Sister Ann Marie Mason, CSJ 

(Sister Juvinus)

We Remember her In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter

January 1, 1922 – January 16, 2025

In the 86ᵗʰ year of her Religious Life. Entered: September 8, 1939

Good is the Lord to one who waits for him.  Every night, Sister Ann Marie Masone would say before she went to sleep, “I’m ready, God, if you want to take me.”

…And every morning when she awoke, she would say, “I’m still here. Ok, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but OK.”

For 103 years, Sister Ann Marie waited for the voice of God to guide her. When she had just turned 17, this voice led her to the Sisters of St. Joseph and guided her faithfully through these many years.

Anna Maria Masone was born in 1922 to Raffaele and Pasqualina DiMinico Masone and grew up in East Boston with her two brothers, James and Anthony, and her sister Jennie. When she left to enter the convent, her father said to her, “If they don’t treat you right, and you’re not happy, come home!” Though his own sadness at her leaving may have influenced that statement, he was also reassuring her of her worth. And she learned this lesson well. She knew her worth and seemed at home with herself, and with her God. This was her foundation, knowing her worth, and treating others, as she knew their worth. She also stayed in the convent for these 86 years.

Sister Ann Marie’s niece Deborah said she embraced her life of giving. In the community, she was happy to feed others, not only from the kitchen but also all along the way. At Bethany, she was known to feed staff and friends with the goodies from her top drawer, insisting they take even more. Her daily dessert was shared with the receptionist. As a hairdresser, she loved helping sisters feel good about the way they looked. In her family, she not only enjoyed her nieces and nephews and their families, she looked out for them, always in their corner, nurturing in ways they needed. Sharing recipes and making her piano cake for special occasions, like her niece’s first communion. She was other-centered, knowing that God relied on her to bring goodness to others. And as she waited at the end — the long end — for God to come for her, she was not bitter at the delay, only curious…

“God must still want me to do something.” 

She lived out her Magnificat, believing in the promise that would be fulfilled in God’s time. And it was.

Rest in peace, dear sister.

Reflections shared by Betsy Conway, CSJ | January 22, 2025

I have known Ann Marie since I was six years old. At that time, she was the cook in the convent at St. Andrew Parish in Forest Hills where I grew up and went to school. My father died when I was five, leaving my mother with five children. I remember the sisters in the convent being very kind to my mother raising five children alone. Sometimes when she drove the sisters, Ann Marie would make sure to send along some homemade bread or dessert for us. The sisters extended that same care to many of the families in the school and was something that influenced me in wanting to be a Sister of St. Joseph. Before entering, I asked Ann Marie to be my “sponsor.” She encouraged me as I entered and has been there for me for more than 60+ years, faithful and supportive of me right up to her last day on this earth.

The readings in our Mass speak to us about Ann Marie’s belief and hope in God’s faithfulness. She relied on God throughout the years but when she neared 100, she wondered what more God wanted of her because in her mind she was ready to go home to God. When I had visited with her, she would tell me each night she would talk to Jesus saying, “I am ready Jesus, you can take me home,” but then in the morning when she woke and was still here would say, “I guess there’s still something more you want me to do.” And with that, she would get up and get dressed (taking great pride in how she dressed) then faced the day believing that God wanted her here for something more. I love that she was so honest and frank in her relationship with God, and that she accepted God’s plan for her without being angry or bitter.

Daily Mass, the rosary, and time in chapel for meditation were priorities in her day. She felt so strongly about their importance that she told me that it would not be right to go to bingo if she skipped going to Mass (and didn’t she love bingo and winning!).

Ann Marie was also blessed with wonderful friends whose company she enjoyed and with whom she traveled. Most of those friends predeceased her, yet she often talked about the importance of those friendships, the times they shared, and how much they were missed.

There is a lot of talk these days about change and how hard it is to change. Imagine how much change Ann Marie lived through in her 103 years and 86 years of religious life — changes within her family, in the Church and society, as well as in community! In our congregation, we have a number of maxims (short statements that express truths we strive to live by). One such maxim encourages us to wait for God’s grace, not jumping too quickly before making a decision about a change in ministry, or about where to live and then, but to wait until God’s grace is given, and then to courageously go where God leads. With every change and transition that Ann Marie made in her years as a Sister of St. Joseph, she faced each one with grace and courage.

In her later years, she was invited to make a change from ministering through her cooking to get training as a hairdresser, which provided her with a new opportunity to work with lay people in a beauty parlor and to do hairdressing for sisters at Fontbonne Hall, Bethany, and Fontbonne Convent. As she saw her energy waning, she wanted to be the one to make the decision about where best to live and accepted that the time had come to give up driving and move from Fontbonne Convent to Bethany Health Care — a move she never regretted and where she was very happy and felt well cared for. Adjust to the gradual loss of her sight in these last few years brought more change. It caused her to give up reading, using the computer and her iPad, which kept her connected to family through emails and family pictures.  She experienced many losses, yet at no time did I hear her complain or feel sorry for herself as she navigated these changes. Ann Marie gave herself humbly and willingly each and every day to all that she did or was asked to do. Believing that God was at her side guiding her through each change, she responded with faith, peace and with little fanfare.  Even her death was that way.

May Ann Marie’s example and courage in following God’s plan help us respond to God with that same grace and courage. Her belief and trust in God’s faithfulness and love is — I believe — what she hopes now for each of us. Thank you for your love, Ann.

Given by Pat Boyle, CSJ