Sister Barbara makes her “Suscipe,” the traditional prayer and gesture before the altar at her monastic profession.

When things are peaceful, I know things are right, and I felt very much at peace."

Peace was what Sister Barbara Smith described to a reporter after making her lifetime profession as a Benedictine sister on April 27. She entered the community in August of 2002, and from the beginning, she says, it just felt right.

The journey which leads one to the religious life is often filled with surprise twists. Sister Barbara attended elementary and high school in Edwardsville, Illinois, where she is proud to have been part of the first women’s field hockey team to take the state title. After earning a degree in zoology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, she was interested in a veterinary career, specifically equine research. However, after taking a part-time job with UPS, she began rising through the ranks to become a human resources supervisor. Transferred to Virginia, she was also able to play on an amateur women’s field hockey team, which had remained a strong interest.

Raised Methodist, she had friends of many faiths, especially on her sports teams. "We often attended each other’s churches," she explains, "so I was familiar with the Catholic church, as well as many other traditions." It was her love of science, however, that was to draw her to women religious. While recovering from an accident, she read about a study of Alzheimer’s disease that had been conducted with Catholic sisters, which sparked her curiosity. She had the opportunity during her recovery to do volunteer work at one of the featured communities and converted to Catholicism at that time.

Meanwhile, UPS was downsizing and, with her termination, she saw a need to downsize her own life. "I took my severance package and took off to volunteer on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. There were Benedictines there and I was immediately attracted to their life. I loved the contemplative life balanced with service. The more I learned about the monastic way of life, the more I appreciated its prayer life and its values."

Although she loved the work with Native Americans, she eventually found her way to the monastery in Kansas. Now trained as a chaplain, she is currently serving as the pastoral care director for Dooley Center. "The Spirit got me to religious life through science and now I’m back in the health care field, but with a spiritual emphasis," she observes.

Sister Barbara knows she has entered this life at a time of transition. There are many elderly sisters, but she does not find that daunting. She is inspired by them and also understands that "Times are changing, but it isn’t a dying vocation. There will always be a need for people to give themselves to others in prayer and service." Like others who are coming to religious life, Sister Barbara knows that "seeing strong, educated women giving themselves for others is very attractive. I have lots of joy and lots of hope."

This is why Sister Anne Shepard, prioress of Mount St. Scholastica, is able to say in announcing the profession, "The joy of having Sister Barbara make perpetual profession is tangible at the Mount. Besides never having met a stranger, she has a disposition of generosity, cheerfulness and responsibility. Her background is diverse, so the gifts and competencies she shares with the community are many."

Many of her friends and family joined the sisters for the celebration. The reception afterward was another highlight:

"When everybody comes through the receiving line afterward, they give you hug after hug after hug; you don’t get tired of it. You just keep on accepting all that love, and it’s just pretty wonderful."