This October I will have been a sister of Notre Dame for 60 years. It’s quite a thought and a time for reflecting on what has been an amazing journey and like all human journeys it’s had its highs and lows, its joys and its sorrows.
The world I entered 60 years ago was drastically different from the way I now live. When I first joined the community life was very structured with a regular timetable of prayer, work and study and we were expected to keep silence. We wore special clothes called a habit and were given a religious name. It was a very formal, private way of life and though the sisters left the convent to teach in a number of schools they returned each evening to live what was called a religious life which was separate and different from that of the world. This began to change at the second Vatican council when the Church embraced the hopes and fears of the world and religious were asked to go back to the foundations of their community and reflect on the inspiration that had brought it into being.
Gradually this led to the dismantling of that institutional way of life as religious began to realise that the charism of their community was not to leave the world but to serve it. We began to live a more normal life, going back to the name we had been given at our birth and baptism, wearing normal clothes, organising our own timetable for prayer and recreation. This all happened over a number of years and at first the changes caused some consternation in the Catholic community and some anxiety even in sisters themselves. Now I live in a neighbourhood by myself with the support and friendship of many people.
Looking back on it all I am grateful that things have changed so radically and that the life I live is differentiated by the vows of poverty chastity and obedience and the ministry I am engaged in rather than being institutionally separated from the so-called world. Looking back on it all I am very grateful for the opportunities that this life has given me. It has been an adventure both inward and outward. Opportunities for retreats spiritual direction study, community reflection and support have helped me explore my inner self and hopefully become a better human being. Prayer and meditation as well as silence and retreats have been difficult at times but given me the opportunity to face up to what was going on in my heart and mind. I have had the opportunity to study and engage in a ministry that has been life giving for me and hopefully for others. This has taken me into the world of education where I learned much more than I ever taught. It has also taken me into the world of other faiths, and not only did I have the privilege of introducing others to these faiths, but I was able to work in inter religious dialogue and make many good interfaith friends.
I have much to be grateful for and, as I reflect on the past 60 years, I am particularly grateful for the people who have become part of my life and part of my journey. The reason I joined the Sisters of Notre Dame was because of the strong, independent, committed women that I met when I was training to be a primary school teacher. I was privileged to be taught by them and to have come to know and to live with some amazing sisters who have encouraged, supported, loved and challenged me throughout my life. I have experienced real friendship and companionship in religious life. I have also been privileged to work with some remarkable people, first of all in the field of religious education at a time when it was exciting to work with colleagues who were committed to developing a new approach to religious education which was open to world faiths rather than Christian instruction. The work I did in inter religious dialogue both locally and nationally gave me the opportunity to engage with believers outside my own community and a sense of working together with others for the good of society and the Kingdom of God. This gave us the opportunity to share our faith in some depth which helped me enter the world of others and deepen my own faith.
All of these people have become part of me and helped make me who I am today. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks about inter being and over the years I have come to feel this in my very being. I think I have come to understand a little and maybe imperfectly the Buddhist concept of no- self. There is no distinct, separate, individual me apart from my relationships and those who have been my companions on this journey of life and faith. In a sense I am never alone and when I sit to pray or to reflect they are all there with me. This interbeing extends beyond those who have physically been there in my life to those who have influenced me, challenged me, deepened and extended my knowledge through their writing. Books have been a great companion and I have learned so much from influential writers, some of whom have even become friends. They too have become part of me. And in this year as I celebrate the 60th anniversary of my joining Notre Dame I give thanks for a journey that I would describe as an adventure and for all those who knowingly and unknowingly accompanied me.
The world I entered 60 years ago was drastically different from the way I now live. When I first joined the community life was very structured with a regular timetable of prayer, work and study and we were expected to keep silence. We wore special clothes called a habit and were given a religious name. It was a very formal, private way of life and though the sisters left the convent to teach in a number of schools they returned each evening to live what was called a religious life which was separate and different from that of the world. This began to change at the second Vatican council when the Church embraced the hopes and fears of the world and religious were asked to go back to the foundations of their community and reflect on the inspiration that had brought it into being.
Gradually this led to the dismantling of that institutional way of life as religious began to realise that the charism of their community was not to leave the world but to serve it. We began to live a more normal life, going back to the name we had been given at our birth and baptism, wearing normal clothes, organising our own timetable for prayer and recreation. This all happened over a number of years and at first the changes caused some consternation in the Catholic community and some anxiety even in sisters themselves. Now I live in a neighbourhood by myself with the support and friendship of many people.
Looking back on it all I am grateful that things have changed so radically and that the life I live is differentiated by the vows of poverty chastity and obedience and the ministry I am engaged in rather than being institutionally separated from the so-called world. Looking back on it all I am very grateful for the opportunities that this life has given me. It has been an adventure both inward and outward. Opportunities for retreats spiritual direction study, community reflection and support have helped me explore my inner self and hopefully become a better human being. Prayer and meditation as well as silence and retreats have been difficult at times but given me the opportunity to face up to what was going on in my heart and mind. I have had the opportunity to study and engage in a ministry that has been life giving for me and hopefully for others. This has taken me into the world of education where I learned much more than I ever taught. It has also taken me into the world of other faiths, and not only did I have the privilege of introducing others to these faiths, but I was able to work in inter religious dialogue and make many good interfaith friends.
I have much to be grateful for and, as I reflect on the past 60 years, I am particularly grateful for the people who have become part of my life and part of my journey. The reason I joined the Sisters of Notre Dame was because of the strong, independent, committed women that I met when I was training to be a primary school teacher. I was privileged to be taught by them and to have come to know and to live with some amazing sisters who have encouraged, supported, loved and challenged me throughout my life. I have experienced real friendship and companionship in religious life. I have also been privileged to work with some remarkable people, first of all in the field of religious education at a time when it was exciting to work with colleagues who were committed to developing a new approach to religious education which was open to world faiths rather than Christian instruction. The work I did in inter religious dialogue both locally and nationally gave me the opportunity to engage with believers outside my own community and a sense of working together with others for the good of society and the Kingdom of God. This gave us the opportunity to share our faith in some depth which helped me enter the world of others and deepen my own faith.
All of these people have become part of me and helped make me who I am today. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks about inter being and over the years I have come to feel this in my very being. I think I have come to understand a little and maybe imperfectly the Buddhist concept of no- self. There is no distinct, separate, individual me apart from my relationships and those who have been my companions on this journey of life and faith. In a sense I am never alone and when I sit to pray or to reflect they are all there with me. This interbeing extends beyond those who have physically been there in my life to those who have influenced me, challenged me, deepened and extended my knowledge through their writing. Books have been a great companion and I have learned so much from influential writers, some of whom have even become friends. They too have become part of me. And in this year as I celebrate the 60th anniversary of my joining Notre Dame I give thanks for a journey that I would describe as an adventure and for all those who knowingly and unknowingly accompanied me.
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