In observance of the Year of Consecrated Life,The Monitor will dedicate a monthly feature, sharing stories of different individuals in our Diocese who have committed their lives to serving God as a religious priest, brother or sister. In the fourth of these monthly insertions, Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Mary Agnes Ryan talks about God’s call to take on his heart and mind and be a shelter for others.

By Sister Mary Agnes Ryan

Fourth in a Series

Many years ago I heard a homily comparing religious life to lighthouses.   Lighthouses are strategically placed along coastlines to guide ships to safety.  A lighthouse is just there.  It is barely noticed on sunny days and moon-filled nights. But, during storms and moonless nights,  the lighthouse is a beacon to guide ships to their destination.  It is during the storms and tempests of life that those in peril on the sea look to a lighthouse to get to shore safely. 

So it is with religious life! Priests and religious can be found in many places carrying out the work of God and, for those who belong to a religious community, the charism of their community.  Priests and consecrated religious (sisters and nuns)  are there.  Often, they go unnoticed;  it is during the storms and difficulties of life that people look to them for guidance and direction.

This homily gave a certain perspective to my life. My life began in Deadwood, S.D., where my brother and I were born.  When the snow got too deep to get to church, my mom said it was time to move.  So, we moved to Phoenix, Ariz., where my sister was born.  Until I started first grade, my family moved many times.  My parents used to tell me that if I got less than an “A” in geography (a subject taught way back then) it wasn’t their fault.

We settled in Sacred Heart Parish, Manoa, Pa., in Delaware County just outside of Philadelphia. In my eight years in the parish elementary school I got to know the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate of Heart of Mary (the IHM’s).  Attending Archbishop Prendergast High School for Girls continued that contact.  Also, I had cousins who were in this community. So, I grew up in a really Catholic culture.  I had dreamed of becoming a flight attendant and traveling the world.  But, when I was a senior, one of the sisters asked me if I ever thought about becoming a sister.  After I thought and prayed about this suggestion, I considered two possibilities: an IHM or a Maryknoll Sister.  My mother’s one brother was a Maryknoll priest and being a missionary attracted me.  However, the Lord did not have a missionary vocation in mind for my life. 

So, I entered the IHM Community and began my time of formation (three years), profession of vows and my first teaching assignment in Queen of Heaven School in Cherry Hill.  From that point on, my life was in God’s hands and it has been a wonderful adventure!  My 17 years of teaching in Catholic elementary schools took me not only to New Jersey but also to Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania.  In teaching junior high students, I grew to love teaching social studies.  One of my really favorite people is General Robert E. Lee.  Teaching both in the North and the South gave me vastly different perspectives.

Then my life moved into the area of religious education specifically as the director of religious education (DRE)  in three different parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  The Lord then called me to diocesan office work as the director of elementary religious education for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. What a wonderful opportunity to visit the parish elementary schools during that time and see the impact of Catholic education on so many thousands of young people. The Lord called again and I found myself travelling to Raleigh, N.C., as a pastoral associate in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and also the assistant to the Office of Divine Worship for the diocese.  Last year the Lord called again to come to the Diocese of Trenton. 

While the Lord calls us in the big moments and decisions of life, he does call us each and every day to take on his mind and heart and be his presence among his people.

While I never became a flight attendant, God has given me the opportunity to travel and bring his presence to many people in the north and south and the southwest.  For the past 21 years, I have visited the Diocese of Gallup, N.M., to give workshops, in-services, courses and retreats throughout that diocese.  My admiration of the first travelers who crossed this country is immense.

Reflecting upon the path God chose for my life has made me realize how much I have been given, how much I am loved by our good and gracious God, and how blessed I am to be not only a Catholic but also a consecrated religious. God gives the vocation as well as the grace to remain faithful to it every day.

God has been that beacon of love, strength, and support in every move of my life.  He has been my shelter and kept me safe in the storms and trials of trying to live the Gospel message and the charism of my religious community: love, creative hope and fidelity.  I only can hope that I, too, have allowed him to be that for others as the paths of our lives cross.

As Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we look to Mary and her intercession to be daughters of the Gospel, servants by name and faithful witnesses whose trust in Divine Providence enables us to say “yes” each day.

Sister Mary Agnes Ryan is director of the diocesan Department of Evangelization and Catechesis.