The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth gathered March 25 at St. Vincent Church in Nazareth, Kentucky, to celebrate a Jubilee Mass honoring Sisters marking milestone anniversaries of vowed life.
Held on the feast of the Annunciation, the liturgy centered on the call to say “yes” to God. The Community joined in prayer and gratitude for lives given in service across decades of ministry. During the Mass, all Sisters present, including the Jubilarians, renewed their vows together, praying, “I…do renew and confirm with all my heart, the perpetual vows…,” asking for the grace to remain faithful in their consecration.
In her remarks, Sister Camille Panich reflected on the witness of the honorees, whose commitments span 60, 65, 70, and 75 years, with a combined total of 745 years of vowed life!
The Sisters honored are:
75 yearsMaria Vincent Brocato, SCNEarline Hobbs, SCNMary Joyce Kermen, SCN
70 yearsRose Sullivan, SCNMary Assumpta Dwyer, SCNMaria Emerentia Voytek, SCN
65 yearsJudith Raley, SCNWilma Ross, SCN
60 yearsElizabeth Blandford, SCNMarie Becker, SCN (unable to attend)Becky Miles, SCN
Sister Camille noted the breadth of their ministries, including health care, education, chaplaincy, social work, youth ministry, and pastoral care. Many also served in leadership, missionary outreach, and creative ministries in art and music. Their lives reflect a continued response to the needs of the Church and the world, especially among those on the margins.
In the homily, Sister Jackulin Jesu, President of the Congregation, invited those gathered to reflect on the meaning of Jubilee as a sign of God’s light made visible through lives offered in service. She asked the Community to consider what might have been missing had these Sisters not answered their call. Classrooms, hospitals, and communities would have been changed without their presence.
She asked those gathered to think about the quiet nature of religious life, often lived in places unseen, in classrooms, hospital corridors, chapels, and homes. Like Mary’s response in the Gospel, their “yes” was offered freely and lived faithfully over time.
Drawing from the readings of the Annunciation, Sister Jackulin said every vocation begins when God draws near and invites a response. Mary’s words, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” continue to echo in the lives of the Sisters honored.
“The beauty of Jubilee is not only in the number of years, but in the depth of what those years represent,” she said.
Through prayer and service, these Sisters continue to witness to the Gospel through care for others and commitment to the common good. Their lives reflect the call of the Church to uphold human dignity and walk in solidarity with those most in need.
This Jubilee Mass is a reminder that vocation is lived each day. On this feast of the Annunciation, the Sisters’ lives echo Mary’s enduring “yes,” a response that continues to guide the mission of the Congregation for generations to come.
Homily for Rainbow Jubilee
Jackulin Jesu, SCN
March 25, 2026
Rainbows are a wonder. From the hidden wholeness of white light bursts a spectrum of promise and praise. It is as if the quiet heart of God were whispering color into the sky, reminding us that a single light can hold infinite beauty within it.
The rainbow jubilees we celebrate today reveal the light that this group of Sisters has brought into the life and mission of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and into each of our lives.
I wonder what would have been had they not been part of us? What classrooms might have lacked a steady and patient teacher? What hospital rooms might have missed a gentle hand or a listening heart? What parish, what mission, what struggling soul might not have known the reassurance that God had not forgotten them?
The ministries of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth would certainly have continued – but they would not have been the same. Charism is not an idea; it becomes real through the lives of those who embody it. It took their voices, their courage, their sacrifices to give our charism its living color.
And I wonder how God first brought each of them to religious life? What quiet invitation stirred their hearts? What moment awakened within them the desire to give everything to God?
The readings today remind us that every vocation begins with a moment when God draws near. In Isaiah, God invites King Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz hesitates, yet God gives a sign anyway: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son… Emmanuel – God is with us.” God’s promise is always greater than our hesitation. Even when hearts are uncertain, God continues to act, to speak, and to draw near.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear the deeper meaning of that promise. Christ enters the world saying, “Behold, I come to do your will.” The heart of discipleship is not sacrifice alone, but a listening heart ready to respond. Christ offers not merely gifts, but Christ’s own self – becoming a living “yes” to God.
Then the Gospel brings us to Nazareth. Before the crowds and miracles, before the Cross and the empty tomb, there is a quiet room, a moment of stillness, and a young woman who listens. The angel’s greeting is not imposed; it is an invitation. God proposes, and the destiny of the world waits, in a mysterious way, upon the freedom with which the human heart responds.
Mary’s response is simple and profound: “Behold, I am the handmaid of God. Let it be done to me according to your word.” That quiet “fiat” changes history.
In many ways, the lives of our jubilarians echo Mary’s response.
First, like Mary, their “yes” was total. They entrusted their entire lives to God.
Second, like Mary, their “yes” unfolded in the hidden places of daily life. Nazareth was not a place of fame, and most of religious life remains unseen by the world. Yet grace flourishes where the world does not look – in classrooms, hospital corridors, chapels, kitchens, and the ordinary rooms where community gathers.
Third, like Mary, their “yes” has borne fruit beyond anything we could imagine. Lives given to God become lives given for others – in acts of mercy, in teaching and healing, in listening and accompanying, in quiet sacrifice.
The responsorial psalm expresses this beautifully: “Here I am, God; I come to do your will.” That line could well be the refrain of their lives.
The beauty of a jubilee is not only in the number of years, but in the depth of surrender those years represent. In seasons of clarity and in seasons of cloud, in times of growth and diminishment, they have remained rooted in God’s love.
And so today, standing beneath the arc of their shared witness, we give thanks for the quiet word each of them spoke to God years ago. We give thanks for the spectrum of gifts among them – leadership and contemplation, boldness and gentleness, wisdom and humor. Together they reveal something of the wholeness of God.
Together they remind us that when divine light passes through willing hearts, the world becomes more beautiful.
May this jubilee renew in all of us the courage to echo Mary’s words: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” And may the rainbow we celebrate today continue to stretch forward – a promise of hope, a witness of fidelity, and a sign of God’s enduring presence for generations yet to come.