Sister Adelia Sirek has spent nearly her entire religious life caring for the elderly. She smiles when she says this. Because of the way her family valued her grandparents, caring for the elderly comes naturally to her. She sees her service as her way of living out her Benedictine life with respect and hospitality for others. When she gets up in the morning, she looks forward to going to her workplace. Where she works doesn’t matter, only that she can give loving service. Because her workplace, Saint Benedict Senior Center, stresses “customer service,” she sees this as another way of describing the Benedictine values of hospitality and respect for the dignity of others. This gives her added pleasure.

Believing that all the people she has journeyed with have touched her life also adds to S. Adelia’s gratitude for her fifty years of Benedictine life. They have indeed been her servants while she has been theirs.