Every human life is like a stained-glass window with its variety of colors and shapes, or like tapestries with thousands of woven threads and multiple textures. The full beauty and meaning, however, is only experienced when we stand back and contemplate the whole.

Today we are contemplating a completed life, a life with many facets: the life of Betty for some of us, Sister Mary Faith for others: the life of a friend, a family member, a mentor, a leader, a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary – and probably for most of us here, a companion in some way on our personal journey.

In those infrequent moments when Faith talked about herself we knew that she appreciated her roots and valued tradition. She wrote a biographical sketch of her mother that gives us a glimpse into this heritage. Mrs. Clarke was born in Washington D.C. and her lineage could be traced to the American Revolution through English, French and Irish ancestors. Faith wrote that her grandparents, Dr. Charles Lewis Allen and Ellen O’Connor Allen moved their family from the East coast to California in 1904 and later settled in South Pasadena. In 1918 the Allens’ daughter, Eleanor, met Courtenay Clarke of England and the following year they were married in a beautiful ceremony at Cathedral Chapel in Los Angeles.

Betty Anne Clarke’s life began as it ended, on a winter day in southern California. On December 28, 1928, the third daughter of Courtenay and Eleanor was born in the city of San Fernando. Her two sisters, Rosemary and Eleanor were waiting for her; her brother, Allen, would be born later. Though times were not easy during the depression years that followed, Faith described the safe, loving and accepting environment that her parents created for the family.

In writing about the formative influences of her early years, Faith revealed qualities that we have come to recognize in her own personality. She wrote:

…devotion to family was the cornerstone of our experiences – the tradition that came through loud and clear from our mother’s background. She instilled love of family and neighbor, a deep faith in God. In moments of adversity, she was sustained by her strong, unwavering religious beliefs…she was the rock…

One such adversity for the whole family was the sudden death of Mr. Clarke in 1947.

She attended school and first met our Sisters at St. Monica’s Parish in Santa Monica. She described her youthful self as "an outdoor enthusiast who loved sports and handicrafts." From an early age she desired to serve God in religious life, and she nurtured her dream at daily Mass and in service to others. She wrote that after many months of prayer and consultation to see if God was calling her to the Maryknoll missionaries, "…merely upon awakening one morning I felt a definite peace of soul and determined to ask for admission to the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary". Trust in discernment, followed by determination, would come to characterize her life.

Betty entered the novitiate of our congregation in Oakland, California, in 1948, her dream fulfilled. She asked for the name Mary Faith and in1950 professed her first vows. She taught first grade through secondary business classes. Her study in economics served her well as treasurer of Ramona Convent in Alhambra (1963-1968) and then as treasurer of the College of the Holy Names in Oakland (1968 to 1976). Over the years Faith maintained a loyal relationship with the College as friend, administrator, President of the Board of Directors, and in 2001, as recipient of the Holy Names University Alumni Recognition Award.

Faith’s qualities became more and more evident as she exercised her quiet, steady style of leadership. In province and congregational committees she promoted ongoing renewal and effective planning. As Sisters we would all come to experience her caring and respectful listening when she was elected to serve as leader of the California Province in 1976. Faith began her service by asking each Sister to write to her about the joys, sorrows and concerns she carried within her during those post-Vatican II transitional years. She reflected deeply on these thoughts and feelings and committed her love and energy to move us forward as a community of prayer and purpose. Her leadership embodied one of her favorite passages from scripture: "I have set before you life and death…choose life, so that you and your children may live." (Deut 30:19)

In 1981 the elected representatives of our congregation called Faith to become a member of our General Council. With mixed feelings we in California watched her leave for Quebec to place her gifts at the service of Sisters, associates and apostolic partners throughout the world. She loved seeing life in all parts of our SNJM world. She loved visiting the ministries of our Sisters and interacting with our associates. Among other contributions, she was proud of the Justice and Peace Colloquium that she had helped to initiate and coordinate, an event that was significant in the life of our religious congregation.

Difficult decisions, situations without easy answers and painful consequences are not lacking in any role of leadership. At these times Faith withdrew to a quiet place and prayed. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote:

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.

There was a strong light within Faith.

After completing her term in congregational leadership and enjoying a sabbatical period, Faith became a member of an international consulting group of women religious. She shared her insights and planning skills as a facilitator of religious congregations, parishes and other groups. In North America, Southern Africa and Europe, her quiet guidance and ability to integrate process and spirituality led many groups to discover and pursue their own inner truth.

As her mother’s health was declining - and Faith was tiring of airports and suitcases - she decided that she wanted more time at home. God responded with an opportunity, and in 1994 she accepted the role of Vicar for Religious for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In this ministry she drew on her wide experience to advise, to facilitate and to encourage collaboration. Soon she recognized a special need and began to accompany members of religious congregations who were coming from other parts of the world to serve the people of God in Los Angeles. Having lived and worked outside of her own culture, Faith had personally experienced the personal and organizational struggles that face new arrivals and their receiving communities. She provided guidance, networks of support and educational opportunities with a compassionate heart.

Then finally in 2004, at the age of 74, Faith began her retirement years! So… she set out with other SNJM’s on a new venture that would embody her passion for service, for community, for young people and for new membership in religious life. Faith loved St. Michael’s Parish and its people very much and that love enabled her to overcome challenges and respond to diverse needs with generosity. She enjoyed living with the volunteers and collaborating with the generation she trusted to carry the message of Jesus into the future.

We all know that Faith loved the Church, its prayer life and its universality. She cared for and respected the people of God and those who ministered to them. It was a great joy for her in this part of her life to be able to weave her threads very directly into the life of the great and diverse tapestry that we call Church – and especially in her beloved Southern California.

Faith’s life was characterized by an ability to relate to diverse people and complicated situations, to listen to different opinions, to dialogue without compromising her integrity. She was positive but not a Pollyanna – not about the Church, religious life, our own congregation or the world around us. She took each person "as is", though sometimes with a question mark on her face.

She recognized gifts and encouraged us to develop them. Many among us are deeply grateful to her for walking with us through the most joyful and the most distressing moments of our lives. Dinah Maria Craik, a nineteenth-century English novelist said it well:

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

Many of us know that Faith needed time to get used to new ideas. She needed to look at the implications, ask questions and see how the change fit within the grand scheme of things. During these last weeks I have heard some of us say, "I felt like she would always be there." I think maybe she was giving us the time that we needed to get used to the idea that she was leaving us.

Yes, she has left us, but with joy she goes up to God’s house carrying us in her exceptional memory. The stained-glass window is complete; the tapestry of Faith’s life is woven. Each of us has contributed colors and textures, our part of the whole life that God will receive and that we will remember with gratitude.

At the end of the biographical sketch of her mother, Faith wrote a few sentences of farewell to her. I think Faith would not mind if I borrow those words, her own words, as we send her forth on her journey today:

"Goodbye, Mother", she wrote…. We will say:

Goodbye, Betty; Goodbye, Faith… "We’ll miss you, your indomitable spirit, good humor and loving smile. You go to a well-deserved rest – a new life in God – and with those who have gone before you. We love you! One day, we’ll all be together in God’s new life."