M Emeria Jirik

Mankato Mortuary
388-2202

Our beloved Sister M. Emeria Jirik, 94, died peacefully at 9:55 p.m., Friday, February 3, 2012, in Notre Dame Health Care Center, Good Counsel Campus, Mankato, Minnesota. Although she had been in declining health and had just entered the Hospice Program, her death came suddenly. She prayed with the Health Care Community Friday afternoon and was present for supper, and seemed well when she went to bed. Sisters Marie Donohue and Janet Wermerskirchen were with Sister Emeria at the time of her death.

The funeral Mass for Sister Emeria, with Fr. Ted Hottinger, SJ, as presider, will be on Wednesday, February 8, at 10:30 a.m., in Good Counsel Chapel, followed by burial in our cemetery. The vigil service will be at 7:00 p.m. on February 7. Loving sympathy to her SSND sisters, Sisters Paulissa and Rita, her brother John (Eleanor), her sisters-in-law Jean, Marion and Inez, her nieces and nephews and their families, her former students and colleagues, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Anna (Marek) Jirik, her sisters Helen Smisek and Rose Skluzacek, and her brothers Frank, George, Joe and Ray Jirik.

Sister Emeria, the second of ten children, was born September 8, 1917, on the family farm near Webster, Minnesota. Because she was born on the feast of the Nativity of Mary, her parents wanted to name her Mary, but there was already a young cousin by that name. Her grandmother interceded, and she was baptized Mary Lillian at Immaculate Conception Church, Lonsdale, the day after her birth. Mary was only thirteen months younger than her sister Helen, and the two were inseparable. Sister Emeria wrote, "As we were growing up, we resembled each other so much that we were thought to be twins. As infants we shared the same cradle. We played together and climbed over the fence together when the gate was closed."

When Helen started school at Immaculate Conception, they were separated for the first time, but not for long. As Sister Emeria described: "One day she saw me in church with Mother and did not want to remain in school. As a consequence, I paid my first visit to school. The next day I received a primer while my sister had a first reader. After that I went to school every day." For two years, they walked to school with an aunt, but then for the next four, they boarded with the sisters. "During this time I learned to know and love the sisters." When her brother was in fourth grade, he began to drive the family to school, and Helen and Mary were able to stay at home again.

Mary was confirmed in 1930 and received a holy card with the prayer, "Sweetest Jesus, keep me always near to Thee." This inspired Mary's desire to become a sister even more, but she did not tell anyone. She graduated from eighth grade in 1931 and attended the two years of high school offered at Immaculate Conception. She wrote about her feelings after finishing tenth grade, "I was in distress for I longed to continue high school because I felt it was necessary to become a sister, but did not know how to express my wish to my parents." In September, she started doing housework for a local family, staying with the family and going home on Sundays.

In August 1935, she and her parents and other relatives came to Good Counsel to visit her two aunts, Sisters Pudentia and Alzbeta Marek. Mary hoped to share her secret with the sisters, but there were so many visitors that she did not get the chance. On the way home, the car had a flat tire, and Mary and her mother went for a walk while the tire was being changed. Her mother could tell something was bothering her, and asked, "Did you want to stay in Mankato?" Mary answered yes, and two weeks later she was enrolled at Good Counsel Academy as an aspirant in the junior class. The following February she learned that she could enter the candidature in fall, which she did. Although she struggled with homesickness during the year, Mary and five other candidates completed their senior year and graduated in 1937. The 1937-38 school year found her in Albertville, where she did her practice teaching. She then spent another year in the candidature as a college student. Reception into the novitiate, where she was given the name Sister M. Emeria, followed in 1939, and she professed first vows in 1940.

For almost 30 years, Sister Emeria taught primary grades, and she was known as an excellent teacher and an excellent cook. Her teaching ministry included St. Mathias, Hampton (1940-44); St. Mary, Shakopee (1944-45); St. Peter, New Haven, Iowa (1945-48); St. Stanislaus, Winona (1948-50); John Ireland, St. Peter (1951-52); St. Anne, Wabasso (1952-57); St. Stanislaus, St. Paul (1957-60); St. Casimir, Wells (1960-67); and SS. Peter & Paul, Mankato (1967-69). In some of those places, she also served as the parish organist and gave music lessons. During this time she earned her B.A. from the College of St. Teresa in Winona (1952) and her M.A. as a reading specialist from Mankato State College (1968). Beginning in 1969, her educational ministry was focused on reading. She worked as a reading specialist for the Mankato Catholic schools until 1973, and as a tutor and later director of the Good Counsel Reading Center (1973-79). Her work as director of the Title I program for the Mankato parochial schools (1975-81) coincided with her Reading Center position. As Title I director she supervised teachers and aides in the Mankato Catholic schools, All Saints, Madison Lake, and Immanuel Lutheran School, Mankato. She attended national reading conventions in several cities, and found these to be a valuable experience.

In 1979, Sister Emeria also began a part-time community service ministry at Good Counsel, which expanded to full-time in 1981. She assisted in the priests' department, endearing herself to the several resident chaplains who served Good Counsel during that time. Her deep love was the ministry of sacristan. When she was on mission, she served as sacristan in several parishes and supervised the servers. At Good Counsel, she delighted in working with flowers, arranging " and rearranging " them into attractive bouquets to enhance the altar and other worship spaces, and took great care in preparing for the Mass and other services. Sister Emeria was also a driver, often taking sisters to visit relatives and friends. In 2000, when she began to cut back somewhat, she still served as an acolyte and Eucharistic Minister, led morning and evening prayer, volunteered in the laundry and tended plants.

An excellent seamstress, Sister Emeria took great pride in her embroidered dishtowels, once earning over $1000 at an SSND Craft Fair. She often would take orders for the towels. She also enjoyed walking, and faithfully walked every day. She enjoyed traveling and spending time with her sisters Paulissa and Rita, especially hiking, and was always ready for a picnic. Her 1985 Jubilee trip to Rome and a 1990 Heritage Workshop in Baltimore were high points.

For many years she looked forward to her retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, finding this to be a very special time each year. She was also very grateful for a 30-day retreat experience in 1979. Intensely proud of her Czech heritage, she requested that the Czech Hail Mary be sung at her funeral, if at all possible. With a birthday on the Blessed Virgin's birthday, she also had a strong devotion to Mary.

"Be still and know that I am God" is a very apt theme for Sister Emeria's 94 years of service to God and the church. Throughout her life she listened for God's guidance. May she now sing God's praises forever -- in English and Czech!

Sister Mary Kay Ash