Sister of Sacrifice
Biography Of Sister M. Optata Fries FSPA
by
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February 17, 1941 - Update on the dire conditions in China... The present situation in China is critical, in so far as the Chinese are facing starvation, not from a lack of good crops, but from the fact that prices are so high that the people cannot afford to buy the necessaries. Poor China has always struggled against the odds. There is no salt now, for all the salt mines have been monopolized by the Japanese. Imagine yourself eating a meal without any salt. Rice is between fifty and eighty cents a sen, which is about as much as a quart jar would hold. Since these people have only rice and vegetables to eat, one person eats about a quart a day. Firewood is ten cents of pound. Oil, which they use on their vegetables instead of lard, is seventy cents a pound. Vegetables, which formerly could be bought for two cents a pound, are now forty cents. Meat is $1.00 to $1.50 a pound. Can you figure out how anyone can make a living under such conditions? The result is often suicide. Just a few days ago, man living right outside the compound gate cut his throat with a pair of scissors. Several men caught him in the act and called the sisters. We found him bleeding profusely, but still conscious. Four men held him pinned to the floor while two sisters sewed up the wound. Considering the reason for his act, we think that our Merciful Lord has pardoned him, for he wanted to kill himself because he was going blind and has a family to support and could not since he was earning only twenty cents a day. This is just one case of many that happened and which will happen if the situation does not loosen up soon.
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About the Book
The book is a biography of a Roman Catholic nun, Sister M. Optata Fries, who devoted her life in sacrifice to others. The story was written using the actual letters she wrote from 1939 to her death in 1997. There are also several interviews she gave to complete her early years of life and years in the concentration camp when she was unable to communicate to the outside world. She was chosen to be a missionary nun in China in 1939, held in a concentration camp during World War II when Japan invaded China, and then after several years back in Wisconsin, in 1955 was chosen again to serve as a missionary in Guam for which she spent the next 35 years. This story details her life and travels during her amazing nearly 72 years of her religious profession. In an era when the media is fixated on representing the misdeeds of the few religious as the norm, this story is a true testament to the world that there are wonderful faithful people who serve God in a truly blessed way. Sister Optata was a holy and dedicated woman that served her faith above all else.
About the Author
My name is Joyce Thompson and I live in Tempe, Arizona. I am a cousin of Sister Optata (my Grandmother Nelly Donskey and Sister were first cousins). Once Sister Optata entrusted me to work on her life story, it took me ten years to complete this wonderful project. I had to organize the letters and materials Sister gave me, plus work to find all the missing information, such as the time spent in a concentration camp during World War II when the Japanese invaded China. Writing this story was a real work of love. I hope it will be an inspiration to everyone who reads it. Sister M. Optata was truly a "Sister of Sacrifice" her entire life.