Reflection: Sister Luisa Ege’s Life Commitment, 14 March 2015:
Luisa’s journey to this moment of Life Commitment as a Sister of St Joseph has been unique,
faith-filled and eventful. There is a strong theme in today’s readings that assures us of God’s
presence, providing for us, nourishing us and holding us no matter what happens along the
way.
There have been times when Luisa has had to take a risk, leave the known for the unknown
and push into uncharted territory.
What are the odds that Luisa, born, baptised and raised in tiny Tokelau, would be making
her profession here today?
What’s the probability that having entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Nazareth as a young
woman and served in places like Samoa and Fiji, Luisa would move beyond the South Pacific
Islands, beyond the Tasman and arrive on the banks of the River Murray at Murray Bridge?
In consultation with maps, apps, and GPS we might think she need not have taken such a
roundabout route.
Many of us reached Josephite territory in much simpler fashion. For me, the journey was
from 372 Magill Rd Kensington Park with the family squeezed into Uncle Bill’s car. It took 17
minutes.
Look at Elijah’s degree of difficulty as seen in the first reading. In his experience, there are
no blueprint, no plan or map, no signposts. His meeting with the widow gathering sticks is
not on his schedule. That encounter, however, makes him powerfully aware of the God who
provides. He and the widow no longer need a map; they have become aware that there is
within them an inner compass that directs them towards God’s vision, God’s dream, and
God’s saving grace.
Like Elijah, Luisa’s call was to an unfamiliar place. Hungry for what she really longed for, she
pretty soon met our Sisters Maria and Michele. Marg Daly was there too, and Yvonne
Slattery and other Associates. These women weren’t exactly gathering sticks but by
mirroring the spirit of Mary MacKillop, they nourished her with their version of tea and
scones – food and drink for her spirit. From them she caught the spark of the Josephite
charism and spirit.
In the Gospel, Jesus seems to make unrealistic claims - telling us not to worry about our life
and what we are to eat, or about our body and what we are to wear. He uses poetic images
and most ‘feet on the ground’ people will meet his claims with a swift retort. Scripture
scholars tell us that Semitic people enjoyed this kind of sweeping rhetoric and exaggeration.
It provoked thought and conversation. Jesus used it so that people would find the nugget of
gold, the solid core of truth in his message. Jesus is declaring we are to love God as a loving,
providing parent –not simply as a donor or benefactor. Once we have found ourselves
within this relationship of love and trust, we need not worry.
There is a quaint little prayer that Josephites have recited from their very beginnings, and as
Luisa’s connections with the Josephites grew, that prayer became hers too.
Divine Providence can provide,
Divine Providence does provide
Divine Providence will provide
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Claude Marechal (2000), pinpoints the blessings that flow when Providence moves a person
into the path of the charism to which she is called. He writes that:
Charism gives us:
 A story to enter
 A language to speak
 A group to which to belong
 A way to pray
 A work to undertake
 A face of God to see.
Luisa gave me a gift, a Tokelauan fan. It’s woven with fine yet strong strands of leaves and
fibres from pandanus trees that grow in those islands. The fan is simple, strong and supple
and is a treasure to have in our summer heat. Weaving, a creative traditional craft of her
people, serves as a good metaphor for Luisa’s journey. On this path to consecration of her
whole life as a Sister of St Joseph, Luisa has woven her dream into God’s Dream, and her
desire into living her vowed life according to the charism of our founders.
There have been strands of desolation interwoven into her story – no surprise, as the
journey encompasses living, dying and rising to new life, as Jesus did! During the past three
years we have witnessed Luisa inserting strong threads of discernment, discovery, decision
and service into the fabric of her Josephite life and being.
As for all of us, Luisa’s journey of consecration began at Baptism. Religious vows do not add
to or replace Luisa’s baptismal commitment; but they do specify it. Religious life has an
identity that makes it different from the call of others who wish to live the gospel call. It is
an uncommon vocation but no more or less important than any other vocation to live as a
committed disciple. I like Judith Merkl’s image: When we hear a new pianist play Bach, what
makes them different from all those who have played Bach before? Each has a different
touch!
In the Christian life, vowed religious simply play their commitment and consecration with a
different touch. Their call is to make the religious dimension of their life uniquely important
and central -- so much so, that no other life commitment is possible for them. It is one
valuable vocation in the church, and one that Pope Francis is inviting us to think more about
throughout this year.
As Joan Chittister puts it in her usual breathtaking style.
To live a religious life takes all the life we have.
To live a religious life takes
the heart of a hermit,
the soul of a mountain climber,
the eyes of a lover,
the hands of a healer,
and the mind of a rabbi.
It requires total immersion in the Life of Christ
and complete concentration on the meaning of the Gospel life today.
(J. Chittister: The Fire in These Ashes)
Sr Genevieve Ryan