we all joined in a joyous celebration of her life... a life lived in union with God and imbued with the spirit of Nazareth. In her Portrait of Life she left these beautiful words of wisdom for her Sisters – “Cherish all your happy moments, they make a fine cushion for old age.” Thank you for all the happy moments you shared, and now, may God give you peace.
Digitized by S. Brendan O'Brien, CSFN
Instructor
School of Arts & Sciences
History Department
Holy Family University
9801 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19114
215-637-7700 x3279
srbrendan@holyfamily.edu
http://web3.holyfamily.edu/srbrendan
Last updated: February 2006