Sister Hedy Maria ND 5389 PDF Download
(formerly Sister Maria Selmina)
Hedy Maria JUSTEN
Holy Cross Province, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil
Date and Place of Birth: September 29, 1938 Montenegro, RS
Date and Place of Profession: February 12, 1961 Passo Fundo, RS
Date and Place of Death: August 2, 2019 Casa Betânia, Não-Me-Toque, RS
Date and Place of Funeral: August 2, 2019 Casa Santa Cruz, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil
“Those who have taught many the way of virtue, they will shine like the stars for all eternity.” Dn 12:3
Hedy Maria was born in a family that cultivated Christian principles and lived fully their faith. She was the eldest of her five sisters and three brothers. One month after her birth she was baptized and in 1948, at the age of ten, she made her first communion. She received confirmation when she was seven years old in Carazinho, a city where she later carried out her ministry as a consecrated religious.
In 1958, at the ag e of 20, she became a postulant in the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Passo Fundo, RS, where she also made her novitiate and professed her first vows on February 12, 1961.
In 1957, Sister Hedy Maria received an elementary school teacher´s certification from the São Carlos School in Santa Catarina. In 1964, she graduated in Pedagogy from the University of Palmas, PR. Extending her educational background, she also obtained a Diploma in School Supervision, a course provided by AEC (Association of Catholic Schools) in Porto Alegre, RS.
Sister was a teacher and school principal for many years; she then served as school secretary and librarian until 2018 when her health started to decline necessitating more medical help and treatment. Sister also served as local superior and, in many communities, wrote the annals. In addition, she was always ready to render her services for the community according to her abilities and strength.
Sister´s simplicity of life and cheerful conviviality were her hallmark. Her peaceful nature, certainly nurtured by her prayer life, was evidente in her ministry, even during the times of fragile health in recente years. Daily fidelity was another of her qualities. Twenty two of her 58 years of consecrated religious life, were spent in São Paulo at the Rainha dos Apóstolos School. Her ministry was always connected to education, also in Rio Grande do Sul, where she served in various Notre Dame schools.
“Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me, but Him who sent Me.” (Mk 9:37)
We are grateful to God for the life and mission of Sister Hedy Maria Justen, for her many years of consecrated religious life dedicated to the education of children and youth. May the good God who called her and sustained her on the journey, welcome her into eternal glory, and grant her eternal reward.
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