Sister Maureen Therese Harun, IHM
Sister Maureen Therese Harun, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Friday, February 6, 2009 at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.
She was born on February 20, 1928 in Shenandoah, PA, and given the name Theresa Ann. She was the daughter of the late Stanley and Mary Bylinski Harun. She entered the IHM Congregation in West Chester, PA, on September 8, 1948 and made her temporary profession of vows on April 18, 1951 and her final profession of vows on August 15, 1955. In 1981, Sister joined the Scranton Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Sister Maureen Therese served as an educator in Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese of Lima, Peru, from 1951 to 1975. From 1975 to 1978, she was the principal at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary School in San Antonio, Peru. From 1978 to 1979, she taught Spanish at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Shamokin, PA, and from 1979 to 1981, she served the Latino people as pastoral minister at St. Mary’s Parish in Lancaster, PA.
Sister then served as immigration counselor in the Catholic Migration Office in Brooklyn, NY, from 1981 to 1982, and at Transfiguration Parish in Brooklyn, NY, from 1982 to 1986. Sister returned to Peru and served as an immigration counselor in Mateo Pumacahua for the Diocese of Lima, and as director of candidates for the IHM Congregation from 1986 to 1988.
Sister Maureen Therese also served as director of the Spirituality Center at St. Ephrem Church in Brooklyn, NY, from 1988 to 1996. From 1996 to 2001, she was a pastoral associate at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Holland, MI. She was an instructor in the School of Continuing Education at Marywood University in Scranton, PA, from 2001 to 2004, and director of vocations for the IHM Congregation from 2001 to 2002. She also taught Spanish at the Fricchione Day Care Center at Marywood University.
From 2004 to the time of her death, Sister Maureen Therese ministered to the retired and infirm sisters at Our Lady of Peace Residence.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Immaculata College, Immaculata, PA, and a Master of Arts in Spanish from Millersville State College, Millersville, PA. Sister was also a certified spiritual director and bereavement counselor. Sister was fluent in Polish.
She was preceded in death by two sisters, Helen Wallace and Alberta Zuber, and three brothers, Edmund, Stephen and Stanley.
She is survived by a brother, Dr. Joseph of Lower Gwynedd, PA, nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Monday, February 9, at 11:00 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Residence, 2300 Adams Avenue in Scranton. Friends may call at Our Lady of Peace Residence on Sunday, February 8, between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Interment will follow Mass on Monday at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA.
Memorial contributions may be made to support the retired IHM Sisters c/o the IHM Sisters Retirement Fund, IHM Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509.
Sisters Maria Viatori and Maureen Therese Harun, Holland, MI
Reflection by Sister Maria Viatori, OCD (Word doc)
Reprinted from "In Memoriam" section of Journey, Fall 2009 issue
Maureen Therese’s life reads like a modern itinerary of the apostolic journeys of Saint Paul. From Peru to Poland, from Michigan to New York to Pennsylvania and many points in between, she spread the news of God’s redeeming love.
Learning to be a paralegal to represent poor Salvadorans who might be deported, working with Peruvians who had no documentation
because they were born in remote villages, establishing a parish spirituality center, teaching English to young religious in Poland, teaching Spanish at all levels from children in day care to businessmen who wanted to broaden their global base, teaching adult continuing education classes in spirituality were just some of the ways Maureen lived out the IHM charism.
In her final days as prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence, she also ministered to the other sisters who live there. Her ability to attend and minister with song or story lifted many a heart and brought a sense of tranquility and peace when hope needed bolstering.
As with the holy women who followed Jesus, Maureen’s sights were always on the Lord Jesus, so when she learned the fateful diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, she coped with valiant courage. The illness that overtook her so quickly was to be an agent of transforming grace. Fearlessly, she moved ever so gently into that fullness of God’s love that she so longed for in her earthly life.
This was Maureen’s Second Giving:
The second growth of God
is the rich growing
With fruits no constant gathering
can remove
The flourishing of those who by
God’s mercy
Have cut themselves down to the
roots for love.
God seeks a heart with bold and
boundless hungers
That sees itself and earth
as paltry stuff;
God loves a soul that cast down all
He gave it
And stands and cries that it was not
enough.
The Second Giving by Jessica Powers 1946
by Maria Viatori, OCD
