And You Visited Me

Although St. Benedict never met Sr. Maria Larkin, who died on May 25, 2021, he nonetheless wrote a chapter in his Rule that perfectly described one of her roles in the community. As he says in Chapter 27, “Concern of the Superior for the Excommunicated”: 

“The superior should show utmost care and concern for wayward members because ‘it is not the healthy who need a physician but the sick’ (Mt 9:12). Therefore, like a prudent physician, the superior ought to use every opportunity to send senpectae, that is, mature and wise members, to support the wavering ones, urge them to be humble as a way of making satisfaction, and console them, ‘lest they be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow’ (2 Cor 2:7). As the Apostle also says, ‘reaffirm your love for them’ (2 Cor 2:8).”

For many years, Sr. Maria walked daily from the Mount to the Atchison County jail to visit “the wayward” members of her extended community—that is, the Body of Christ—who were being held there. She brought them the word of Scripture along with the gospel according to Maria, expressed through her own care and concern for their spiritual and emotional health. She kept up a voluminous correspondence with prison inmates, who were touched by her prayer, her faith in God, and her conviction that with God’s loving support, they could repent and re-form their lives.

Sr. Maria’s ministry to those who were jailed was only one aspect of her life, of course. She was a master teacher who touched the lives of hundreds of students; an observant, artistic soul who was endlessly creative; a community member who was sensitive to the needs of her sisters; and a beloved daughter of God who radiated joy and good humor. Still, I find myself most moved by her devotion to those incarcerated, for as Jesus said, “I was in prison and you visited me”—and so few people do.