Here is the next installment of The Monitor’s special monthly series in observance of the Church’s Year of Consecrated Life, featuring stories of different individuals in our Diocese who have committed their lives to serving God as a religious priest, brother or sister.

By Daughter of Charity | Sister Joanne Dress

"Its beginnings were at the same time simple and unexpected.”

That is the way St. Vincent de Paul described the beginnings of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the community to which I have belonged for nearly 48 years.

It is also is a good description of my own vocation. 

Simple

My parents passed the faith on to me and to my brothers and sister.  Their faith was both simple and profound.   We prayed, celebrated the sacraments, socialized and experienced our faith in the midst of a vibrant parish. We attended Catholic elementary and high schools. Our parish was an extended family that included my grandparents and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Service was always part of our faith.  I learned from watching my parents at home. I saw my father help widows who needed help after losing their husbands.  I saw my mother bake cakes and send them to someone who was grieving or living alone.  Our parents sent us to shovel snow, rake leaves or go to the store for an elderly neighbor.

There were opportunities in my parish to visit the elderly in the “almshouse” in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia.  I can still vividly recall that experience – the smells, the lack of care, the loneliness and the genuine delight when we came to visit, to listen and to bring some small sign of our care for them. Those visits had a major impact on me, making me aware of “the poor.”

As a teen, I worked at a diocesan camp in Philadelphia where I was a counselor. There I met the Daughters of Charity who ran St. Joseph’s Home for Girls.  The children and the sisters lived at the camp while the home they lived in was being renovated. 

This was another pivotal experience for me.  I was touched by the way in which the sisters treated the children with respect, care and love.  Most of these children had “behavioral issues” that caused them to be court-mandated to a home where they could receive professional help.

Through all these people, and in these and many other “events,” my eyes were opened to the needs of the poor, vulnerable and marginalized.

Unexpected

I had no intention of being a sister.  I intended to find someone to spend my life with and have a family.  Apparently, God had other plans.  In my relationship with the Daughters of Charity, I saw that they were “normal,” sharing their faith, their ministry, serving the poor and caring for each other in community.  I began to think it was possible that I could be one of them.  I couldn’t get that thought out of my head.  Eventually, after graduating from high school and working for a year, I became a Daughter of Charity.

I share the Daughters of Charity passion for serving the poor.  Any ministry that touches the poor is a ministry where you can find Daughters …teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors, lawyers.  We strive to be open to serve in whatever way is needed.  

Throughout my years as a Daughter of Charity, I have found myself in unexpected ministries and places.  I have had rich experiences of service in places that I never even dreamed of visiting. The friendships and example of my co-workers have strengthened me in my vocation. I am able to give who I am and what I can do in service because of my relationship with Christ and the support of my sisters in community. 

Our God is a God of surprises and unexpected challenges!  I wonder what is next?

Sister Joanne is the diocesan executive director for Catholic Social Services.