Sister Jane Mary Dziejma
(Sister M. Inviolata)
August 24, 1910 - February 22, 2008

Holy Family Province
United States of America

“Follow Jesus, seek Him, contemplate Him, ask Him for all you need; then- expect, believe and hope. Love Him evermore, live for Him, work for Him, and implore Him to live and act in you. This is really living your life to the full.” (Counsels from the Heart ... Letter 12. Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd)

On August 24,1910, Catherine and Joseph Dziejma welcomed a new daughter into their loving family home on Endicott Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was baptized Jane Mary on September 4, 1910, and began her Christian formation at St. Mary’s Parish in Worcester, where she also received the other sacraments. She was always so proud of her family and she would recall her difficult times at home with fond memory. Her brothers and sisters held a special connection for her and she was pleased to share their accomplishments with others. A bright, energetic and prayerful young girl, she learned quickly and graduated from Nazareth Academy.

During that time, Jane Mary felt the call to religious life. The desire took flesh when she decided to enter the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth on October 2, 1927, to become a postulant. Her father was not happy with Jenny’s decision to enter Nazareth and would always tell her she could come home if she weren’t happy. Filled with a love for God and with total abandonment to His Will, the next year, she entered the novitiate on August 21, 1928, followed by her first vows on August 21, 1930, and perpetual vows in the Immaculate Conception Chapel in Torresdale, Pennsylvania on August 15, 1937. Jane Mary lived her consecrated life to the fullest for eighty years. She loved God first and foremost and then she loved the Church and Nazareth with all her heart.

Education was important to the Dziejma clan and Jane Mary always marveled at her brothers’ intellectual prowess. Education to help others was the chief source of her desire to learn. A teacher for most of her active ministry in schools in Philadelphia, New York, Puerto Rico, and Australia, she taught with passion, desiring to enkindle a love of learning within her students. Always searching for knowledge to expand her possibilities for ministry, she received certifications in music and religious studies and later her Master’s degree in Religion and Guidance from Providence College in Rode Island. Ahead of her time, she also received a Permanent Certificate from the National Association of Catholic Chaplains in 1984.

There was no sacrifice too big or small which Jane Mary wouldn’t attempt. She learned to play the organ having had very limited experience on a piano when she was a young sister. In several parishes she was then asked to be the organist – a job she enjoyed and devoted herself to in her retirement years. She practiced and practiced because God needed to be praised in song and so she would sacrifice time to please Jesus.

Jane Mary was a woman of great foresight and inteliigence. She embraced Silva Mind Control, Yoga, Weight Watchers and Centering Prayer long before others in the community had even heard about any of them. She saw in these activities a holistic approach to being fully alive. She embraced opportunities and then shared her insights to any and all who would listen. She was always trying to better herself and would enter into new learnings with verve and enthusiasm. These included taking sewing lessons at Northeast High School where she shared her ecumenical spirit with students and teachers alike. They became her lifelong friends whom she prayed for religiously and faithfully. Jane Mary being a Worcester girl loved to swim and she took any opportunity to jump into the water. She enjoyed assignments in Puerto Rico and Australia tremendously especially for this reason and even joined the YMCA when assigned to retirement at Mount Nazareth. Once again the network of friends expanded and lasted for years.

For years and years, Jane Mary was making porządek (“order” in Polish). Her room contained a variety of exhibits that were life-giving memories or remembrances that touched her heart and she would savor their presence rather than dispose of any of them. Therefore, she was always making order or simply rearranging those things to more prominent places in her room.

Jane Mary was a delight to engage in conversation. Her quick wit and lighthearted personality were endearing qualities and after a little time spent with her, you were usually laughing about some story or mistake she had made. She would engage others in conversation and listen to their stories always turning their problems to the Lord as well as promising to pray for them and their families. You could always depend on Jane Mary to say several rosaries whenever someone needed extra prayers. She prayed faithfully and loved her time spent with the Lord.

Jane Mary could laugh at herself. However, there was the difficult side of her too and at those times it was best to give her the space and reflective quiet she needed to work things through. Jane Mary was big enough to admit when she was wrong and apology came easy after she had cooled off.

Throughout her years in retirement or semi-retirement, which began in 1992, Sister Jane Mary made it her goal to be alive and full of life. Forever working on new projects, handwork, some new Christmas gift or Santa kiss, Jane Mary worked hard for the community and delighted when her contributions earned extra money for the gift shop at Mount Nazareth. She also learned about the computer and was certainly no novice when it came to computer games.

Sister Jane Mary loved to party. She was so excited when she celebrated her 75th anniversary in Nazareth and absolutely raved about her friends who joined in that celebration. Those memories lasted a long time and were held in a special place in her heart and mind years later. A woman of celebration, she loved to join friends and especially going out to eat seafood at Gallo’s.

As illness and physical limitations gradually took its toll on her body, she gradually retreated to a more silent place within. Her happy and excitable exterior replaced by a much subdued physically and mentally challenged demeanor. During the week of February 17th, she was gradually retreating into a place of peace and happiness and on February 22nd, gave herself totally to the embrace of her beloved Jesus.

Sister Jane Mary, you were a friend, a companion, a witness, a sister, and a gifted lover of the Lord. We thank you for the gift of yourself to all of us and know that you will hear our prayers and speak to God about them. May you now know the peace and bliss of eternal happiness.

Digitized by S. Brendan O’Brien, CSFN, MA
School of Arts & Sciences
History Department
Holy Family University
9801 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19114
267-341-3279
srbrendan@holyfamily.edu
http://web3.holyfamily.edu/srbrendan
Last updated: March 2008