Sr. Eileen Marie Laird, born in Butte, Montana, peacefully entered eternal life on February 10. She was 98 years old and was in religious life for 76 years. She served in the Philippines and then as General Secretary and notary at Marycrest motherhouse. Her funeral will be on Saturday, February 17 at Marycrest’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. May she rest in God’s eternal peace.
“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
We ask your prayers for the repose of the soul of Sr. Ann Marie Archer, PVMI who died following a brief illness on Saturday, January 20, 2024. Sister Ann Marie did missionary visitation, social service assistance, and religious education in St. Raymond’s, Bronx, and visitation in St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Bronx, and Our Lady of Peace in Manhattan. She served as a formation director for many years in the Bronx and at Marycrest. For the past 18 years she was a local superior at Marycrest and cared for the Sisters in the infirmary. In 2012 she was elected as a General Councilor. Her funeral was at Marycrest on Saturday, January 27, 2024. May she rest in peace.
Let us turn to Him in praise and thanks as we remember His coming on the first Christmas.
The angels announced His birth with joyful song
And the shepherds went in haste to greet the newborn Savior.
The star guided the wise men, and they knelt to adore.
He has come! The long-awaited Savior! O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
As the song goes, “Go, tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born!” Is God nudging you to spread the good news with us as a Parish Visitor of Mary Immaculate, to help many others to know and love Jesus?
God’s peace and joy be with you and your loved ones at Christmas and always!
Your Parish Visitor Sisters
There are many children beyond the normal age for receiving the sacraments, and Parish Visitors are often blessed to help them. Not long ago Sr. Jhoan Marie witnessed the Baptism and First Communion of a group of these children whom she had prepared.
Of course these overaged children preparing for First Communion were to have their First Penance ahead of time, and Jack was really nervous about this. Sister tried to help him with his nervousness as he was waiting for Father, telling him it would be like speaking to Jesus.
He came out of the confessional smiling! “Sister, it’s hard to explain what I’m feeling now! I feel life! It was really Jesus there! I feel so new! I’m forgiven!”
Sister tells us how beautiful it was to see the transformation on his face from nervousness to happiness, and his excitement to share his experience in confession. He even told his brother, who also was to go to confession for the first time, “It’s useless to feel nervous, because it’s really Jesus who is there!”
Let’s pray for Jack and all these children, and for so many other children who need to meet Jesus!
With Thanksgiving approaching, we can thank God that we ourselves have met Jesus in the sacraments. We have so much to be grateful for!
Yes, let’s stop and thank God for our baptism! For the Holy Eucharist and all the sacraments! For our Catholic faith!
We thank God for our family, too. No family is perfect except the Holy Family, but to have grown up in a decent family that cared about me is a great gift from God, which many people don’t have.
Let’s thank God for the food we have every day, for shelter, for clothing.
Thank God, too, for living in a free country, with the freedom to openly practice the faith.
There’s so much more, too, to thank God for–my friends, my health, my education–and the list could go on and on.
How about thanking God, too, that you are discerning your vocation, trying to see what His will is for your life? The fact that you’re even considering giving yourself totally to God is a gift from Him, and He is certainly pleased with that!
A vocation is a precious gift from God and a cause for great thanksgiving. It’s a great privilege to be called to be the Spouse of Christ. Do take it seriously, and act on it as soon as you know what He wants and as soon as you are able to follow. Be generous to Him! God will never be outdone in generosity, and your list of what to be thankful for will grow and grow!
Have you seen our recent video, featuring Sr. Alina Marie, Sr. Theresa Marie and Sr. Mary Emmadona? Here’s the link for it: Behind the Veil #4 – Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate in Monroe, NY – YouTube. Enjoy!
We Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate are so grateful to God for our contemplative-missionary charism. Our combination of contemplation with missionary outreach to those who are straying from the faith, and giving instructions in the faith to children, youth, and adults, is such a gift from God. Contact us to learn more!
God bless you as you continue to discern His will! We’re praying for you! Happy Thanksgiving!
The Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate