To be born is to be chosen

By Sr. Rosemarie Donovan, O.L.M.
May/June 2011

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What do you want to be when you grow up?” we ask four- and five-year-olds. Their answers are imaginative and hilarious. However, things take on a different note when we question 18-year-olds about their future because they know that eventually choices must be made and time is passing.

When I entered religious life 62 years ago, I was under the illusion that this was the best choice to make to serve God and my brothers and sisters around the world. It wasn’t that I felt exceptional in any way, but all who knew me—priests, teachers and family—inferred in some way that this was a special calling, one set apart, especially so because I was entering a new missionary community. It took a long while for me to become aware of the innumerable vocations open to people searching for ways to love and serve God.

John Henry Newman spoke about “God’s individual call to each of us to fulfill a certain purpose in life before we die.” To be born is to be chosen.

We look for signs and wait for answers until we realize we have been struggling to fulfill God’s wishes all along. And then we are at peace.

There is no need to look far afield. I see the courageous choices made by my parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and so many others—choices filled with hopes and dreams, happiness and tears. And then a spouse, child, or friend is afflicted with deep pain and suffering while living with a debilitating health condition. Family and friends rally round and I am humbled by their witness.

I was missioned to Nigeria where I lived for 32 wonderful years. There I saw men and women faithful to their calls in heroic ways. Most of their marriages were extremely tough and their efforts to feed, clothe, and educate their children in a land of poverty and violence seemed almost impossible. I looked to them then, as I do now, for inspiration, and marvel at their positive and cheerful lives.

And now I am in Canada, grateful for the choice I made many years ago and hoping to become more aware of the need for prayer and to be given the chance to grow in forgiveness, generosity, and love within my OLM community. When times are difficult and health is failing, I know I can put my arms around Jesus and lean on him.

Since Jesus was born, and grew to his full
stature, and died, everything has continued to move
forward because Christ is not yet fully formed:
he has not yet gathered about him the last
folds of his robe of flesh and of love
which is made up of his faithful followers.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.,The Divine Milieu

Mission in my life is

...to deepen my friendship with God; to become the most loving person I can be and to communicate that love through acts of meaningful kindness, by both word and action.
Victoria Clarke, Toronto

...to never stop learning and loving and, while appreciating all that has gone before in my life, to always look forward to the next part of the journey.
Cathy Gross, Aurora, Ontario, Canada

...building community.
Marilee Sherry, Brantford, Ontario

...to give something good to others each day and to not waste time hating anyone.
Eppie Eden, Toronto

...to strive to grow into a greater awareness of God’s mission, and through retreats, workshops, and seminars at Eramosa Eden Centre, to be instrumental in raising that awareness in others.
Valerie Bannert, Eramosa Eden Centre [www.eramosaeden.org] Rockwood, Ontario

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