April 2024

by Sr. Mary Emmadoña Lee | Apr 16, 2024 | Newsletter

The Easter peace of Our Risen Lord be with you!  During this whole Easter season, we rejoice in the resurrection.  Our foundress reminds us that during the forty days after the resurrection, He appeared only to His friends.  You are one of His friends, so expect some special graces from Him during this special time!

You’ve seen in various places lists of FAQs (frequently asked questions).  Here are a few FAQs about the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate.

Q.  You say you are contemplative-missionaries. Just what does that mean?  How can a Sister be both at the same time?  Or, are some Sisters missionaries and the others contemplatives who pray for them?

A.  As Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate, we combine contemplation and missionary activity. Yes, both at the same time, not one or the other.  To be a contemplative means to be a person of deep prayer.  Some people think of cloistered nuns as the only contemplatives, but that is not accurate.  Cloistered contemplative life is a very special way to serve the Lord.  However, contemplation is not reserved for those who are cloistered.

Jesus was a contemplative, someone of deep prayer, as I’m sure all would agree, yet at the same time He was the Good Shepherd concerned for the lost sheep.  He combined the two perfectly, and that is what we strive to do.

Mary was another contemplative-missionary.  Right after receiving the wonderful news that she was to be the Mother of God, she went out to visit her cousin in need, all the while pondering in her heart the wonderful things God had done.

Contemplation is a loving union with God, which of course includes Mass, our daily Hour of Adoration, and all our prayer time, but this loving union continues while we’re doing our apostolate.

Along with this we are missionaries.  The word “missionary” is often thought to mean only foreign missionaries, but it actually means “one who is sent” to go out to people in the name of the Lord.  The ones we are sent to could be right in our own town  or  city,  or anywhere in the U.S.,  or  in one of the foreign countries in which we have missions.  The Good Shepherd has wandering sheep everywhere, in need of someone to help them return to Him, as well as children and youth needing to know and love Jesus!

Of course, those Sisters who are elderly, or who care for the administration of the community, etc. are serving the missionary apostolate by their prayer and by their service.  All Parish Visitors are contemplative-missionaries!

Q.  What is your community life like?

 Community life is an aid to our contemplative-missionary vocation, living with other women who share the same ideals and who are striving to love God and each other better.

We pray together and laugh together and share together.  Community life is a joyful life.  No community is perfect, and as with any family perhaps sometimes there could be misunderstandings, but we know we love each other and are here for the same reason, to follow the Lord.  It has been said that only in a convent can a group of women be in the kitchen at the same time and not “kill” each other!

Our Ohio Sisters watching the recent solar eclipse

We are happy to always wear our habit.  We come from various states and countries, and together form one family.  Our love of the Church, our simple and friendly approach to people, and our simple community life are other traits of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate.

Q.  Are you faithful to the Church? Are you Eucharistic and Marian?

Yes, yes, and yes! We are a pontifical community and are lovingly faithful to the Church.  And devotion to the Blessed Sacrament has always been a part of our community.  We have a Holy Hour of Adoration daily.  Also, Mary Immaculate is our community patroness and our model.

 If you would like to know more about the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate, or would like to have a phone chat or a visit, just email us at pvmi@frontiernet.net.  May all of you have a grace-filled Easter season, and may the Lord guide you and help you with your vocational discernment.

In the Easter peace of Jesus,

The Parish Visitor Sisters

February 2024

by Sr. Mary Emmadoña Lee | Feb 2, 2024 | Newsletter

“A miracle! I’ve had so many troubles, and I’ve been praying for someone to help me, and here you are, at my door!” Meg quickly invited me in and proceeded to pour out her heart to me. Mostly she just needed someone to listen to her and to let her know that God still loved her.

We have so many beautiful stories of parish visitation. Not everything happens like the incident above, but every story, every soul, is special. “Make every soul count!” was an often-repeated motto of our Foundress.

Jesus knocks on the doors of hearts (Rev 3:20). He seeks out the straying sheep. He makes the first move; He doesn’t just sit back and wait for them to come to His door.

That’s what Parish Visitors do. We visit families, seeking out the straying, helping to bring them home to Jesus. We never know who will be behind the next door, and what their story will be. This is the new evangelization, not really new but dating from the Good Shepherd.

Children are the heartbreakers. So often the children are spiritually, emotionally and sometimes even physically neglected. They need us! They need to learn about God’s love for them and to love Him in return.We find so many of these children. Religious instruction of children and youth is also an important part of our apostolate. (More about this was in previous newsletters.)

What might people say when they open the door?

Sure, some will say, “I’m not interested,” and quickly close the door, but others will say things like:

“I guess God hasn’t forgotten me, after all. You’re here.”

“Sister, I haven’t prayed for so long. I think I’ve forgotten how.”

“I said I’d never darken the door of the church again, but if God is so interested in me to send someone to my door, maybe I’d better think about it.”

“Come in, Sister. I’m new in the area, and I was wondering how to have my children instructed for First Communion.

“I’m Catholic and I’m not very religious myself, but I want my children to grow up the right way and to learn about God.”

“I don’t know if I can still call myself a Catholic. I haven’t been to Church in so many years.”

“Do you really think God still loves me, after all I’ve done?”

It’s exciting to visit families, for Jesus and with Jesus! Here are some excerpts from an article by one of our Sisters in first profession, Sister Debra Marie:

“Sister, I don’t think I can knock on a stranger’s door and enter into a conversation about our faith….” But, by two months after that statement, I had knocked on nearly 200 doors and entered into many meaningful conversations, and I joyfully shared with my Sisters how eager I was to go out again. What changed my perspective? The power of the Holy Spirit! By nature I’m rather shy. At first I accompanied an experienced Sister on visitation, and I began to see more clearly the need for this ministry; I began to want to go out to do this. I quickly learned that the Holy Spirit would lead me to those He wanted me to visit and that He would give me the words to say.”

Of course we’re trained for this apostolate and don’t begin until we’ve observed experienced Sisters and are ready. Our life of prayer gives power to our words, and our life of community strengthens us.

This applies, too, to our catechetical apostolate and youth ministry. Without the power of prayer, our words would be “noisygongs and clangingcymbals,” as St. Paul says. Mass and our daily Hour of Adoration are especially powerful!

SOME FAQs ABOUT VISITATION

Aren’t you afraid? Parish Visitors have been doing this for over 100 years in all kinds of neighborhoods, without incident. We are taught how to be prudent and careful, but being prudent is different from being afraid of visitation. We take the first step and go forth!

People know where the Church is. Is it really important to seek them out? We’ve heard of Jesus and the lost sheep. What if you lost something important to you? What if you lost your cell phone, for example? You wouldn’t say, “It’s OK, somebody will find it and bring it back to me.” That’s rather chancy, isn’t it! You’d retrace your steps, thinking where you last used it, search your pockets, your purse, the shrubbery along the sidewalk, every place you can think of. A soul is so much more important than that, isn’t it?

Aren’t you invading people’s privacy? No, we are gentle and non-threatening, never pushy. If people don’t want to open the door, that’s up to them. When they open it, they are choosing to speak with us.

Remember, Jesus is with us; we are His instruments in speaking with the people. Is God touching your heart to do this with us?

God’s blessings on your discernment!
Your Parish Visitor Sisters