2/21/2012

PERSONAL STORIES

                                                     Sr. Hope Therese, O.Carm

I originally lived in New Jersey but moved to New York when I was four and a half years old.  Although my parents, John and Jo Ellen Maring, both attended the Methodist Church when I was born, it was after our move to New York that my mother felt called to return to the Catholic faith of her youth.  My father is a dairy farmer and supplies milk to the Chobani Yogurt Factory.  My mother has a quilt business and founded the New York Chapter of “Quilts of Valor”.  The Chapter awards quilts to wounded soldiers and veterans.  My mother also gives quilts to breast cancer survivors as she herself is a two year survivor.  My sister, Melissa, is a registered nurse who lives also in New York with her husband Scott and baby boy Jacob.  My family has been an amazing source of inspiration and faith throughout my entire life!
Before joining the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, I had three years at Suny Canton College to become an Occupational Therapist Assistant (“OTA”).  I love Carmelite spirituality, especially devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary.  I also love the elderly and working with them.  It is very easy to see Jesus in them.  I was drawn to the Congregation because the Carmelite Sisters seem to have very full and well-rounded lives!  I found out about them through their website and attended their vocation weekend retreat to further discern my vocation.  I eventually joined them on February 14, 2012.



                                          Sr. Maureen Paul Angeline, O.Carm.

 I am from New Mexico and raised Catholic in a family that was made up of both parents and five siblings.  I was especially close to my sister, Teresa Francis (“Teddi”), who was twenty four years older than me.  She died in April 2000.  I am the youngest in my family.  I have outlived both my parents and all relatives from their generation.  I have one sister living in Seattle and three brothers, two of them also live in New Mexico.  Before joining the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, I worked as a medical speech pathologist with twenty two years’ experience.  I have worked with geriatric patients and dealt with evaluating and treating swallowing disorders.  I have been heavily involved with end of life issues.
                                             
 I was drawn to Carmel because of its desert-hermit spirituality.  As I learned more about it I became enamored by the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.  But at the same time I have always known that I was created to work with the elderly and so a vocation to this Congregation seems to be right.  I learned of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm through VocationsMatch.com website.  This site then led me to the Congregation’s own website.  I joined the Congregation on February 14, 2012.

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