Sister Rosa Maria Ortiz, Band Director: Making Music for The Lord!
Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Sisters

When asked why she became a religious, Sister Rosa Ortiz quickly answered, "God decided!" From the time she was in first grade in a Catholic elementary school, she felt an attraction to the religious life. Having graduated from high school, she obtained a degree in music education and began to teach music in public elementary schools. Continuing to feel attracted to religious life and having been influenced by the multicultural aspects of the life of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, Sister Rosa entered that congregation and made final vows in 1998.

As a middle school religion teacher, Sister Rosa knew that instructing her students to live a life of service could also show them how to live a life of faith. On many Saturday and Sunday mornings in the parking lot of City Hall, she and her students fed the homeless who lived on the streets of Corpus Christi. "We need to break down the walls of prejudice," she said. "We are called to feed the homeless, not judge them."

Presently Sister Rosa teaches band classes in a Catholic high school. "It takes 100% of the director's and students' efforts at giving their best to make beautiful music. Music is a passion for me. It is and has always been one of 'my ways to God.'" I also realize that music is one of the paths by which my students find God. Music, after all, is the 'universal language,' crossing all boundaries and uniting all hearts."