Sisters of LifeThe pregnant woman who does not want to be a mother is already a mother".The "Sisters of Life" welcome 7 more sistersThe Sisters of Life congregation is well known in the United States for its pro-life work. In addition to the traditional vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, they take a fourth vow to defend and promote the life.
In this interview with Omnes, they talk about the charism of their order, the vocations they have right now and the hope they want to help young people recover.
How would you define the charisma of your order?
- As our founder Cardinal O'Connor would say in his day: "This is the charism of the Sisters of Life: to be mothers to the mothers of the unborn; to be mothers to the unborn; to be mothers to all who are frail, to all who are vulnerable, to all who are sick, to all who are in danger of being condemned to death, to all whose lives the world considers worthless. Our Lord says to every Sister of Life: 'Woman, there is your son. There is your daughter.
And certainly, that is what we find in the mission, pregnant mothers who have not had a mother, and sometimes, not even a grandmother. In many cases, two generations are missing without a mother figure to the girl we find pregnant, either because she passed away or abandoned her. Teaching these women to be daughters, to be able to be mothers is one of our privilege.
How many sisters are in the congregation today?
- We are a Religious Institute approved in 2004, of active contemplative life, and today, we are 139, including 10 postulants and 11 novices. God continues to call.
Why are they focused on the protection of life? What does this mean in concrete terms?
- We were founded in 1991 by New York Cardinal John O'Connor, following a call he experienced while visiting the Dachau concentration camp (Germany) where he pledged that he would give his entire life to promote human dignity.
In addition to the 3 traditional vows - poverty, obedience and chastity - we take a 4th vow to defend and promote that life is sacred.
We promote the culture of life in all our apostolates, but concretely, the life of the most vulnerable, the unborn. We accompany mothers with high-risk pregnancies, mothers who have suffered abortion, we make retreats to promote the dignity of the human being... we give our life to God so that others may have life.
How do you approach the issue of abortion with women considering this option?
- The first thing we do when we meet with them is to listen to them, to know their story, and to know how they are considering what to do with their pregnancy. In most cases, it is not a decision against their child directly, but the fear of losing their freedom, their life, being without the support of the baby's father or their own family, problems in their environment, and recognizing that a baby will mean that they will no longer be the center of attention in their lives.
The desire for abortion is a big separation between the mother and her baby. Everyone talks about wounds, and the need for healing... Healing is really communion, it is closeness, and bridging gaps. Sometimes things as simple as telling the mother to put her hand on her belly and say to the baby: "my son, don't be afraid, forgive the fright I gave you, we are not alone, here is your mother who loves you"... makes them start to cry and their heart moves... The baby in the womb goes from being something abstract to really their child.
One should not be afraid to call things by their name, to give his life to a being who is flesh of his flesh and blood of his blood.
A pregnancy test is to find out if a woman is a mother or not, it is not to see whether to abort or not.
How can we help future generations build a culture of life?
- We have to understand why life is sacred and why to defend it. We have to start taking care of ourselves, to live a life with hope, thinking that there is a Heaven. Without knowing the meaning of our own life, our humanity, we go stumbling aimlessly... Recognize that our life is not only in this valley of tears, but that we are made for something more. We are made from and for Eternity...
We must promote respect for the self as an antidote to the culture of the body, we are not objects to be used and thrown away. This starts from a very early age and in our own families, friends, co-workers, etc. It starts in our environment: washing our hands before eating, using a napkin, not talking with our mouths full, taking care of our vocabulary, giving the seat to the elderly person on the bus, looking in the eyes when we are spoken to... very basic things that today have been neglected.
It is fundamental to call things by their name, and not to be afraid to tell the truth: we are a person even when we were a single cell, given to us by our parents, and from that moment on, we had a soul and immortal life and a Guardian Angel given to us by God.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your work?
- The confusion in the air today is real. The lack of truth is in the air. Society and the media direct our actions, we are accustomed to accept what is proposed to us without questioning it, and we have normalized evil, without thinking and being free to know and decide what is really good for us.
Helping a pregnant woman think about and embrace the reality of motherhood is a challenge. Recovering the value of the whole person is a global challenge for everyone today.
Do you think there are fewer vocations to religious life today? Why?
- Certainly there are communities with fewer vocations. The culture in which we live has taken God out of society. The world of technology and haste in which we live can present faith, silence, peace, truth, goodness and beauty as boring or irrelevant. With so much noise in the environment it is difficult to hear God's voice... but He continues to call.
On the other hand, there is a lot of talk about scandals and marital separations, but no one has a vocation for failure.
On the other hand, many young people are not familiar with religious life. However, to give one's life proclaiming that there is a real Savior among us today and that there is hope in Eternal Life is an exciting adventure.
If they knew that life is to be given, that God gives a hundredfold, and that the hope of eternal life by saying "yes" to the Lord is real, there would be queues at the doors of convents and seminaries.
But nevertheless, there are communities that grow annually. Communities that attract vocations typically have in common that they wear traditional habits, live and have the apostolate in community, and in addition to the vows they profess, have a common prayer life, which includes the Divine Office, Adoration, etc.
Right now you have communities in the United States and Canada, are you planning to start new communities in other countries?
- Right now we have sisters from the United States, CanadaAustralia, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, England, Ireland, Austria, El Salvador, and Spain.
Only God knows the plan, and we abandon ourselves to Him. Whatever God wills.
Below is a documentary made by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious on the vocation to religious life:
