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Sister Berchmans Dooley Enters Eternal Life
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Funeral Mass was on Wednesday June 13, 2007 in the convent chapel, after which she was buried in the convent cemetery. |
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The following is the homily given at her Funeral Mass by Sister Anne Ryan In
today’s liturgy - as we celebrate the life of Sister M
Berchmans we hear in the beautiful reading from Micah, how
the prophet describes his sense of what God wants for us,
it is an invitation to live our spiritual journey in an
ordinary way. Yahweh
does not require the extraordinary of us but to live out
our ordinary lives extraordinarily well – act
justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God. Born
at Riverview near Shrule Co Galway in 1910 Nina was the
eldest girl in the family of James and Anne Dooley.
Having completed her secondary education she stayed
about a year with the family and with the blessing of her
parents in 1927 she wrote to Cahircon stating her desire
to enter the Congregation and devote herself to the
Chinese Mission. Shrule
was also the birth place of the Chinese Mission - Society
of St Columban and at this time her brother John had
already begun his studies for the priesthood there. Nina
had already interviewed Fr Connolly as she put it, about
her wish to be a Sister.
Following John’s ordination he taught in Dalgan
and in 1951 he was consecrated Archbishop of Macra and
appointed Apostolic Delegate for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
and Thailand the same year. Nina
entered the Congregation later in 1927 and at her
Reception the following year she was given the name Sister
Mary John Berchmans. Sister
Berchmans made her vows in 1930 in Cahircon and was then
assigned to Silver Creek New York.
In 1933 she made her Final Vows. In
the Ceremony of Religious Profession of Perpetual Vows the
celebrant puts the following question to the Sister who is
about to make her vows: “As a missionary Sister,
it will be your lot to live in exile, devoting yourself to
proclaiming the Kingdom of Christ, bearing witness to your
Lord by a truly evangelical life, in kindness, in
unaffected love, even to the sacrifice of life itself.
For such a calling do you think yourself
sufficient?” The Sister will respond like
this: “All
my sufficiency is from God who encourages me.
Confiding in God’s help, I presume to undertake
it”. Silver
Creek was to be the first of a number of assignments she
was to take up with the Columban Priests and students.
Later on in her life she was assigned to Dalgan,
Birmingham and Whitney.
In
1935 she was assigned to Hang Yang China.
She ministered in our communities in Hubei, Jiangsi
and Shanghai until 1948.
These were turbulent years in China and the
suffering of the people was great.
Our Sisters were involved in education, medical and
catechetical ministries.
Often responding to emergency relief as floods
where common and many people died from water born
diseases. Our
Sisters treated large numbers of people in their clinic
and hospital. This
was a time of huge upheaval in China as the Communists and
Nationalists were in constant conflict added to this was
the Japanese invasion and the numerous natural disasters
that occurred. This
situation required great strength, physical, mental and a
deep spiritual motivation.
Sister Berchmans was involved in the teaching
ministry in Nanching. There she knew Sr Teresita and Fr
Thomas Yu and Sr Anna Tsang.
She and other Sisters taught them in our school in
Nanching. Having
spent thirteen years in China and at such a turbulent time
surely marked Sister Berchmans.
The long years of isolation following the
revolution were painful for all our missionaries as they
waited for news of friends. She had the great joy of
meeting Fr Thomas Yu when he visited here in 1999 and
again last year and she had the presence of Sr Teresita
here as well. Following
her return from China the next 15yrs were spent in the
United States where she ministered in our mission in
California. This was followed by assignments to Britain,
Dalgan Park and finally to East Kilbride Scotland where Sr
Berchmans lived for 15 years, ministering at Our Lady of
Lourdes Parish.
In 1989 due to failing health she was assigned to
Magheramore. In
today’s Gospel we heard ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of
God’ The
qualities of a person who is a peacemaker would probably
include: intuition, sensitivity, openness to the other and
the other’s perspective, compassion, truthfulness,
empathy and we can go on to name many more qualities and
gifts. We can
see also the values of the Kingdom here as Jesus invites
us to be peacemakers and people of peace.
Sister Berchmans was a woman of peace.
She was never heard making a speech about this
topic nor did she tell others what they ought to do but
rather her actions spoke louder than words and she
resembled a light for those who were searching for peace
in their own lives. “Blessed
are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth”
This is a strong statement about gentleness.
There is a sense of lacking nothing of blessedness
in the abundance of God’s graciousness. It is way beyond
our expectations. There
are other aspects of Sr. Berchman’s life which remind us
of this. She
was a sensitive woman and could intuit or observe what was
happening to the people around her in the community or in
her area of work. She did not need to rush to the rescue but was able in a non
intrusive way to be supportive and to trust which gave
encouragement and confidence. A woman who did not rely on
words only, her actions spoke volumes of love, kindness
and understanding. She
is remembered for her willingness to be a forgiving person
and a reconciler. Peacefulness
and peace making were her style and she is lovingly
remembered for her willingness to respond with sensitivity
and open mindedness.
Availability to do God’s will was the hallmark of
her life. My
own experience of Sister Berchmans was during my time here
in the Infirmary where I witnessed her growing dependence
on us Community, Carers and Nurses.
The loss of ones independence and the growing need
to be cared for are difficult realities for anyone to come
to terms with. Growing
into the fullness of life while losing control of ones
life is a great
paradox that leads to growth in dependence on God, the
fruit of this is surely the serenity we witness so often
in our midst here in Magheramore, or in our families, our
ministries and work.
In
the new Breviary for Corpus Christi there was a reading
which had the following statement describing the
commitment to loving service – “this is the heart of the
teaching of Jesus and its is the deepest meaning of
Eucharistic manna” (Dmetrius
Dumm, OSB, Flowers in the Desert) Sr
Berchamns met God in her daily life and responded with all
of herself to the mystery and wonder of that knowing.
This conviction brought her through the human,
spiritual and missionary journey of her long life and was
reflected in her ready and warm smile, her acceptance of
her dependence on others for everything, which she did
with graciousness, gentleness and quietly for many years
now. The love
she had for her family and their attentiveness to her was
deeply part of who she was: a quiet and gentle woman a
peace maker. Someone who gave her all to God, for the sake of the Gospel,
in faithful, wholehearted service.
Her motto was Glory be to the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. Ar
dheis De go raibh a hanam
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