Mary Hansen, Associate
Associate Report to Chapter
Province Chapter, July 14, 2013
When I first was invited to Associate commitment, I was searching for a community to support not only my faith and spiritual growth, but also my biases for justice within the wider community. Sr. Clare Roy, a pragmatic, energetic, and totally committed Holy Names sister, invited me to lunch. She and I had worked on several local issues, held the same values, and had solidarity for liberating action, rooted in our historical faith.
Clare asked what I knew about Associate programs…nothing! She talked of the SNJM’s, Mother Marie Rose, and her own decision to commit her life to service. Of course, she had me when she spoke of the challenges related to living and working in the culture of the world, where the intersection of my life and work related, and how the charism supported and encouraged that journey. For me, the important elements were planting the seed, my own readiness, discernment and faith meeting the charism.
I was eager to embark on this journey, eager for the spiritual and communal support, and the welcoming I received. I felt very comfortable within the community; after all, I was a cradle Catholic, familiar with sisters, convents, priests and the Church. I felt a connection to Eulalie Durocher, and the fact that she came from the same area as my family in St. Antoine. Even the house of her birth and the house of my grandmother’s birth were identical in style. Years later, when I had the opportunity to travel to Longueuil, and stay at the foundation house, I felt a deep peacefulness and sense of belonging. But, more importantly, were the values in the SNJM community and the challenge to live the charism in very tangible ways.
The spirit catches you, the charism catches you; encouragement, challenge to grow, dignity of the whole person, freedom through education, and hospitality. Openness to God’s calling and seeking new applications.
I work in the field of healthcare, legalities, family dynamics and a lot of chaos. Many of my clients are suffering, are marginalized, do not have a voice and little or no support. The compassion and care that Mother Rose so generously modeled encourages the same from me. Many times the situation seems totally and overwhelmingly difficult to repair. The charism challenges me and at the same time calls me to live more deeply, informing and transforming. The values held in community, full development of the human person, education in the faith, hospitality, dedication to women and children, justice, service to the poor and marginalized, commitment to liberating action and love for the names of Jesus and Mary are integrated into my life and work and nurtures my spirituality in a continually evolving relationship.
Change can be viewed as loss and diminishment, but the charism speaks of new and different insights, not what we wish or thought we had, but where we are…to live more deeply interdependence, and in solidarity with other like-minded persons, and traditions. The challenge for me is to live the charism in this more tangible spirit, and seek the common threads.
Mother Marie Rose simply invited folks around her (geographically and spiritually), to join her, to share with her, an educational opportunity based in faith, and a desire to “extend a hand to one another to surmount the difficulties that occur”. I often wonder how she would deal with the world of today with all the poverty, materialism, human trafficking, immigration, the earth and its resources and the seemingly constant violence. I am sure her link would be Jesus and Mary, and the gospel stories. She herself overcame so many difficulties, and by example encouraged a vision of the future for intentional living, transforming and sharing. I carry this expression of the charism each day, and count on the spirit to carry me through the rough patches, my own biases, and weakness.
My passion for justice, the dignity of the person, and solidarity for liberating action is most certainly found in the SNJM charism, belonging and celebrating our common experience, and supported by the whole community. The mutuality and spiritual support calls me to become more.
My parents, by their actions within and outside our home, were planting the seeds of Mother Marie Rose, and they were practicing the charism themselves without giving identity to it. Formation must first include invitation. Support for the individual where they are within the community. I thank Sr. Clare for that invitation, for that support and the SNJM community for showing me in so many ways that the charism is truly a gift to be shared and we can, “extend a hand to one another to help surmount the difficulties that occur”.