Hello friends of the Missionary Sisters of Service. My name is Catherine Carr and I was employed as the Congregational Co-ordinator of the MSS congregation 3.5 years ago by Emerging Futures Collaborative Limited, a ministry of Catholic Religious Australia, set up to support Religious Institutes who are transitioning to completion.
It’s a dynamic role that I love. Its parameters are very clear:
· Providing pastoral accompaniment to each sister,
· Co-ordinating health and wellbeing and overseeing aged care services, and
· Ensuring each Sister remains connected to her mission.
Immersing myself into the charism of the MSS meant understanding the original vision of Fr John Wallis for a group of women to go out into the “highways and byways”, inspired by the Gospel, to meet the education needs of ordinary families in rural and isolated areas.
Several key MSS documents also informed me, namely the Spiritual Patrimony and MSS Constitutions, which articulated the uniquely Australian MSS charism.
The work of the MSS is embedded in the Australian landscape and draws on the scriptures to discern “the signs of the times”. Images of boundary riders, pioneers, caravans and going out “without maps” spring to mind, as well as shared kitchen table hospitality amongst the ordinary lives of ordinary people.
The MSS charism is not “cloistered”. It is a congregation of hearts and minds, where the Sisters forgo community life at times. Above all, Fr John Wallis, exhorted the Sisters to be adaptable and to be grateful (before gratitude was fashionable!)
Internalising the MSS charism in my role, is a dynamic process and takes time. It demands from me a capacity for working independently, versatility; relational skills and keeping options open. I love that my role also requires a sense of the adventure of new horizons and meeting many people.
The external landscapes I have encountered on my travels to our MSS Sisters in Mackay, Toowoomba, Port Pirie, Melbourne and Hobart, include Hobart’s majestic Kunanyi towering over Hobart town; the flora and fauna of Bruny Island; the red earth and low scrub of the Arid Lands in SA; world heritage cuttlefish in Whyalla; spying a twister spinning the dry earth; humidity; freezing temperatures and my favourite experience, spying a white python slithering among the thatched roof of a riverside café in Mackay, a well-known resident!
The frontiers of technology—Zoom; internet; email and mobile phones—have frustrated many of the congregation, but, typically, the Sisters have embraced “the times” and have made impressive inroads into this new world.
As the MSS Sisters enter older age, the frontiers of their charism have changed, and a new sort of inner territory is exposed. Make no mistake—this terrain can be as tough as the long roads and dry earth of the Sisters earlier missions and travels.
Aging with wisdom and grace is a challenge; the losses of age are challenging and reflecting on relationships becomes important.
Unsurprisingly, the MSS Sisters were amongst the earliest supporters of the vision of Emerging Futures Collaborative Limited, which is in keeping with their charism of discerning the signs of the times and following “big maps”.
It is my privilege to be accompanying the richly diverse women of the MSS in my role. In EFCL’s words, we are “Walking each other home.”