The sacred passion to serve humanity

Nuns talk about what it’s like to be living a life of celibacy

By Danielle Campbell

From left: Sisters Judith, Admirabilis and Mary Kenneth

There are not very many people who can go a week without money or sex. In fact, few persons would dedicate their lives solely to be of service to others and volunteer to grow old with a group of women.
Just imagine being an only child and being pressured into bringing forth offspring or being required to pool all your earnings and spending only on advice from your household.
This is exactly the case for Sisters Judith, Admirabilis, Mary Kenneth and Marie Ann, who have spent most of their lives as Catholic nuns and understand the difficulty of such a decision.
They live at the Mercy Wings Convent at Jamoon Drive, Meadow Brook Gardens, and are part of the Sisters of Mercy order.
But celibacy (a deliberate abstinence from marriage and sex) along with service, dedication and commitment to God and man is a key factor of nunnery life.
In days gone by, life as a nun was more militarised since it was all about “doing what you were told and going where you were sent”.
“We have to put our money in common and it is spent depending on the severity of our needs. Some people would find that extremely difficult. For some people, they get lonely for not having a husband or children by their side,” Sister Kenneth said.
According to Sister Marie Ann, “Our prayer lives gives us meaning. We love and enjoy each other’s company.”
“It’s a special life,” Sis Judith explained. “Some people join the community, but then they yearn for a life outside and they have to leave because our vows are always to be available to the people,” Sis Kenneth pointed out.
Sister Marie Ann added, “It’s an invitation to give ourselves totally to God and love all of his children, to build the kingdom of God here on earth – a kingdom of love, peace and non-violence.
According to Sister Marie Ann, the life calls on an individual to dedicate their undivided attention to God and his work, hence, the vow to refrain from marriage.
“We chose to give up all the material gains. We feel the best gift to give is to be present. For some Guyanese, they have no friends, they want to be heard, loved and listened to. They need encouragement and someone to be there for them. I have worked with women against violence and support their efforts for peace and justice,” she emphasised.
Sister Kenneth disclosed that fewer people are now called to community life since things have changed so drastically. She admits that it takes a tremendous amount of effort and courage for a young person to enter religious life.
“The world is getting worst when it comes to grabbing for money and worldly possessions; wanting what we don’t have and so it can be real difficult,” Sis Marie Ann detailed.

But who really are these women?
Some of the sisters have not always been nuns. In fact, if you ever bump into them, they have very interesting stories to tell.
Sister Judith, who is now 88 years old and was born in Maryland, became a Catholic at the age of 19. She has been in the Community of Mercy for 67 years. Sister Judith went to school in Maryland and has done a variety of things, including teaching grade school.
She revealed that she always wanted to travel overseas, but never got the opportunity.
She was already 76 when she journeyed to Guyana 12 years ago.
“I’ve taught here in Guyana; basic literacy, taught the nurses at the St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital and I enjoyed visiting the Palms. I’ve made lots of friends in Mahaica.”
Sister Admirabilis is Guyanese-born, and at age 88, she still teaches Maths and English. Her mother died when she was just six months old and so she grew up with a grandmother.
She was baptised a Catholic and attended the Sacred Heart’s (all girls) School and later won a scholarship to the St Joseph High School.
She describes herself as an avid reader. At age 14, Sister Admirabilis passed the Junior Cambridge Exam, and at 16, she landed a job at the Colonial Secretary’s Office where she worked for six years for the British Guiana government.
“I began thinking that God had something else for me to do and so I entered the community.”
She was required to travel to Dallas, Pennsylvania to gain Vitihee (training to become a nun).
At age 26, and after two-and-a-half years of training, she was ready to take the sacred wows before returning to Guyana.
Sister Admirabilis was encouraged to venture into teaching and soon became the principal at the St Joseph High School.
She earned herself a master’s of science degree in Mathematics and was prodded into accepting a post as regional coordinator – a liaison between the various sister orders and the Mother Institute in the U.S.
Sometime later, she was informed that the St Joseph Mercy Hospital needed an administrator and since she was on the board of directors, she was asked to accept the post.
Altogether, Sister Admirabilis spent 15 years as a regional coordinator and went on for five more years.  She later moved on to Santa Rosa where she taught for several years. She travelled to Jamaica where she was asked to assist with the formation there.
Sister Mary Kenneth, also from Maryland, attended a parish school, and as she became close to the sisters, she admired what they did and wanted to become like them. However, she was not sure it was a path she would be able to follow. “It wasn’t so much about wanting to be a nun, but a calling to be,” she said. “I went to high school and then to college, and by then, I was sure it was what I wanted to do.”
She started teaching, but could not keep up with the students. Then someone suggested that she should try teaching in church. At age 27, she entered the Sisters of Mercy Community and after three years, took her vows of chastity, poverty and obedience with an extensional vow to be of service to the poor, sick and ignorant.
“Different people are called for different things,” Sister Mary Kenneth said.
She worked as Assistant Dean of Students and was also called to work for elderly sisters for six years.
She also journeyed to St Peters in Baltimore, Maryland, where she worked as Parish manager.
Detailing her journey to Guyana, Sister Kenneth disclosed that she had visited twice before and finally came back in 2003.
On her return, she ventured into tutoring at the Mercy Wings Vocational Centre in Sophia.
There, she encountered students who had severe literacy challenges.
“I find Guyana fascinating, the people are wonderful, the sceneries are attractive and it’s fabulous.”
Media portrayal of Guyana
However, she pointed out that the constant graphic violence in the news can prevent strangers from visiting and make sceptics wary of taking a trip here.
As for 67-year-old Sister Marie Ann, she has been in the community for 49 years, and hails from San Francisco, California.
Sister Marie Ann said she was always attracted to the brave and busy life of a missionary and decided early on that it was a pathway she was willing to tread.
However, there was no Catholic school in her area until she was in high school.
Providing a brief overview of her background, Sister Marie Ann explained that her mom was a Colombian and her father’s only brother was a Jesuit priest in China. As such, she was used to having relatives overseas and travelling.
She entered the Sisters of Mercy, and for 20 years worked in elementary school. Sister Marie Ann has a master’s in theology. In 1993, she began working with the Almara people.
“The Almara people live high in the mountains and I love their culture. I worked with teachers, priests, and women wanting to become sisters. I did everything.”
Almara is a populated area in the region of Tacna, in Peru, with an average elevation of 515 metres above sea level. The area is not very densely populated.  The nearest town larger than 50,000 inhabitants takes less than 10 minutes by local transportation.
An estimated 0.08 per cent of the children below five years old are underweight, with a mortality of 17 per 1000 births.
At that time, there was a lot of violence relating to land rights. In 1999, Sister Marie Ann returned to the United States, but always had a longing to go to Latin America.
In January 2011, she was on her way to Argentina when she received a call to travel to Guyana.
“I had never been here. I could have told them I was doing something else, that I was on an assignment and wanted to complete it, but I thought that it was better to go where I was badly needed and where they wanted me to serve.” Sister Marie Ann was extremely moved when she arrived in Guyana. I came in August 2011, and have been here since.”