Sister Maria das Mercês Al
ves Barbosa will be making her Final Profession of vows on January 13, 2018 in the Chapel of the San Damiano Institute in Aparecida de Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. The Archbishop of Goiânia, Dom Washington Cruz, will preside at the celebration. Sisters Dolores Zemont and Rosemary Fonck will travel from Joliet to take part in the celebration. To read more about Sister Maria please click on: Sister Maria
When I came to the Joliet Franciscan community I was looking forward to being part of the joyful group I had come to know when these sisters were my teachers in elementary school. Also, because I had always wanted to be a teacher from the time I was a child, I felt that this teaching community’s charism was a good fit. Over the many years I have been a Franciscan I have learned much more about St. Francis, about ministry, and about the Church than I ever knew as a fresh high school graduate with high ideals and vocation energy. But through all these years my desire to teach has never waned, and my love for this Spirit-filled, musically gifted, multi-talented, forward-looking, warm-hearted, quick-to-laugh community of sisters has only grown.
Times have changed since the early 1960’s when I entered my community. The post Vatican II Church blossomed and called for renewal from religious congregations. Responding to new needs, Joliet Franciscans expanded their ministries to embrace the spirit of our foundress in her outreach to those who most needed her in her lifetime. Not many of us are working in schools anymore. Feeling born to teach, however, I have pursued new ways to do that through religious education for families and adults and through writing about Scripture and prayer. I am passionate about helping people understand the reasons for the changes they have experienced in the Catholic Church and equally passionate about helping Catholics to learn about other religions so that peace can come from understanding.
I look to Jesus and to St. Francis as the peacemakers who gave me shining examples of loving our enemies, loving all of creation, bridging divides and embracing those whom others reject. I look to my community of Franciscan women who are also shining examples of Gospel living. I look to myself to stay in touch with the sense of vocation and mission that first inspired me those many years ago.
Everyone is called by God to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in a unique way. I had to discover my unique way. And now I can see how it continues to unfold in my life in community. Reflecting on my personal vocation story renews my dedication and my sense of purpose in life.
As a child I was touched by the magazines that talked and portrayed the poor around the world. I thought that missionary work would be my calling. In high school, that awareness expanded to see the needs of people all around me in daily situations. In college I was attracted further to topics of faith and poverty, so I decided to major in Theology. The opportunity to be a missionary finally came to me when I was a junior in college. I heard a sermon about the U. S. mission territory in the Appalachian Mountains. Within a few months I was on my way to Kentucky for the first time.
That first experience led to others. I was drawn to that life. The service seemed to be about accepting people and sharing the simple joys of life while trying to help people attain the basic needs of life. Though all of this deepened within me what I now see as my Franciscan calling, I still had not met the Franciscans. My faith was becoming more important to me and religious life in general was real for me, but I did not think of joining a community. I was not attracted to any of the five congregations I had had in school as teachers or with whom I lived. I loved the individuals and what they stood for but was not attracted to what I would now call the spirit of their congregations. It never crossed my mind to go looking for the right congregation. God had to do most of the work for me.
The identification with the spirit of Joliet Franciscans came at a later time when I was serving full time in Kentucky. I knew that I did not have to be a religious to be active in the mission of the Church. However, when I met the Joliet Franciscans, I knew my journey took a new step.
Three Joliet Franciscans had come to volunteer for several weeks in the summer. I was not looking to grasp their spirit, but while they prayed together, played together and gave themselves to the people and the work, they had a joy that was special. Their spirit captured mine. There was a sense of being myself with them that I could not ignore.
The rest, as they say, is history. I look back at this part of the story and one of the things that strikes me is the naturalness of each step. I felt lead by life and by the Spirit. I was eventually called to high school ministry as teacher and campus minister for many years, both in Illinois and Colorado. In that ministry I was once again discovering that call to the poor in my work with youth, organizing with my coworkers many mission trips for students and service clubs and activities. I’ve also had opportunities to serve in congregation ministry and leadership, meeting sisters from all over the world and coming to know my own sisters and associates in new ways. Francis found what was his to do. I continue to find what is mine and what is ours to do. Each day this journey in poverty, in community, in service continues. The call is ongoing.
Sister Deborah Gaughan knew in first grade that she wanted to be a Sister. Her journey took many unexpected turns, but she made it.
