Life support

:: Sisters with moms at Holy Respite

Since 1991, the Sisters of Life have been promoting respect for all human life and coordinating networks to sustain women in need. Three sisters who live in the heart of Manhattan shared about their lives and their work.

Leaving the house that morning, Monica was sure she had picked up from the counter the address of the abortion clinic for her appointment. Instead she found herself parked in front of a convent.

Something gave her the courage to get out of the car and greet the Sister of Life who was on her way in. Since Cardinal John O’Connor founded the order in 1991, the Sisters of Life spend their lives, as their mission states, “for the protection and advancement of sacredness of each person at every stage of life.”

As Monica and the sister talked, various conflicting factors came to the foreground. The single mother of three wanted to have the baby, but a host of practical problems made that seem impossible.

As the sisters well know, it takes an average of eight people to answer the needs of one woman in difficulty. Monica, for example, was in desperate need of connecting to a support system and would have been able to see the pregnancy through only if she could move to Florida, close to her sisters, and simultaneously find a house and a job there.

The Sisters of Life called on their extensive network of volunteers, people from many vocations and professions who open their homes, offer friendship and professional services, or simply lend a helping hand. For Monica, one of the volunteers offered a place to live, another was able to find furniture and still another drove a moving van from New York to Florida. When Monica arrived, she found a chain of support that helped her work through the practical challenges of the move and the preparations for the new baby.

We spoke with a few of the sisters at Holy Respite Convent in Manhattan. Sr. Mary Aquinas first started thinking of being a sister when she saw The Sound of Music as a little girl. She also thought of becoming an international spy, but eventually she embraced the idea of the convent during college when the urgent need to work to protect unborn life became increasingly evident.

Sr. Maris Stella felt drawn to consecrated life while serving in the military. When she met the Sisters of Life, she realized that this charism best articulated her heart’s desires and her search for community.

Sr. Veronica Mary had been deeply struck by the homily of a priest on the sacredness of life. She sensed that she would work for this cause for the rest of her life. One day someone asked her if she had ever thought about being a sister. She had other plans for her life, but the idea persisted, and she felt the Lord was calling her. She has now been with the community for close to ten years.

How do the sisters see their work? While you do see them rolling up their sleeves in concrete service, they see the witness of their consecrated lives as their primary contribution.

“Just the fact of our consecration — the offering of our lives to God — this alone pulls down graces from heaven,” says Sr. Veronica.

As a contemplative-active order, the sisters spend four hours a day in prayer. “The needs of the world are so great,” says Sr. Veronica. “The sisters always keep in mind the words of the Gospel of which Cardinal O’Connor would remind us: ‘Certain demons can be driven out only by prayer and fasting’ (Mk 9:29).”

Convents in New York, Connecticut and Toronto offer housing, family life and individual attention to women who are struggling with an unexpected pregnancy. The women are often touched by the spirit that they find in the house and in turn want to pray with the sisters. Many have either returned to or entered into the sacramental life of the Church. Many find the patterns for healthy family life that they might have been missing.

“We bring them what we have,” explains Sr. Veronica. “We introduce them — or reintroduce them — to the Lord and then try to love with his love.”

Other aspects of their mission include retreats or outreach projects such as the Visitation Mission, inspired by Mary hastening to help her cousin Elizabeth. Many simply need someone to listen to their concerns. Sr. Mary shares how this attitude creates a space in which they can step back from the crisis. “When we offer them concrete help, they want to follow the desire of their hearts, which is the desire to be a mother.”

The community also embraces women who have been traumatized by the experience of an abortion — which in the U.S., according to one statistic, is one out of every four women.

Susan, for example, had several. “It destroyed me,” she said. “I was in total darkness.” She participated in one of the sisters’ Entering Canaan Retreats and finally found peace and reconciliation with God. “I do not always feel the consolation,
but I now have a certainty in my heart that I am loved.”

Sr. Maris expresses admiration for these courageous women: “Through their sufferings, and then the recognition of being forgiven, they become like saints. For me, they are the most eloquent of those who proclaim the Gospel of Life.”

The sisters also open their hearts as a presence for those they meet in the regular course of city life. “The habit is a magnet for people who need prayers or comfort,” Sr. Veronica confides.

“Even through a brief exchange,” Sr. Mary shares, “the people we meet are able to receive the presence of Christ and this gives them new hope.”

Thankfully, God continues to send workers to the vineyard. The community now has 20 novices in formation and a good number who are considering entering the order. Even in tough financial times, donations have been on the rise.

“God knows there is a lot of work to be done,” says Sr. Veronica.

Toronto’s Visitation Mission

In Toronto there are currently five sisters of Life at the Visitation Mission, a phone bank serving pregnant women in need. The sisters, along with the assistance of a vast network of volunteers — Co-workers of Life — offer practical and spiritual support to women overwhelmed by the obstacles in carrying their child to term. During their first year in this new mission, the sisters served over 40 women with the help of more than 500 co-workers.

“Just as Mary carried the Christ-child conceived beneath her heart to her cousin Elizabeth, so each sister carries the Eucharistic Christ conceived beneath her heart to the vulnerable pregnant woman,” says Sr. Shirley Ann.
— Maria Dalgarno


Openness to life

“OPENNESS to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for the person’s true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away. The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help. By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens. They can instead promote virtuous action, within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual.”
— Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate