Cynthia MacWhorter: a blessing

Providence Candidate-Associate Cynthia MacWhorter (left) talks with Providence Associates Ellen and Wolfgang Schmidt.

Cynthia MacWhorter resides in South Bend, Ind. Her companion is Sister Mary Roger Madden.

1.) What is your connection to the Sisters of Providence?

My connection with the Sisters of Providence goes to the very center of who I am. I was a member of the community until 1979. I loved my years with my sisters and had no intention of leaving until I met the most wonderful man in the world! I knew that the love I felt for him could not be denied. We have been married 29 years this May, and the joy of our relationship has never waned.

2.) Why do you want to become a Providence Associate?

Becoming a Providence Associate is a tremendous blessing for me. My formation as a woman was accomplished in community, and the opportunity to renew the friendships of those years is a great joy for me. I could never put into words how deeply I appreciate the acceptance into this program.

3.) What is your experience using the Spiritual Integration Units like? How do you and Sister Mary Roger Madden progress through the units?

I am truly enjoying the experience of the integration units. Sister Mary Roger and I have been friends for many years, and her guidance into a more profound spiritual life has already been a blessing to me. She has provided me with insights, good common sense and challenges for my spiritual and intellectual growth through readings, prayer suggestions and mutual support. It has deepened our friendship and has given me new insight into a particularly faithful, prayerful and exemplary religious woman.

4.) What do you hope to gain from this year of candidacy?

I have already gained so much that it would be difficult to isolate what I hope to gain further. I trust that the final months of this experience will continue to help me to grow into a more faithful and loving woman who will help to reflect the mission of Christ’s love to all with whom I deal. I am a high school teacher, and I truly enjoy every minute of my days with young people. This extended mission of the sisters is furthering their ministry to places they cannot even yet imagine.