For Sister Mary Rost, each day is a chance to educate, spread wisdom and joy, and share with others all of the blessings she has received.
"I always try to see how I can help. If I do not have the skills to do something - like construction - then I try to find other ways to help or who can I reach out to," said Rost, who's celebrating her golden jubilee as a School Sister of Notre Dame this year.
Growing up in southeastern Missouri, Rost was deeply moved by the support and love offered to her family during her brother's childhood illness.
She was in seventh or eighth grade when she began to realize that God was calling her to religious life.
She knew long before that she wanted to be a teacher, but after working with some of the sisters at her home parish in Popular Bluff, she knew she had found her calling.
She entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1964 and professed first vows in 1966.
She has been the pastoral administrator of St. Michael parish in Russellville for five years.
The people of St. Michael parish joined her recently for a Mass and dinner reception to celebrate her 50 years of dedicated and selfless service.
Father Stephen Jones, St. Michael parish's sacramental minister, offered the Mass.
Joining at the altar was Bishop John Gaydos, who called Rost "a true servant" who has done much good for those she has encountered over the past half century.
Rost started teaching primary grades and served in a variety of supporting roles in Missouri Catholic schools in St. Louis and Washington, and for 22 years in Belleville, Illinois.
While religion was her favorite subject to teach - and third and fourth grades her favorite grade levels - she also enjoyed teaching first-grade math, science and reading.
At Blessed Sacrament School in Belleville, she gradually took on more and more responsibilities in the parish - serving on several parish and diocesan committees, coordinating the school and parish newsletters and organizing funeral meals.
She came to the Jefferson City diocese in 2008 to serve as pastoral administrator of St. Anthony of Padua parish in Rosati.
Pastoral administrators are individuals other than priests, appointed by the bishop to be responsible for all administrative and most pastoral functions at parishes that do not have resident pastors.
After three years in Rosati, she became pastoral administrator of the Russellville parish.
"This is a wonderful parish to serve in," she recently wrote to the people there. "There are many dedicated people who do so much for the parish and it is a joy to work with you. The parish is warm and welcoming and continues to grow."
Her work ranges from taking part in all of the committee and parish council meetings at St. Michael to helping second-graders prepare for reconciliation and First Holy Communion and high school students prepare for confirmation.
That's one thing she really enjoys: the variety.
"I really like having a different challenge daily," she said. "I really have no idea what I might be doing."
She also derives great satisfaction from helping parishioners seeking an annulment in order to be married in the Church or have their marriage regularized, so they can receive the sacraments.
"I find it very rewarding to work with them," she said.
"You get to know one another quite well, and I enjoy that aspect of it. It is quite a process and takes healing. It is very rewarding to watch the process and them."
Rost is well known for the pineapple and mandarin orange cake she bakes for sisters' gatherings in Jefferson City.
She is also known to frequently bring gluten-free baked goods to church gatherings.
Rost hopes when people think of her, they remember someone who's always been willing to help.
"I may not have all of the needed skill sets, but I am always willing to do what I ask others to do," she said.
She is quiet and reserved when asked to describe her own impact and commitment.
However, in his homily during her jubilee Mass, Jones noted Rost has fully lived out the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame.
"We give thanks for your caring," he said. "We give thanks for your service to God and the Church. We give thanks for your service, your sacrifice.
"We thank you for teaching, guiding and at times leading those who have needed your help or service in some way," he said.
"We thank you. We honor you."