Two sisters from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Free Cancer Home in Atlanta died in the past three weeks. Sister Mary Perpetua Weidenborner, OP, and Sister Mary Martina Collins, OP, both had served for more than 20 years at the cancer home.

Sister Mary Perpetua was born in Rochester, NY, in 1888 and received the habit during the lifetime of the foundress of the order, Mother Mary Alphonsa. Next year would have marked Sister's golden anniversary. In her 22 years in Atlanta, she served under five local superiors: Sister Matthew, Sister Evangelist, Sister Josephine, Sister Cordis and Sister Eucharia. Previously, she had served at the cancer homes in New York and Philadelphia. She died after a short illness and is survived by her sister, Emma Fischer.

Sister Mary Martina had served for 20 years in the Atlanta home. She was received into the order by the co-foundress, Mother Rose. Her previous assignments were in New York and in Fall River, Massachusetts. Sister celebrated her 80^th birthday the week before her death. She died after a prolonged illness and is survived by a cousin.

Mother Mary Angela, OP, the Mother General of the congregation and former superior of the Atlanta home was present for Sister Perpetua's funeral. She remained in Atlanta for the death and funeral of Sister Martina. Both funerals were concelebrated by Archbishop Donnellan and priests of the archdiocese. On the occasion of Sister Martina's funeral the archbishop preached for following homily:

"The saints are those men and women who have heard the good news of Jesus Christ, and having heard, have ears for no other lesson. The saints are those who have seen, however dimly, the shining light and radiance of God and having seen it have eyes for no other vision.

"The Christian is one who, baptized in the death of Christ shares the faith of the saints and works out his destiny by dying to self and by rising with Christ.

"The religious is one who shares that vision, and shares the sound of that message. Who shares that Baptism and chooses to work out her destiny by dying to self and rising to Christ; who does so in the company of others who share a like vision and dedication and recognize that no one is saved in isolation. We achieve our salvation as members of the community of God's Holy People.

"So we gather to reflect on the mystery of life and death and the joy and hope of Christ.

"Nothing worthwhile in our lives is sudden. We wait for birth, we wait for love and we wait for life to reveal its meaning year by year in this world of experience.

"To wait for someone is to say that the present does not begin until he arrives. To wait together with another person is to form a community of hope with her. So, for the past few weeks, this community of the Sisters of Saint Dominic has waited with Sister Martina for her Savior to take her hand and lead her through the door of death and bid her welcome to an eternity of joy.

"It occurs to me that in an age and culture where the old, the poor and the sick, those who have achieved the dubious distinction of being called 'senior citizens' are pushed aside or neglected by society or their families or are confined in uncaring or commercial institutions, it must be a joy and a consolation to wait for your savior to call you home; to wait in the company of religious sisters to whom you are not a burden, but a well-loved member of the family.

It occurs to me, too, that were I to choose the manner of my passing, I could find none more acceptable than being surrounded by my family in religion, consoled by their prayers and their love, and brought before the throne of God to the sound of the 'Salve Regina.'

"Solomon, when asked by God what he would want above all else, asked for two things -- an understanding heart and the gift of discerning good and evil. Sister Martina had received from God these things for which Solomon had asked: the compassionate heart and the gift of discernment of good and evil. So, we who share her faith, her hope, her love, know in faith that death has no dominion over her. We, who are baptized in Christ, live by the scriptural course and for us that view must be imbedded in our lives if we are to live rightly and well.

"And it is our conviction that Sister so lived.

"So it is not the loss of a religious lady's smile, or the deprivation of her helping hand that concerns us now; that smile, the voice and the hands are forever stilled. But forever alive to us are the faith, the hope and the shared qualities of soul, her love for the Church, her compassion for the cancerous sick, her willingness to sacrifice self in service. May she forever achieve heavenly peace."