Sister Deborah refers to herself as a “middle child” with two older brothers, an older sister and a set of younger twin sisters. She experienced a strong Catholic upbringing – her mother is Polish, her father, now deceased, was Irish. Gaughan’s family life was not an easy one with more than a few challenges along the way. Sister Deborah attended Catholic grade school and a public high school and was bullied in both. High school was particularly hard as her commitment to her Catholic faith was the reason behind the bullying.
Sister Deborah graduated from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. It was during this period in her life that she realized the family challenges she has been part of during her earlier years. The realization caused her to doubt her faith and she left the Catholic Church. She visited churches of other faiths – Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Baptist – but nothing filled the need. Even with a good job, a condo and a car, there was something missing. Sister Deborah decided to try the Catholic Church again. If you ever meet her, you will notice she wears a small angel pin. She believes angels are always with us. As Sister Deborah walked into St. Mary Church in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, she noticed that there were angels everywhere in the church. “I was home!” she says.
As Sister Deborah looked through the church bulletin, she read a notice that asked “Did God forget you?” followed by a phone number. With nothing to lose, she called the number which belonged to the parish deacon, who was in charge of RCIA. The deacon asked if she had received all of the sacraments and Sister Deborah responded that she had. Although not an RCIA candidate in the true sense, she was allowed to go through all the classes anyway. At the end what she found was a loving, forgiving, personal God. At the end of the Easter Vigil that year, Sister Deborah recommitted herself to the Catholic Church in front of everyone in attendance.
Sister Deborah found herself getting involved again. She met Sarah, the youth minister of the parish, who got Sister Deborah involved working with young adults. She met Sarah’s husband, Paul, who helped her to move ahead even further by getting involved at Holy Family parish in Inverness, Illinois. The pastor, Father Pat Brennan, was the only priest in the parish and asked for the parishioners help in making Holy Family a vibrant parish. Sister Deborah became involved in youth ministry participating in retreats, fundraising and attending events of every kind. She enjoyed working with this age group. She eventually became the parish’s Young Adult leader and also served on the Young Adult Advisory Board for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The time had now come for Sister Deborah to make yet another turn in her journey. She heard God’s voice. He asked, “When are you going to do what I asked?”
Sister Deborah first confided in a friend with whom she worked that she wanted to be a Sister. Her friend was happy for her. Sister Deborah began her search. There were so many Congregations of Women Religious. Which one to choose? It was all so confusing. She shared with her friends, Sarah and Paul, who responded, “What took you so long? We knew.” “Why didn’t you say something?” Sister Deborah asked. And they answered, “You needed to know.” Paul immediately helped with the search. Sister Deborah visited over 50 congregations and had settled on one and was about to sign all the papers, when she was told that due to her earlier depression diagnosis, the fit would not be a good one.
At that point, Sarah put Sister Deborah in touch with Sister Dolores Zemont, currently the Joliet Franciscan president, but was ministering in a parish at that time. Sister Dolores gave Deborah’s information to Sister Barbara Kwiatkowski, who was then serving as the Joliet Franciscans’ Vocation Director. Sister Barbara met Sister Deborah at a Panera Bread café in Buffalo Grove, Illinois where she was living. She told Sister Barbara everything. Sister Barbara assured her, “We don’t judge.” Over the next year, Sister Barbara mentored Sister Deborah through prayer and suggested reading. She spent time getting to know many of the Joliet Franciscan Sisters. Sister Barbara brought her to the Motherhouse Chapel on the grounds of the University of St. Francis in Joliet. As she sat in the chapel, Sister Deborah asked God, “Is this the place for me?’ She needed a sign – a big one! And a rainbow appeared in the pew in which she was sitting. IT was nowhere else in the chapel, just where she was sitting. It was the most beautiful rainbow she had ever seen. It brings her happiness when she thinks about it.
Sister Deborah made her first vows in 2012 and renewed them in 2015 while she finished working towards her Master’s in Social Work. About religious life, she says, “You have to want this every day. You have to give up what you had planned and follow God’s plan for you. God has a plan for me. That’s where I will go.”
My vocation story begins in God’s country—beautiful Ohio—-where I was born and raised. I was born into a 100% Polish family, the oldest of 3 girls. Ours was not a family without problems, but, despite our problems, there was always a lot of love. My grandparents were very influential in my faith life, especially my mom’s dad. My parents constantly stressed that we were here on earth to become good persons and help others, but my Dziadzia (grandpa) taught us to pray and always talked to us about God and about the possibility of religious life.
