An Unusual Tribute - 1 & 2

     In Thursday's local paper, the Greensburg Tribune-Review, there was an article about the death of Sister Camillus Erb of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.  Her funeral celebration and burial was held on Wednesday at Seton Hill.  She was 89, and had been a member of the Community since 1948.  Prior to retirement, she served as a nurse.  As the Sisters do so well, with the joy of their Faith and trust in the promise of the Lord, they celebrate the life and accomplishments of their Sisters as they celebrate the Resurrected Life that that Sister shares at the Heavenly banguet.

     But there was something unusual at this burial.  The VFW Post 33 of Greensburg shared full military honors for Sister Camillus, including a 21 gun salute and taps.  The United States flag which covered her casket was folded with honor and presented to her Religious Family through Sister Vivien Linkhauer, the Religious Superior.  The Sisters sang "God Bless America".  The honor guard was moved by the uniqueness of the event.

     Before entering the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in 1948, Camillus Erb served in World War II as a Navy nurse treating the wounded at the Pacific battlefronts.  She ministered to those Marines and sailors suffering from "shell shock".  She also, along with a number of nurses, had been imprisoned by the enemy.  Many of those captured nurses, the article said, had come home looking old and spent.  After the war, she committed her life to serving others in the healing ministry through her vocation in the Religious Life, and as her Sisters attested, she did so well.

     We are grateful to Sister Camillus Erb, SC, for her service to the nation, her service to God, her prayerful presence, and her dedicated life as a Sister of Charity in the ideals of Elizabeth Ann Seton.  May she rest in peace.

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      Usually when we celebrate the feast of a saint of God, we celebrate their death, their entrance into Eternal Life.  I can think of three individuals whose birth and death are celebrated by the Church: Jesus, obviously ... Mary, September 8th birth and August 15th the Dormition ... and John the Baptist, whose birth we celebrate TODAY and whose martyrdom comes later in the Summer.  Having spent three assignments (as a deacon, an assistant and as pastor) at Saint John the Baptist parish in Scottdale, I felt a need to share this unusual tribute given to John, the Precursor.