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Offerings at the Mass where the novices professed their
vows
By Dan McAloon
“A Sister is a woman of prayer. She lives in solidarity with the poor. She commits herself to share all things, both
material and spiritual; to live simply and to overcome all forms of injustice and oppression.”
This is how Sr Jacinta Fidow explains the life of her order, the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary
(SMSM), also known as the Marist Missionary Sisters.
She was speaking at the recent ceremony for the first profession of vows – of poverty, chastity and obedience – made by nine novices of the Order at St
Joseph’s Chapel, Baulkham Hills.
The sisters, from Oceania and the United States, have been in training for the past two years and their families and friends had come together to celebrate their making of
vows. The sisters also learnt where they would be missioned.
The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary arose in Oceania in the mid-19th century. The Order was founded by Francoise Perroton, a laywoman
who worked for the Marist Fathers in what was then new mission territory. The Order has always been international, a fact reflected in the faces of the nine new sisters, who hail from as far afield as Bougainville,
PNG, the Philippines, Tonga, Kirrabati and the US.
It was the international nature of the Order that appealed to Sr Susan Hollander from Chicago, Illinois. A school teacher by profession, Susan had known
since she was a child that she had a vocation. “What appealed to me the most about (the Society of Mary) was that it is a universal Order without any particular ethnic or national association. I was (also) attracted
to their … simplicity and open spirit.”
Another sister, Cynthia Triumfante from the Philippines, said that, “Being from every country we create a unique Marist culture. We don’t forget our own culture … our
culture is an enrichment.”
“Part of our charism is to evangelise through our presence. For example, in Islam we are not out to convert but to be a bond of communion. By being there we acknowledge that Christ
is in all of us.”
Sr Christine MacLean, Australian provincial, who heads the Order here, said the Society was growing and had novitiates in Australia, Peru and Senegal. Worldwide there are 600 members serving
in 29 countries.
Asked to name the biggest issue facing the Order, Sr Christine, answered immediately: “The amount of violence in the world.”
The Order seeks to prepare its sisters well for what can
be dangerous work.
“When sending nuns into (various) countries we consider their preparation for the social and political climate. We do everything we can to prepare them.”
But, alluding to the
Order’s past and present work in Rwanda, Burundi, Mauritania and other countries which have known civil war, famine and massacres, Sr Christine said that in making its choice to continue with missions operating
under dire circumstance the Order always looked at the best way to sustain the sisters when they become isolated.
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