A Life Poured Out

As you know, I've been living with sisters for almost a year now. I have been able to observe and take part in their daily routines, see their moments of humanity, and witness the sacrifice of their lives. They live by three vows; poverty, chastity, and obedience. The poverty is cool-- they are not obsessed with stuff, and although they are really good at getting cute shoes that match with cute handbags, they really don't bother with material things. A few months ago, one of our sisters moved to another place. She carried two suitcases-- one of books and the other of clothes. That was all.

The chastity-- well, when I see the way men are-- I don't think it's a big deal. After all, the sisters are not sitting at home with a bunch of cats and swooning over Harlequin romance novels. Sincerely, they don't seem to care much about men at all (although they have made some recommendations about who they think would be good for me-- don't worry, he was an American).

But the third, the most difficult one, is the obedience. Their lives are really poured out, broken. Not sold for the poor but poured only at the feet of Christ. They must really believe that He is and that He is God or else it would seem such a waste. They can never recover the years they have spent. They cannot choose their careers, or where they will be. They must do what the order tells them even if it is very difficult. One sister who used to be a principal in her past assignment is serving as a primary teacher now and must put up with her school's poor administration even though she knows she could do it better. Another has a hard time with the local language and the people (she is from a different region), but must stick it out here.

These women have offered their lives as a fragrance to God. We may see this and call it a waste. We may wonder whether their talents would be better used elsewhere. But really, if they were not sisters, who would they be living for? Themselves? Would that be so much better?

Yes, sisters are people. They eat sugarcane. They iron their habits. We dance, we sing, we tell stories around the dinner table. In communities where they have tv, some watch soap operas. But in the end of the day, at the back of the mind, there is a meditation, a reflectiveness, a purity. They are never very far from Christ.