Meet Sister

By Pietro Bernardino S Albano

Holy Church has been a family composed of many members. There are, of course, priests, bishops, and ultimately the pope. There are also nuns who are involved in running schools or assisting parishes. Still there are those who volunteer to become altar servers, readers, welcomers, choir members, etc. Each possesses a unique role in building up God’s Kingdom.

Most of these members are easily seen every time we are in church. However there are still some members who may be unnoticed, but participate in the life of the Church. I am referring in particular to the sisters living in the monastery.

In the Philippines we know them very well through the Santa Clara Monastery in Quezon City which has been a popular place of devotion for people of every walk of life: from students preparing for their examinations to couples wishing to be blessed with a child; from those asking for physical healing to those looking for a better job. Sisters in this monastery are not seen by devotees. It has been said that people flocking to this place simply write their petitions on a piece of paper and send this to the sisters by putting it on a rotating board.

When we began worshipping in Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (Bulwell, Nottingham) two years ago, I found out that there is a Poor Clare Monastery beside the church. They daily receive letters of petition from all over Britain and countries as far as the US and Canada. Since the sisters depend on alms, the people who write to them also support them so they can continue living their way of life.

I was privileged to encounter the sisters especially Sister Clare Margaret of the Trinity, Mother Vicaress of the Poor Clare Monastery, who was really kind to share her thoughts on the essence of being a religious sister.

Here’s what she told me:

For me, as a Cloistered Sister and as a Franciscan the basic essence of being a Cloistered religious Sister is responding in love to God's call to love and serve Him in our Gospel way of life, following in the footsteps of Francis and Clare in today's world. In the tradition of our founders St. Clare and St. Francis, Poor Clare Sisters are dedicated to a life of prayer. Our primary mission is prayer in intercession for the needs of our sisters and brothers of all faiths throughout the world.

For more information on the Poor Clare Monastery log on to www.rc-churches-bestwood-bulwell.org.uk