The sister to the far left in this picture, with the white religious habit, has weathered many tears in the past few days. Her family phoned to say that her beloved nephew, Nelson, had been in a motorcycle accident and was in a coma. Later they phoned to report that he died. All this time, Sister Carmen Rosa continued giving classes in Santo Domingo, unable to fly off to be close to her family. She called her best friend, Sister Yolanda (to the right) and could not stop crying. These sisters come from Colombian families that are very devoted to one another.
Disparity in religious life:
If you assume that the rules and privileges between one religious order of consecrated people and the next are pretty much the same, you would be wrong. The Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who work in the Dominican Republic have the chance to go home only once every three years. This is the biggest hardship that they face. It far outweighs the lack of items such as air conditioning, cable television and high speed Internet. Meanwhile other congregations such as our Redemptorist group have the privilege of going home every year. The main reason for the different levels of access to family is economic. The order that the sisters belong to started in Colombia among the children of lepers. They do not enjoy the economic strength of congregations that grew up in the States.
Endangered species:
Even in Colombia, which has a vibrant, solid tradition of Catholic life, the numbers of people consecrated to religious life are in a steep decline. This loss of membership can effect the younger sisters, leading them to suspect that they might be the last ones to embrace the particular charism that brought their order to life in the first place.
A little balance:
Thanks to the people of Elko, soon Sister Yolanda will have the best laptop in the parish. She will use it in catechist training, in our rural schools and in the big primary grade school where she teaches religious education for free. (The Dominican Government has employed her for over two years without giving her one check, due to fowl-ups in the department of immigration). This little resource will enhance her ministry and allow her to develop the skills to use it wisely. Her birthday is February 3rd and that is when our Redemptorist community will entrust her with this resource. Perhaps it will be the first time that a sister has a more modern piece of equipment than the priests and seminarians. May God be praised!
