TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY - The MASTER'S WORK - CO-FOUNDRESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MISSIONARY SISTERS - Sister ANNA MARIE

Sep 21, 2026

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“TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY” introduces Sister Anna Marie’s account of Mother Josepha of the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters. The narrative highlights her early charity, her practical and spiritually deep character, and the “two-fold missionary characteristic” formed through Mother Marie and Mother Josepha. It recounts her path to religious life, the founding context of the congregation, her leadership as superior, and her later influence as the sisters expanded to the United States, New Guinea, and Brazil.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY

Mother Josepha’s early life and charity

The founding of the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters

Missionary work and leadership

Death, beatification process, and invitation to request novena leaflets

HO7Y SPIRIT MISSIONARY SISTERS-TECHNY,ILLINOI5 # CO-FOUNDRESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MISSIONARY SISTERSMother Josepha,S.Sp.S. The MASTER'S WORK Cover Picture # TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY By SISTER ANNA MARIE,S.Sp.S. sum,Germany,was from early child-hood possessed with an extraordinaryspirit of generous giving.Being theoldest of seven children she was natu-rally called upon to give unselfishly ofher time and labor to the care of thechildren and later to the support ofthe family. She was a woman of practical un-derstanding and deep charity.Work-ing side by side with Mother Maria(whose short biographical sketch ap-peared in the February issue)MotherJosepha was her ideal complement.The Venerable Foundresses,each inher own way,gave to their Congrega-tion its two-fold missionary character-istic.Mother Marie,the ascetical,con-templative soul,gave,from the abun-dance of her deep,prayerful nature,the spiritual depth needed so vitallyby the Missionary Sister;Mother Jo-sepha,the virtuous,practical soul,gave,from the abundance of her solidlove of God and neighbor,the genu-ine,selfless charity so necessary for aMissionary Sister. Her charity,however,was not lim-ited to her parental home.The poorand sick of the village were recipientsof her kindness,and many souls wereencouraged in their sufferings by herwords of comfort and consolation. Thus did the Holy Spirit give thispredestined soul her early training inthe apostolic life.For many years shehad burning within her an intense de-sire to consecrate herself wholly toGod in the religious life.However,one obstacle after the other prevented Mother Josepha,born HendrinaStenmans in the little village of Is- her from realizing her wish.untilfinally with the death of her mother,she contented herself with caring forthe household chores,putting fromher mind all thought of entering thereligious life. a society laboring especially for theNegroes. One act of charity had far-flung re-percussions;it was the spark that litthe firc of two apostolic congregationsin the church.For,while it wasthrough Hendrina that Lambert Wel-bers entered a mission society,it wasthrough him that Hendrina firstlearned of Arnold Janssen and hisplan of founding a missionary sister-hood.And so we find her joiningHelen Stollenwerk(Mother Maria)on February 12,1884.For five yearsthe two worked closely together inthe seminary kitchen with a few otheryoung women all desirous of doingforeign mission work.Then on De-cenber 8,1889,the Congregation ofthe Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters wasfounded.Because of their intimateconnection with the very foundationalwork of the congregation,the Vener-able Founder gave to Helen and Hen-drina the title co-foundresses. Yet the Holy Spirit continued work-ing in her and through her in Hissilent,unrecognized way.It was atthis time that her father had in hisemploy a talented young apprenticenamed Lambert Welbers who felthimself called to the priesthood andmissionary vocation but lacked thewherewithal to follow his vocation.Hendrina,hearing of his desire andhis financial dlifficulty,dletermined tohelp him attain his goal.Diligentlyshe applied herself to the task ofweaving when her household choreswere finished so that she might in-crease her earnings and thereby helpthe young man.Though she was notable to pay his tuition,she helpedhim provide the necessary clothing.Lambert Welbers entered the Societyof the Divine Word,a newly foundedMission Society,in Steyl,Holland.Inthe all-wise plan of Providence,Wel-bers was destined for a role otherthan that of a Divine Word Mission-ary.Sickness caused him to leave theseninary;later he entered the MillHill Mission Society near Londonwhere he was ordained a priest andsent to the United States.While inthe States,he founded the Josephites, When Mother Maria entered thenewly founded cloistered congrega-tion of Servants of the Holy Spirit in1898,Mother Josepha became the Su-perior of the Missionary Sisters. Perhaps the sentence,"It was Moth-er Josepha

FAQs

What does “To make others happy” describe in the book?

It describes Mother Josepha’s life and personality, marked by deep love and a practical desire to help others through comfort, attention, and spiritual guidance.

How did Mother Josepha’s partnership with Mother Maria shape the congregation?

Mother Maria contributed spiritual depth through prayer and contemplation, while Mother Josepha brought virtuous practicality and selfless charity, together forming the congregation’s missionary character.

What happened after Mother Josepha died in 1903?

During her years in office the sisters expanded to the United States and took up foreign missions in New Guinea and Brazil. In October 1950, the process for her beatification and that of Mother Maria was opened in Rome.

Sep 21, 2026

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