When I was in the 3rd grade, I made my First Communion. I remember feeling so close to God! I also remember being fascinated with the Sisters who taught me in school and by the kind of life they led. They seemed especially connected to God and very happy. When I was ready to start the 4th grade, we moved to another part of the city and I went to a different school where I had a very similar experience with the Sisters who were my teachers. They often suggested to me that when I got older I should think about becoming a Sister. I had no idea if that was something I wanted to consider as an adult, but I liked them, and so I listened.
When I graduated from grade school, I went to an all girl’s Catholic high school. I played basketball in high school, sang in the school choir, worked on the paper and the yearbook and was President of the Christian Service Club. Becoming a Sister was the farthest thing from my mind! Being a Sister was not popular at the time and I was having way too much fun to even consider such a possibility. I do believe, though, that throughout my life God had been calling me to consider religious life through the people and events I had experienced, but at this point in my life, I just wasn’t listening.
After graduating from high school, I enrolled at the University of Toledo. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and really didn’t like the big school atmosphere at UT, where I was just a number. I dropped out of college after a year and went to work full time. I was making good money and was able to travel, buy a new Camaro and a motorcycle and go out on the weekends with my friends. Sounds great, but I wasn’t happy and I didn’t feel fulfilled. A friend of mine who realized that I was searching for something, asked me to help him with the youth group at an inner city parish where he volunteered. I agreed and that’s where I first met the Joliet Franciscan Sisters who staffed the parish school.
I found myself once more being fascinated by the life these Sisters led and I was impressed by their dedication and service to the people in the parish. I remember a time the Sisters spent all night searching the drug infested, high crime neighborhood for an 8th grader who had run away from home, a time when they took in a family of 5 that had been evicted from their apartment, and numerous times when they took food and clothing to people in need. It was as if a light had been turned on in a dark room for me! I realized that I was attracted to this kind of life of service and dedication to others and I wanted to live and share my life with people who wanted to do the same thing. And so, at the age of 24, I left my hometown and my family and friends and moved to Joliet to enter the Sisters of St. Francis.
I have had an interesting, challenging and full life as a Joliet Franciscan Sister. Most of my life as a Sister has been spent in secondary education where I have ministered as a teacher, dean of students, assistant principal and campus minister. In addition, I spent time as a missionary in Brazil at our mission there and as vocation director for our Congregation. I do believe that my life as a Sister was in God’s plan for me and that I am very blessed. St. Francis, as he lay dying, told his brothers, “I have done what was mine to do; may Christ teach you what is yours.” Herein lies my hope and challenge for any young person reading this—I am convinced that Christ will put people and experiences in your life to guide you in what is yours to do in life. It is up to you to live a reflective life with a listening ear and a heart open to doing whatever Christ calls you to do. Blessings on your journey!
Being asked to share my vocation story with you has given me an opportunity to once again consider all that has brought me to this time in my life. I wish that I could tell you that, like Mary, an angel appeared to me and told me that I should become a Sister. However, rarely does it work that way and it certainly didn’t work that way in my life. I grew up in an ordinary Italian Catholic family. My parents saw that my sister, brother and I were educated in Catholic schools. We went to Mass each Sunday, said grace before meals and led pretty normal lives. Because of the times, I was privileged to have many Sisters as my teachers throughout grade school and high school. I can remember, as early as 3rd grade, admiring these women and feeling that I would like to be like them and do what they do. This feeling stayed with me, though I kept trying to push it to the background. Through my years of schooling, I had three different orders of Sisters, but when I met the Joliet Franciscan Sisters at St. Francis Academy here in Joliet I knew that if I were to become a Sister that I would join them. They were excellent, dedicated teachers and exhibited joy in all that they did. They took an interest in their students and it was obvious to me that they truly enjoyed what they were doing. So, after high school, I entered the convent and recently celebrated my golden jubilee. My life has been rich and fulfilling. I have had so many opportunities for education, travel and enrichment in my life. I have been a teacher, high school administrator, nursing home administrator and I have served in various leadership positions for the Joliet Franciscans. My life has been and continues to be full and fulfilling. I do not regret a day that I have spent as a Sister of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate. So, as you contemplate your path in life, I encourage you to be open to all vocations. Listen as the Spirit speaks to you. May our loving God lead you to do and be what is yours to do and be!