God, People, and Curiosity

What brought Sister Candyce Chrystal to Sacred Heart Monastery?  What keeps her here?  What is especially satisfying about her ministry? "God, People and Curiosity" is her answer to all three questions.

She thinks part of her call to the monastery was her call to Mount Marty. She fell in love with the college as an eighth grader traveling through Yankton and already knew where she wanted to go to college. She earned bachelor degrees in music and elementary education, and in graduate school at Marquette University received masters and doctorate degrees in educational psychology.     .

As a college student, "I had a feeling that God wanted me to be a nun (though 1 didn't want it), but college life gave me the chance to check out the convent next door. 1 had already learned the importance of community in my life, through experiencing dorm life at Mount Marty." Truly it was God, people and curiosity that brought her here, and the same triad keeps her here. "I believe God has called me to this way of life; surviving and thriving in any vocation is about relationships among people; and there's always the curiosity about the lesson to be learned in every day and every event in this 'school of the Lord's service. ' "

S. Candyce grew up in Redfield, SD, the oldest of three girls. She says, "I was the bossiest and the one most likely to get others into trouble without getting into trouble myself." She has taught both elementary classroom subjects and music. Since 1990 she has been on the staff of Mount Marty College, as faculty, department, and division chair. "I resented not being in the elementary class­rooms when I first started teaching teachers, but now I see the same growth in college students that 1 used to see in grade school children.  Watching college freshmen study to become and then morph into teachers and become my colleagues is a wonder­ful job."

Benedictine lectio (holy reading) is something she practices by reading texts, books, and the events of life. "Scripture," she says, "is written in the people and events of my life and I am responsible for taking the information in, interacting with it, and letting it be­come a part of me." 

When reflecting on what is satisfying about her ministry, S. Candyce comes up with "God who gives the energy to what I do; the people who give me so much energy through my relationships, and the wonderful students who will become wonderful col­leagues; and curiosity, because there is something new all the time and so many more problems to find solutions for."

A couple of especially meaningful events in her life include the 1997 monastery fire and being the victim of Hodgkins disease.  "With the fire, I think we each caught a glimpse of all we could be. With Hodgkins, I learned that when one is sick there is no energy for negative, daily annoyances that drag one down."

"All these little lessons I try to remind myself of now that I am well, as I continue cherishing God, the people, and the curios­ity that have been such a part of my life."