Stories of Our Call
Our life in community nourishes us and sends us out for service and for community with others. It reaches far beyond the bounds of our houses and even of the Congregation, for in community well lived we help the world to experience the goodness of Providence.
(CDP Constitution, # 29)
Sister Isabel Ball
As a community member, my call to religious life has made all the difference.
I think I would not have been attracted to religious life in the first place
if I had to make it on my own. I have always enjoyed team play. On teams you
complement and support one another. You encourage one to do her best. You
learn from one another.
A second reason community life is attractive is the different age groups and different perspectives enjoyed. My greatest thinking pleasure has occurred in conversation with community members who have different perspectives.
Most important is the prayer growth that can be experienced in a group of people. This doesn’t always mean praying together, but it does give the option. After all, Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in your midst.” The discipline of prayer life is learned and in a group this is much easier.
Finally, even though it is not what attracted me, the community has been the source of many graces and opportunities for my education that I would not have otherwise experienced.
Up with community!
Sister Mary Bordelon
When
I was on my first year out on the mission, just out of novitiate, I was 25.
The three Sisters I lived with were 50, 75, and 76. Then the one who was 50
had to move in with her elderly mother. That left me with the 2 Sisters who
were more than 50 years older than I was.
While there were times when this was difficult, I found more difficulties dealing with the fact that they both worked in schools while I worked in a parish and our hours were very different. Like with most things, you just need to keep the lines of communication flowing both ways.
Sister Anita Brenek - Learning about Community
Living, 1979
I
lived and worked in West, Texas, 1977-1981, teaching second grade at St. Mary’s
Catholic School there. We were five Sisters in the community that year. One
day after school, I went into the kitchen and joined another Sister, both
of us very tired from the day. As we sat at the small table, she shared with
me her hurt feelings around something I had done earlier in the day.
I was surprised and confused by what she was telling me, so I asked her more about it. I didn’t want her to be offended. As she told me in more detail about what had happened, I was startled by her version of the episode. I knew her perception was completely different from mine and told her about where I was coming from and about my intentions. I was amazed we could see it so differently. So I asked her if there were other times when she felt offended by me, whether she perceived me doing other things like that. It was an opportune time to learn more about each other, our perceptions, and our needs.
As we talked, we realized that we had very different viewpoints. But we also realized that we definitely intended no harm to each other. I had a strong sense of the pain she was indeed experiencing over all this. And that pain, neither of us wanted for each other. We knew we saw things differently, and yet we wanted good for each other. We wanted to live happily in community together.
She heard my desire for her well-being and she truly wanted the same for
me. I walked away from that episode amazed and with a new learning about community
living. This Sister and I lived together several more years after that event,
and we later visited with each other in the summer to hear how each other
was doing. We remained very different from each other in many ways, but our
co
mmonality
was a great respect for each other and our desires for good community living.
I am grateful to this Sister for her honesty with me and her willingness to
reconcile with me.
As a young Sister, this was one “call” to learn more about an important aspect of community living. Living in harmony requires more than good will for each other. It also requires the honesty to share, ask questions, and listen when there are differences. Reconciliation is a vital part of harmony and community living.
Sister Elsa E. Garcia
My
ethnic background is Mexican-American and I feel at home in my community.
I will be able to feel at home in community only if I am willing to help build
that community. To be 'of one mind and heart' is the gift, work and the witness
of community. What I love in my Sisters is that they both need me and help
me; they challenge me and support me.
My love for Christ is lived in my community…I was called by God to this group of women and when prejudice or cultural misunderstanding occurs, I struggle with my human reaction to "push back" and my Christian call to 'build up the body of Christ.'
If you belong to an ethnic or racial minority, I ask you to be open to the fullness of the Gospel message -- to build community among the diversity of God's people. You cannot escape this call whether you join a religious order or not.
Community is full of humans and among us is the One who called each of us. It is in community that I have known Christ is among us…because only God's love can transform diversity into unity without losing the uniqueness of individuals. When this happens all of us are "Home."
Sister Jackie Kingsbury
How
I experience community living as part of my call to religious life: I experience
CDP community in the annual general assembly—input, discussions, prayer—in
the willingness to devote this amount of time to each other; in the swelling
of belonging during memorial service for sisters who died the past year; and
in our accepting new directions that flow from these gatherings.
I experience CDP community at Cluster Meetings, the personal faith sharing, the trust level with each other, and the genuine sense that these women care about me.
I have also experienced CDP community in the personal concern shown about my safety during two hurricanes in Florida where I live—so many called and e-mailed.
I live with a Sister of Holy Cross and share community—eucharistic liturgy, eating out, dinner, and cards each weekend.
Sister Dale Van Gossen
In my religious
life I was often the youngest member of my community. Sometimes the older
members were those I became closest to. Their deep prayer life, wisdom, and
dedication were sources of inspiration and encouragement. Sometimes they were
the most fun, too! I don't think you have to worry about the age difference.