Companion on my journey

“I am with you on the journey and I will never leave you;
I am with you on the journey; always with you.” Kathy Sherman, CSJ

By Sr. Mary Gauthier, O.L.M.
May/June 2012

Return to Table of Contents
Print Article

Since the closing of our mission in the Philippines last year, I have continued to carry with gratitude my memories of people and events. With my return to Canada, I thought my time of being a missioner overseas was over, yet I kept hearing the words of the song by Kathy Sherman, CSJ, “I am with you.”

“Where can I go at my age?” I wondered. “Am I hearing the words that Mary heard about her kinswoman Elizabeth, ‘Nothing is impossible with God’ (Luke 1:37)?” And I thought of our founder, Fr. Dan Macdonald, who travelled all over Canada in his old age selling Christmas cards and visiting different CWL groups asking for their support for this new community of Our Lady’s Missionaries. Thank you Fr. Dan because today the Catholic Women’s League still hears the cry of the poor.

Scarboro missioner Sylvia Wilvert travels by river to visit an isolated community in the interior of Guyana. Sylvia, Kate O’Donnell and Bev Trach make up the Scarboro mission team presently serving in this “land of many waters.”

As I pondered my journey, the light of the Spirit finally shone a little brighter with the help of Anne, my spiritual companion. Why not investigate the possibility of going overseas with Scarboro Missions? I did have many years of interesting experiences with Scarboro missioners when I was in the Philippines. Since Scarboro no longer has a presence in the Philippines, I thought about Guyana where Scarboro has three women mis-sioners living and working.

I approached our OLM leadership team with my idea and they were extremely affirming, suggesting that I keep discerning and remain open to the Spirit, as they too would do. I then spoke to Fr. Jack Lynch, the superior of Scarboro Missions, who was also encouraging. When I emailed the Scarboro women in Guyana about the possibility of joining them, they replied with great openness and welcome. My OLM Sisters and other friends expressed healthy concerns and reminded me that there is a lot of mission work to do right here in Toronto. My reply to them was that there are a lot of people in Toronto to carry out this mission.

Soon the grey clouds of my journey appeared on the horizon. How would I tell my sister Frances who is 85 years of age and has many illnesses and health issues? I should not have been surprised when Frances simply replied, “Mary do you feel called?” My sister is very much cared for by her own family, especially her daugh-ters, Heather and Kathy, and her two sons, Robert and Eric. Her niece and nephew, Mary and D.J. McDonald, are also very involved in her care. As for me, in spite of my concerns, I do believe that I am affirmed and I have hope in my heart as I journey to Guyana to make my final decision.

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning Land of Many Waters. In the Philippines, God refreshed me with the gift of the ocean in its beauty. Now God reminds me that “I will be with you” in the land of many waters.

While Mary was in Guyana discerning the possibility of service there, her sister Frances’s health failed. Mary was able to return in time to be with her sister and family before Frances died.

Return to Table of Contents
Print Article