Sister Maria Rosa ND 5224 PDF Download
Rosa Warken
Our Lady Aparecida Province, Canoas, RS – Brazil
Date and Place of Birth: August 31, 1933 Rolante, RS
Date and Place of Profession: February 11, 1960 Passo Fundo, RS
Date and Place of Death: July 31, 2019 Recanto Aparecida, Canoas, RS
Date and Place of Burial: August 1, 2019 Convent Cemetery, Canoas, RS
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” Ps 23:6
This verse of Psalm 23 summarizes Sister Maria Rosa´s journey, considering that kindness and faithfulness characterized her life.
Rosa was the fourth of the seven children born to Germano Nicolau Warken and Amália Breier, farmer workers and with a deep Christian faith. Two of her brothers and one of her sisters preceded her in the Father’s Home. As a young girl, Rosa came to Canoas as a border and helped with the chores at Maria Auxiliadora School. The interaction with the sisters motivated her to be part of the Notre Dame family. At the age of 20, she discerned her vocation to religious life. Her parents expressed intense joy when Rosa shared her desire to join the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame as a postulant. After her postulancy, she entered into Novitiate on February 11, 1958. Later, her sister Zita, who died in January 2007, also joined the Congregation.
After her canonical year, Sr. Maria Rosa joined the community of Escola Menino Jesus in Passo Fundo. From then on, she devoted herself to studying and practicing culinary art. She loved housework, and having been an excellent cook, she took responsibility for the kitchen during her whole religious life. She lovingly taught the apprentices entrusted to her, including the candidates, postulants, and novices. She loved the young sisters and always showed concern for them. She was intelligent and gifted with administrative skills that she used well in her service in the kitchen and for the various communities of the Province. In 2010, she was transferred to Recanto Aparecida, where she took on the supervision of the kitchen for several years. From 2015 on, she became a helper in the kitchen due to her physical condition. From 2017 on, due to illness and advanced age, Sister served as a beloved and prayerful presence.
Sister M. Rosa was a silent woman who always sought strength in the Eucharist, and in community and personal prayer. She nurtured a special devotion to Our Lady. In her life, she was able to harmonize the servant characteristics of Martha with those of Mary, able to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to him.
She maintained strong bonds with her family, enjoying visiting them as well as receiving their visits, especially during her illness.
In recent years, with her strength gradually declining, Sister patiently endured her illness, always grateful for all the assistance she received from sisters, caregivers, and nurses.
Sister M. Rosa´s kind and simple way of being and her life put at the service of others shaped her heart. Therefore, at 8:50 p.m. on July 31, she departed, quietly as she had been all her life.
by Dreamhost