by Sr. Ann McCartney, O.Carm.
1967
– Into the land of Carmel I
have brought you: Jer 2.7
2017
This year along with four other Sisters, I celebrated 50
years as a Carmelite Sister for the Aged and Infirm.
During my annual retreat in March, I spent some time
reflecting on the past fifty years wondering where the time went! I thought of that scared eighteen year old
girl who left her family in Scotland to travel to New York to begin a new
adventure. How did she get there?
Growing up in Scotland I didn’t have much contact with
religious communities and those I did meet always seemed so serious and
mysterious. Joining them was something
that I never contemplated or ever thought I would do. In 1966 there was a vocation fair that was held in my parish
in Paisley. The evening before it began
I was at the Church and one of the priests there invited me to “come over to
the hall and meet some Sisters.” I went
over with him and wandered around the hall watching the communities set up
their information booths. Some of the
communities I recognized but most I didn’t. As I walked past one booth, a Sister called out to me and
invited me over. I stopped and was
introduced to the two Sisters at the booth.
It turned out that their community was from America and had just arrived
in Scotland about two years before. They
were located in a different part of the country and not a part of our diocese. (It appeared that they had badgered the
Bishop to let them be a part of the vocation fair!) I talked to them for a while and found myself
exchanging addresses with them – not that I ever intended to follow up with
them!
A couple of week after the vocation fair I received a letter
from the Sisters inviting me to visit their convent. This went on for a while until I finally
decided to go for a visit and get it over with.
Getting there meant that I took a bus to the train station, a train to
the ferry and a ferry ride to a town called Dunoon which is in
Argyllshire. To me it seemed like
traveling to the end of Scotland!! I remember ringing the doorbell and being admitted to a
parlor to await one of the Sisters. When
I stepped into that house I felt this incredible feeling going right through me
and a great feeling of peace within my being.
It was kind of freaky and I wondered what I was doing there! The plan was for me to visit for the weekend but I wasn’t
sure that I really wanted to stay that long.
When Sr. Elizabeth Anne came into the room I was ready to tell her that
I could only stay overnight but she was so friendly and approachable and not at
all serious like the other Sisters I had known that I said nothing. At that point I did not even know what kind
of work the Sisters did but by the end of the weekend all I could think was
this: “I don’t know what it is that they
have but I want it too.”
After I got home I couldn’t get the experience of that
weekend out of my mind and I found myself making another visit – then another
until I was going to the convent about every other month. During one of those trips I was privileged to
Meet Mother Angeline Teresa, O.Carm., the Foundress of this congregation who
was making a visit to the home. At one point my mother said that it was financially difficult
to continue to let me go off on my trips.
By then I was seriously thinking that I wanted to enter but wasn’t sure
how to tell my mother. After a few
months my mother told me that it was a waste of my time to keep this up; after
all she said, “It’s not like you are going to become one of them, are you?” I saw this as my opening and told her that as a matter of
fact I did want to enter that community.
Up until then no one in my family had met any of the Sisters or really
knew where I was spending these weekends.
On my next trip I talked to Sr. Elizabeth Anne about the possibility of
entering the convent and how to go about it.
Sister invited my mother to come for a visit so that we could all
discuss the situation.
And so it was that in September of 1967 I left Scotland with
two other young women to embark on the most incredible journey ever
imaginable. After arriving in New York
we spent a couple of days in one of the homes there and then were taken to the
Motherhouse to officially enter the community on September 8, 1967.
And what a journey it has been; have there been
challenges? Absolutely!! Have I ever regretted taking that first
step? Never!! Through the past fifty years my assignments
have been varied and my Missions many, but through it all I have always known
that I am where I was meant to be. I
still remember that sense of peace and belonging that I had when I first
entered a little nursing home in Scotland named Bethania. I truly believe that God gave me the gift of
my vocation at that moment and I thank Him for always being with me through
these fifty years. Knowing what I do today would I still embark on that
journey? You bet I would! Caring for our elders and making a difference
in their lives is amazing, and I would encourage any young woman who feels that
call from God, to step out in faith and with trust in Jesus answer YES to his invitation.
