On February 15 and 16, 2008, OLSWA and St. Hedwig’s parish were privileged to host three Sisters of Life.  Students Janine Lieu and Ana Pugh provided the inspiration to invite these vibrant Sisters, who are newly arrived in Toronto, at the request of Archbishop Collins, to discern a mission to serve the people of Toronto and Canada.

On Friday evening, Sister Mary Clare, Sister Antoniana Maria, and Sister Monica Faustina came with a message of encouragement for our young people, who are discerning God’s plan for them as young men and women of faith.

Sister Antoniana spoke about the need for silence, the need for silence in the heart to come before God.  She stressed that we must seek daily prayer to be with the Lord and make room for him.  Give a special twenty minutes per day to the Lord in prayer, she suggested.  But be prepared, she added, because it is “addicting”!
Sister also read the Gospel reading when Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah after Our Lord asked, “And who do you say that I am?”  She mentioned how we must also proclaim Jesus as the Messiah through the grace of the Holy Spirit.  Once this happens, like Peter, we will receive a new name as God’s Child and He will give us a mission.  Simon became Peter and received the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.  God has a mission for each of us and this Lent is a good time to come to a deeper understanding of this mission.

The Sisters of Life explained briefly about their founding origins and showed a slide presentation of their wonderful mission. Their founder, John Cardinal O’Connor of New York, was inspired to do everything he could to fight the Culture of Death.  Such a demon, he realized, needs the power of prayer and fasting to be cast out, just like the demon that the apostles could not cast out in the Gospels.  Jesus told them what was needed.

The community is fully dedicated spiritually and corporally to the Culture of Life with a contemplative-active life and eight houses altogether.  The Sisters’ main apostolate in New York includes loving and caring for the physical and spiritual needs of the victims of the Culture of Death by ministering to women who are in crisis pregnancies and those who are healing from the effects of abortion.  They hope to share the Love of God in order that those people in their care may, in turn, be able to love the people that come into their own lives.
 
On Saturday morning, Sister Monica addressed a large crowd of parishioners and visitors, sharing their message of hope to families.  In addition to the slide presentation of the Sisters’ apostolate, a short film was also presented depicting a profound Eucharistic Procession in the diverse and colourful streets of New York, from lower Manhattan to uptown Harlem.  It was very powerful.

It was wonderful to see these friendly Sisters in their habits and to have the opportunity to be among consecrated women who bring God into the world a little more each day.