Catholic Sisters Finding Meaning in Times of Chaos
Sisters Kevina Keating, CCVI, Sheila Lemieux, CSJP & Tere Maya, CCVI in Rome for the International Union Superiors General Plenary
by Sheila Lemieux, CSJP
Recently, my niece Megan came to me expressing how troubled she was regarding the Church’s response to the abuse of children, as well as by all the other disturbing events happening in our world today. She was looking to me not only as her beloved aunt, but as a Catholic sister who could help her make sense of what is happening.
Megan has had a lifelong familiarity with our sisters; our Bellevue Convent is a place she has visited since childhood. She shared that she has received a lot of peace and a sense of grounding and purpose from being with the sisters over the years. Megan is convinced that we have something to share with her generation given the climate of chaos and uncertainty they are experiencing.
People are watching Catholic sisters. I don’t mean that in the sense of international intrigue like you see on television – a CSI episode or some other series. Rather, I say that in the sense that we are living through unsettling, disorienting and unimaginable times. People of faith are watching Catholic sisters to see how we are finding meaning in this kind of environment.
It is interesting, and at the same time ironic, that as the demographics of vowed sisters are on a downturn, it is at this moment that people are turning to us for wisdom, insight, and support, perhaps for peace and to know how to make sense of what is happening in the Church and the world around us.
They are curious to see how we, as followers and disciples of Jesus, are navigating these chaotic times, including the scandals in the Church, especially the devastation in the lives of the abused; loss of trust in institutions (religious, political, economic); the unknown future of religious life; lack of openness to the immigrant, the stranger and the poor; and conscious attention and action to save our common home, earth.
These are a few of the critical issues that we carry in our hearts and minds, that we bring to prayer. And these are some of the very issues that our founder, Mother Frances Clare, asked us to be attentive to, since she too was deeply moved by the suffering of oppressed people. How does one grapple with all of it? Our Congregation’s charism of peace through justice has been a powerful gift meant to be shared: it’s a lighthouse in the dark. It is our guiding gift and challenge.
A time of trial can be a very good teacher. Staying present to an overlying cloud of loss in all its dimensions—not rejecting, denying or escaping it—can lead to new life. I am convinced that it is the prerequisite and necessary step before surrender, so we can welcome the new that is yet to unfold. It goes against the natural instincts to surrender. It seems weak and may feel like we are not rising to the difficult challenges before us. What I am learning is that there is strength in surrender. It serves as a gateway to the movement of the Spirit, to the still waters that are always within regardless of what is raging around us or looming ahead.
It is humbling to be sought for understanding, insight, and counsel. What do our simple lives offer? We know that we stand on the shoulders of the sisters that have gone before us, those that took care of orphans, started a school for the blind, welcomed the immigrant and served the poor, who built and ran schools and hospitals in places no one else cared to go. So many sisters have powerful and touching stories of how their lives profoundly impacted others, stories they tend to share only among themselves. Recently, a friend who helped place Vietnamese orphans after the fall of Vietnam shared a story of reconnecting with a few of them who have found her through Facebook. Her name is on their adoption paperwork.
So, for those who watch us….and they do…. what does hope look like in our lives? What kind of meaning can we offer to others? Can we be stabilizing forces, grounding rods for our families, friends and colleagues?
Possibly, the striving we each seek to live a life of integrity is a witness. Maybe our attempt to be rooted in God and live out the way of the gospel and our charism are the gifts we’ve been given to share. Maybe it is as basic as standing with and for others as they traverse the challenges of their personal lives. Perhaps what women religious offer is space for others to ask the big, generous questions confronting their lives and the world.
When Pope Francis recently met with the Bishops from England and Wales for their yearly ad limina visit he spoke of the place of joy in our lives. He reminded us that in connecting with our center through silence and prayer, we will find hope and joy. Possibly, as people do turn their view toward the lives of sisters, they will find humor and joy as the unexpected gifts that radiate from them.
This article appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Living Peace.