Top row from left:
Francine Maas,
Martha Grageda,
Marie Heintz
and Lucille Pilotte
Bottom row from left:
Regina Ramos,
Mary Rita Kelley
and Felicia Nowak
ONCE A MISSIONARY ALWAYS A MISSIONARY
By Sr. Francine Maas in Winoosky community, Vermont-USA
After 43 happy years of ministering in Tanzania and at our General Headquarters in Rome, I returned definitively to my home country, the USA, in September 2021. After settling-in, I was soon busy with helping my sisters in whatever their needs were. At that time, we were a community of 10 sisters, living in a small care home with about 35 elderly residents, but today we MSOLA number only 7. As 4 ½ years have now passed, the details of my ministry have changed but the main areas remained the same. It is my hope that in this short article I can show you that when God blesses with health, strength and grace, the mission does not need to come to an end upon returning to one’s home country.
Apostolates for my Community and the Congregation:
As a nurse, in coordination with the nursing staff, I have a regular “eye” on the health/medical needs of my fellow sisters. This responsibility includes driving and accompanying some of my sisters to medical appointments, and the hospital. Then, there are the tasks of administration (caring for all types of business and legal matters), finances (monthly community accounts, budgets, etc.), secretarial work (community reports) and assisting, where I can, with computer/internet issues. Responding to some requests of the General Council, participating in Entity and General Chapters and contributing to newsletters occupy some of my time.
Apostolates here at Our Lady of Providence Residential Care Facility:
Living in a care home for elders, one is almost constantly being presented with opportunities to be of service; assist a resident with something they can’t do themselves, eat with someone with whom one can’t have a conversation due to their dementia, show someone how to get to their room, sit a bit with someone who is lonely, visit and pray with someone who is dying, etc. The list of these opportunities could fill a page.
This past year, I managed to help 3 of our employees, who are from the Congo DRC, sign up for free English classes as they do not know enough English. Knowing Swahili, at times, I help by translating for their boss.
Apostolates linked with our Catholic Parish:
About 2 years after my arrival here in Winooski, the work load that I explained above began to diminish so I slowly started to become engaged elsewhere. Here are the most important of these apostolates.
- Becoming a Eucharistic Minister at our parish church, I serve during Sunday and special liturgies, and I bring the Eucharist to 2 women who are home-bound and not able to attend Mass.
- My most recent addition is being a member of an Interfaith group: FAITH IN ACTION.
Presently, we are engaged in three endeavors:
- To inform the local population about what can be done in face of the current issues we have with ICE agents taking into custody immigrants, whether they are legally in the US or not.
- Expanding the hours that our parish thrift shop is open to include Saturdays. This will enable poor people who work during the week, to avail themselves of the shop to purchase items at a reduced cost.
- Sponsoring an event, to bring together local elderly who are lonely, with youth who mostly come from foreign countries and desire to have elder mentors in their lives, as their grandparents are elsewhere.
In reality, there are many more mission-oriented matters that I have been engaged in here in the USA, but the scope of this article limits writing.
The Lord blesses me with good health and grace so, in spite of all the above life-giving apostolates I still have time for myself. Caring for my spiritual life, health, taking time to relax and relationships with community and family members as well as friends, remain priorities so as to have a balanced life, without which My Mission would be put in jeopardy.
