Sr. Anne Francis Klein, O.P.
From the Mar/Apr 2011 Issue of Lay Witness Magazine
With a snap of his wrist he flicked the paintbrush across his tan leather boot. The gesture marked a job well done, a signature of an artist, excellent in his own right.
Employed to paint the chaplain’s house, Eddie Sells first arrived at Saint Cecilia Convent in Nashville, Tennessee in 1973 as a shy but generous 19-year-old whose friends tried to dissuade him from working for “all of those women.” The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation later hired him on a trial basis for three months. Little did this 23-year-old know that three months would eventually turn into 37 years of devoted service. During these years, the Creator and Master Artist would, in His own hidden way, be at work in Eddie’s soul.
Eddie’s father had first taught him to paint at the tender age of nine. His intuitive sense of color and his practical skills eventually led him to pursue a technical career, putting his gifts as a craftsman to good use.
His Southern Baptist upbringing reflected itself clearly in his manners and speech, always marked by reverence and respect. Eddie’s son, Mark, recalled that never while growing up did he once see his father angry. These natural virtues of patience, reverence, and a deep respect served him well in his position as primary maintenance man for, at that time, a convent of over 120 sisters.
One noticed both the cross and the “glimmer of new life” in Mr. Sells’ work, for each task had that element of submission to seemingly menial jobs done exceptionally well. A comment he once made revealed his general attitude. “That request for help may be a little thing for you,” he remarked, “but for the person who asked, it might be quite big.” Thus, without realizing it Eddie followed the example of John Paul II, who in his encyclical Laborem Exercens makes a striking reference to the role of the Cross and the Lord’s Resurrection in man’s work. John Paul II states that man “shows himself a true disciple of Christ by carrying the Cross in his turn every day in the activity that he is called upon to perform” (no. 27). Many sisters recall his heroic patience in receiving numerous requests or “work orders” which were done with total attention as if yours were the only project he had on his schedule for the day.
In a house of creative teachers who always have a little project for their second, fourth, or eighth grade students, he often used his craftsmanship to make special displays or classroom teaching aids. He made many a miniature altar or small wooden box for a nativity scene. Some years before his death, he and a fellow coworker constructed a bier to carry a life-sized statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in procession. The base of the statue slides like a glove into the sides of the platform so there is no need for ropes or poles to secure the statue. In the years before the renovation of the motherhouse, Mr. Sells used his ingenuity to transform closets into bathrooms and storage areas into eating places. He also devised a schedule which enabled him to paint the entire motherhouse over a period of three years.
Devotion to his work had as its final purpose devotion to those whom he served. His whole being, down to his dress, emanated deep respect for the community. Mr. Sells usually wore white painter’s pants and a white shirt, along with brown leather boots. He quietly blended into an environment of swooshing white habits and silent corridors. In his office, however, he always kept a clean suit, so that he could serve as a pallbearer at
the funeral of a sister.
Moments of crisis brought out Eddie’s likeness to St. Joseph—the “just man.” In 2004, a wind shear of more than 70 miles per hour sliced through the motherhouse grounds in Nashville and tore the roof from a section of the 1888 building, flinging it onto the front lawn. Fortunately no sisters were injured; however, the building suffered extensive damage. In the often chaotic days that followed, as necessary measures were taken to protect the building and keep the sisters safe, Mr. Sells emerged as that “caring guardian,” “attentive and faithful” watching out for the sisters during that dangerous time. He was what John Paul II described in a 2003 general audience on the Solemnity of St. Joseph as “the caring guardian of Jesus, an attentive and faithful husband, who exercises his family authority in a constant attitude of service.”
This constant attitude of service extended to his fellow workers. One Christmas, a large group of convent employees gathered at a restaurant. After an evening of cheer and storytelling, they all got up to leave, only to find out that as a gift of friendship, Eddie had paid for the entire meal.
A woman who works in the kitchen also recalled a snowstorm when Eddie warned that she should drive home early before the roads became too slick. Instead she decided to stay a while longer. When she finally left she slid off the convent driveway. Her fondest memory is of Eddie’s kindness and patience when he pulled her car back onto the road, with no hint of, “I told you so.”
As the Congregation of Saint Cecilia began to experience significant growth, more space was needed at the motherhouse. Mr. Sells, who knew every inch of the 145-year-old building, was an indispensable figure during both the renovation of the motherhouse and construction of a new chapel and additional living space. Architects and construction experts wanted him at every planning meeting. His son Mark Sells recalls Eddie’s great pride in the new chapel, and how he insisted, “You’ve got to come and see it.” During the chapel dedication in 2005, Mr. Sells had the honor of placing the reliquary in the base of the new altar.
For more than 20 years, in a delicate and mysterious way, this painter and craftsman received many graces from the Master Painter and Craftsman. Certainly not the least of these was the gift of the fullness of the faith. In 1997, on the feast of St. Joseph, Edward Joseph Sells was received into the Catholic Church in the motherhouse chapel. His conversion to Catholicism began what his son called fifteen years of deep prayer and more intimate moments with his family. During those same years, he became a member of the Saint Cecilia Chapter of the Dominican Laity. Eddie’s story reveals God at work within one who allows himself to be simple and receptive to His grace.
Months before professing first vows as a Third Order Lay Dominican, Mr. Sells was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Soon afterward he suffered a stroke and spent much time in physical therapy. Throughout his illness he showed the familiar patience, kindness, and deep courtesy for the sisters whenever they visited his home or called to check on him. One sister recalls his gentle cheer in always asking first “How are you, Sister?”
Early one September morning in 2010, the sisters received a call informing them that Mr. Sells was near death. At 2:00 am, two of the sisters arrived at his home, entered quietly, and went to Eddie’s room. There, the priest who had often visited him stood in front of a makeshift altar where Eddie sat slumped down in a brown recliner. The sisters knelt next to their much-loved friend and prayed with him during his final Mass. As Father read the Gospel of Lazarus and the Rich Man, Eddie’s little blind dog made gentle noises. There was the poor man, Eddie, in his final agony, and the little dog consoling him. Father’s words poignantly revealed the truth: “You are that poor man, Eddie, and soon you will be resting on Abraham’s bosom.”
Edward Joseph Sells died on September 26th, 2010. Three days later, the Dominican Sisters and Eddie’s family and friends, many of them members of the Dominican Laity, attended his funeral Mass in the very chapel he had helped to build.
Eddie Sell’s life clearly points to the key role of the laity in building up the kingdom of God. When accomplished in union with the redeeming love of Christ, every task, regardless of its menial nature, becomes leaven for the kingdom. Now it was the Lord who flicked His paintbrush as a sign of excellence in leading, forming, and embracing out of love the soul of Mr. Edward Joseph Sells.
Sister Anne Frances Klein, O.P. is a Dominican Sister of the Congregation of Saint Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. She resides at the motherhouse where she serves as the community’s Infirmarian.
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