Vowed for love, mercy and justice

On June 30, 2013 the Sisters of Providence were blessed to have four women profess perpetual vows with the Congregation. The photos on this page show the sisters on that joyful day. Having lived and ministered as Sisters of Providence for at least nine years, the women reflect here on their life and mission as Sisters of Providence. (Photos by Samantha McGranahan)

“In my current ministry, my daily encounters involve meeting persons who are economically poor …. Our patients do not have insurance or resources to meet their healthcare needs. Due to living in poverty conditions, our patients have many serious health issues. Poor health affects every aspect of a person’s life and their family’s life. Poor health leads to inability to parent well, to maintain employment and to live in a way that is life giving. My ministry provides direct service; however, this ministry deals with a symptom and not the root causes that create the symptom. Radical change in our systems is imperative in these times if we are going to have a life-giving future in this world. May it be so!

Women religious use a collaborative model and seek possibilities that promote the common good. One role we and our partners need to take on even more so (and more publicly) is to be an alternative voice that promotes new ways of thinking and being in the world. We need models of collaboration and inclusivity rather than systems of patriarchy and exclusivity. In these times, we must have creative, “outside-the-box” possibilities to replace the systems and institutions that are crumbling because they no longer serve the needs of the world and are actually destructive.”

Sister Beth Wright,
Assistant Administrator at Wabash Valley Health Center
(St. Ann Medical and Dental Services), Terre Haute, Ind.

“The role of women religious is to bring to light injustices where people are excluded, oppressed, treated unfairly, and to be a voice for the poor and those who cannot confront others who oppress them due to lack of resources, fear, or hopelessness. The Sisters of Providence through our mission and ministry live this out in ministry and example. This is the most life-giving way for me to follow my passion for justice.”

Sister Patty Wallace,
Children’s Outreach Librarian,
Indianapolis Public Library

 

“Ministering as a hospice chaplain is very demanding. It calls me to grow as a religious sister in the world. The community I serve doesn’t have many ideas or pictures of women religious. They don’t really know what we are in the world. So I am trying to show them that ….

It’s not easy to watch your loved ones decline. My presence hopefully eases that discomfort and allows them to share their discomfort.”

Sister Laura Parker,
Hospice Chaplain in Des Plaines, Ill.

“It means a lot to me to be able to interact with and build relationships with people from other countries. In India I bought fruit for lunch and received too much. I offered the fruit to a man I worked with, and he said he couldn’t accept it. I told him they had given me too much, and he finally agreed to share it. He was so grateful. I began buying too much just so I could give away the rest.

I am always humbled by the people I meet. When I’m able to talk with women from another country, I find out that their lives are not very different from ours. They want the same things that we do: political freedom, a good life for their family, opportunities for their children, to be in relationship with others. They have a deep faith.”

Sister Deborah Campbell,
Senior Auditor for Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore, Md.

(originally printed in the Fall 2013 issue of HOPE magazine)