Take time to recognize the good work of women religious

Catholic Sisters Week: The 6 ^th annual National Catholic Sisters Week will be March 8-14. The week is part of National Women’s History Month and highlights the important contributions religious women make to their communities, often without much thanks or recognition. 

There are approximately 45,000 Catholic sisters in the United States, and their stories provide hope in a time when so much seems negative and divisive. 

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City has many remarkable sisters, two of whom we highlight this year. 

Sister Mary Ann Cirillo grew up in New Jersey and credits her family with her strong faith formation, appreciation for education and compassion for others. 

On Sept. 4, 1962, Sister Mary Ann entered the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh, N.Y., beginning a lifetime of service. Although she has enjoyed working in different ministries, including pastoral ministry and teaching grade school, she calls her current role her most rewarding. Since September 1990, Sister Mary Ann has been part of the Las Casas Ministry (Dominicans in Ministry with Native Americans) in the small town of Canton. 

Originally developed to provide legal aid support to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, the Las Casas ministry has changed quite a bit in its 40+ years. Perhaps most notable now are the “Sister Bags” the local children come to get after school and on the weekends. 
 
Supported by the children in religious education at Saint Ann parish in Fairview and the parishioners of Saint Anthony in Okeene, the bags contain fruit, sandwiches, water, applesauce or pudding, and some candy.  

Sister Mary Ann welcomes each person who comes to her home with respect and compassion, just as she learned from her family. She acknowledges there are many challenges but sees these as an opportunity to be with Christ on the journey. 

Sister Maria of the Trinity was born in Oklahoma and came back after doing volunteer work in different ministries overseas. Acting on what she refers to as the “call within her call,” Sister Maria founded the Gospel of Life Disciples (GOLD) in fall 2013. This unique ministry works to preserve the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death, serving the elderly in a communal setting. 

Consecrated and lay volunteers called LifeGuards live together as family in dedicated dwellings. The dwellings welcome elderly persons who would otherwise be alone on their journey to Eternal Life. 

Everyone contributes to the household work as they are able, and each dwelling has a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament resides. The community currently has dwellings in Oklahoma City and Moore as well as Grand Prairie, Texas. A new location is under construction in Norman. 
 
GOLD dwellings are typically located near parishes with schools to provide an opportunity for intergenerational experiences as well as active parish life. The ministry also has a school for young people looking to deepen their relationship with Christ, and to discern a vocation.

In addition to classes, the school includes opportunities to directly serve others. Gospel of Life School (GOLS) is in its first year, running from September 2018 to June 2019.
 
The descriptions here of these sisters’ work don’t adequately convey the depth of their dedication and ministry. 
 
Read more about Sister Maria and GOLD at www.gospelof lifedisciples.org, and Sister Mary Ann at https://domlife.org/lascasas/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/las-casas-2017.pdf.

Sister Mary Ann has the following advice for young women considering religious life: “Respect all vocations and in the quietness of her heart, to listen to the God who loves her, and who has a place in this world for her gifts, talents, and love. Go for it!” 

Sister Maria offers similar wisdom, “Take time in prayer to ask the Lord his plan for their life, his will for their future and then ask for the grace to ‘do whatever he tells you!’”

Debi Wagner is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.

Photo above: Sr. Mary Ann Cirillo with her sister, Cathy Cirillo Berdan, and parents, Richard and Rose, in 1963. Photo provided.

Photo: Sr. Maria Faulkner at her Silver Jubilee on Sept. 1, 2015. Photo provided.