An order of worship and memorial cards of Sister Mary Caroline of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chow, left, and Mother Agnes Marie of the Divine Shepherd Wong are shown next to a bowl of burned incense at the funeral of the two Carmelites Oct. 27 at Carmel of the Holy Trinity Monastery. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
The bodies of the two Carmelite sisters lay in peace on beds of pink and white roses in the small monastery alcove on Oct. 27 as more than 100 people crowded in the adjoining public chapel and lanai for their funeral.
Bishop Larry Silva celebrated the morning Mass for the repose of the souls of Mother Agnes Marie of the Divine Shepherd and Sister Mary Caroline of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Carmel of the Holy Trinity, the Carmelite monastery on the grounds of St. Stephen Diocesan Center.
The two sisters, members of Hawaii’s first cloistered contemplative community, both died on Oct. 13, Mother Agnes Marie at 7:14 a.m. at the monastery and Sister Mary Caroline at 5:40 p.m. in a Kaneohe care home. Mother Agnes Marie was 89. Sister Caroline was 91.
The deceased nuns leave four remaining active members of the Carmelite community, two of whom arrived only a few months ago. Two more of the original seven sisters reside in care homes in Kaneohe. Two others died several years ago.
Among those who came to bid their aloha were relatives of the sisters and longtime friends and supporters of the Carmelites who came to Hawaii from Hong Kong in 1973.
The Mass was simple, the music modest, the readings brief. Five priests concelebrated. Bishop Silva’s homily was a reflection on the nun’s veil, drawing parallels with the veil of the cloister and the veil of death.
A veil “shrouds reality,” the bishop said, while at the same time “piques our curiosity.”
“Veils are used to cover great beauty,” he said.
The bishop said that the sisters’ “hiding away” behind the veil of monastic life actually “made them even more present to the world” through their constant prayers.
And on the other side of the veil of death, he said, “their prayers for us continue and are even more powerful than before.”
The second reading was read by Sister Agnella Iu, who came to Hawaii as the youngest Carmelite and who now is the senior member. Hidden from sight, her voice was so remarkably identical to the clear, gentle, melodic voice of the deceased Mother Agnes Marie, it took a few breaths away.
In addition to Sister Agnella, the community now includes Oahu-born Sister Mary Elizabeth de Jesus who made her first vows a year ago; postulant Patrice Wilson, a longtime Island resident and university professor who entered the Carmelites’ initial formation program in July; and the six-year professed Sister Margaret Yam, who joined the Hawaii group a few months ago from a Carmelite Monastery in Hong Kong.
The gathering of mourners included Cecilia Chow of Toronto, the younger sister of Sister Caroline; and Mother Agnes Marie’s sister Winifred Yee of Hawaii. Also present were the parents of Sister Margaret, whose visit to see their daughter was coincidental to the funeral.
The friends included local Catholics who have provided friendship, support and assistance to the monastic community over the past 40 years.
The final commendation at the close of Mass concluded with the Carmelite nuns singing in Latin the ancient Gregorian chant Carmelite hymn to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, “Flos Carmeli,” or “Flower of Carmel.”
As the funeral guests enjoyed a reception brunch in the St. Stephen Diocesan Center dining room, the bodies of the two Carmelites were transported in plain cardboard caskets to the mortuary for cremation. Their ashes were returned to the monastery for inurnment.
