Religious celebrate �adventure� of �radical� Gospel-living

By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | Some girls tell their parents they’re going to the library and then sneak out with their boyfriend. Frances O’Dell would go to the library and then sneak out to chat with a sister about religious life.

The thought of a religious vocation “pulled like a magnet and wouldn’t let go,” recalled Sister Frances, who is now in her 50th year as a Franciscan Sister of Allegany.

Sister Frances was one of nine religious, marking 50, 60, 70 and 75 years of religious profession, who were honored at the annual Mass marking the World Day for Consecrated Life. (Read their biographies here.)

The Mass at St. Mary Cathedral Jan. 30 also marked the end of the Year of Consecrated Life, which began on the first Sunday of Advent 2014. It concluded Feb. 2, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the date, since 1997, when the universal Church recognizes the gift of consecrated persons.

Pope Francis called for the Year of Consecrated Life as a period of renewal for men and women in religious life, of thanksgiving for their service, and as a time to invite young Catholics to consider a religious vocation.

“It would not be possible to tell the history of the entire Church without including the history of the religious sisters and priests who have ministered to you in our parishes, our schools, and our hospitals,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski told those gathered for the Mass.

Among them were around 115 religious men and women, members of the different institutes that serve in the archdiocese, mostly identified by their unique habits.

“Today we honor you because you have been promoting the Gospel and affecting the lives of all whom you touch,” the archbishop said. “We honor you for not only what you do but for who you are.

“Your stories witness a Gospel of Joy that to be a Christian is not a burden but a gift, and to tell your stories is to ‘wake up the world’ to the reality of God and His love,” the archbishop continued, alluding to the theme for the year-long celebration.

That Gospel of Joy is what attracted Sister Frances to the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany — which she notes was the first U.S.-founded congregation to send missionaries overseas.

She first encountered them when they were her religious education teachers. They seemed friendly and down to earth. Their love for creation was genuine and they had a good sense of humor, she said. She had always wanted to be a teacher and these sisters weren’t just teachers, they were examples.

She got in the habit of praying on the bus on her way to school and home.

“That was my prayer time,” she said. When asked, “What is the most important thing in life?” she would respond, “Love God and love your neighbor,” and that wasn’t going away. “By the time I entered junior high school I wanted to find out more about this and so I asked them, where do I go from here?”

It’s the same question Archbishop Wenski asked in his homily.

“We have to ask ourselves if the Gospel is truly the manual for our daily living, what decisions are we going to make?” he said, citing Pope Francis’ letter to religious at the start of the Year of Consecrated Life.

“The Gospel is demanding — it demands that it is lived radically and sincerely. It is not enough to read it. Jesus asks us to practice it, to put it in effect in your hearts and in doing so affect the lives of all you touch and minister to,” the archbishop continued.

“There is no one moment, no lightening flash that instantaneously reveals your vocation,” said Marist Brother Vincent Moriarty, who was celebrating 60 years in religious life. “It happens over time… You grow into it. It’s an adventure. You go in as a human being. Jesus is calling you. He is saying, come with your brokenness…come.”

Sister Pierre Marie du Coeur de Jesus, marking 60 years with the Daughters of Wisdom, said she knew she wanted to be a sister when she was 15 years old. When she turned 17, her father said she was not ready but the superior of the community persuaded him to give her a chance. That August, she entered the congregation as a postulant.

“I always liked my religious life. If I had to begin again I would,” Sister Pierre Marie said.

The oldest jubilarian this year was Marist Brother Rafael Martin, 91, who was marking 75 years in religious life. Still joyful, he has authored a book about the history of the Colegio Champagnat in the La Vibora section of Havana, where he taught elementary school until 1953. Today, he gets up at 4 a.m. and spends his time writing a second book.

At a dinner following the Mass, the jubilarians were treated to a three-course meal lovingly prepared by the Apostles of the Pierced Hearts, the lay associates of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a community founded in Miami.

Each course was metaphorically described on the menu as a tribute to the religious. For example, “slow cooked chicken with fine fresh herbs, lemon parsley and Dijon mustard, is a perfect example of the fruits of hard work made with peace, perseverance and generosity, like you do in your daily life.”

Sister Ana Margarita Lanzas, a Servant of the Pierced Hearts who directs the archdiocesan Office for Religious, called the annual celebration “a beautiful way to give witness of our religious life and service and thus comply with the original intention of St. John Paul II” when he established the World Day of Consecrated Life.

“It is also the time when the archbishop has the opportunity to encounter all the religious that serve in his archdiocese,” she said.

Her office also organizes two other gatherings for religious every year: a time of reflection for Lent and another for Advent.