As the Coordinator for the Retirement Fund for Religious for the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Judith Zonsius, OSB, is very busy this time of year. The annual appeal and national collection of the Retirement Fund for Religious will take place on December 9-10 in your local parish. All year long, Sister Judith's efforts of reaching out to all of the Catholic parishes in Chicago about this important need for religious communities, brings important awareness to this vital collection. This collection especially benefits religious communities that may not have the safety net of Social Security and retirement funds.

Fortunately, Sister Judith Zonsius and Sister Genevieve Shea, SLW, were interviewed on Relevant Radio 950-AM by hosts: Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Graziano Marcheschi, this past Monday bringing even further awareness to this Annual Religious Retirement Fund collection. Sister Judith's very own Uncle Pete Zonsius, founder of "Uncle Pete's Ministries", received a wonderful mention for his dedicated work with the less fortunate until his death in 2012 that still continues today. The hosts then go on to discuss Sister Judith's work at the Archdiocese of Chicago and the important collection for the Retirement Fund. The hosts mention that many sisters and religious of this archdiocese, and others throughout the U.S., continued to work and serve beyond the age of 65 as teachers and in other ministries as noted with our very own Benedictine Sisters of Chicago. This collection is our opportunity to help those communities now. Listen to the interview here.

Benedictine nun, author, and speaker, Sister Joan Chittister, OSB shares that "The Rule of Benedict treats work and lectio interchangeably. One focuses the skills of the body on the task of co-creation. The other focuses the gifts of the mind on the lessons of the heart. One without the other is not Benedictine Spirituality." Sister Judith's work and lectio are also interchangeable as her efforts to bring awareness to this important need of Retired Religious is truly a labor of love.