VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Magic and fairy tales? Who says they are only for children? In his singing of the ballad “Young at Heart,” Canadian singer Michael Buble reminds us that “Fairy tales can come true. It can happen to you when you’re young at heart.”
Before I embraced the religious life, I did not have a lot of plans and expectations. Spending a life offered to God was unthinkable. Those who really knew me could vouch for this. How could I turn my back on my beautiful family and friends, and the fondness I had of worldly amusements?
But, something beckoned, a certain magic drew me to enter the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines. However, after a short period of time, I felt something was missing for me.
My tears flowed when I bade goodbye to the Dominican Sisters. When I gave a farewell hug to the Mother General, she whispered to me, “I thought this was your decision to leave?” When I affirmed that it was, she firmly said, “Then do not cry.” I remember walking out of the convent’s gate misty-eyed yet excited for what would happen next.
It was like a fairytale come true when I knocked on the doors and entered Carmel of Mati. My 20 years spent there were magical, filled with music echoing in my heart. Life in Carmel of Mati was not easy, I must confess, but I found my security there.
Little did I know that bliss would be disrupted. I was called to volunteer for Hawaii Carmel and to be a part of its refounding. Again, I had no idea of what could lie ahead. Why was I being called to leap into something uncertain? It was magic, I believe.
It has now been a year since I had my first glance of the beautiful island of Hawaii and felt the warm welcoming embrace of my new sisters. It is a fancy to think of how swiftly time flies. I smile and say to myself, “magic.”
One may think that in my new little community, since most of us share the same culture and are in about the same age bracket, that life must be easy. However, in any life lived in common some adjustments must be made. Imagine, seven little women with seven different expressions of accepting God’s magical love. This is called God’s grace. God’s grace brought us here and keeps burning within us.
The magic does not end when the heart remains young; the heart remains young when it is in love. In the musical composition, “Got To Believe in Magic,” American singer and composer David Pomeranz shares, “You’ve got to believe in magic / Somethin’ stronger than the moon above / ‘Cause it’s magic when two people fall in love.” God loves me so much. He loves us all very much. God gives the grace that we may love each other and love him in return.
Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Trinity Sedo is a Carmelite nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. She was a professional catechist before entering Carmel of Mati Monastery in Mati City, Davao Oriental. She was professed on May 31, 2002. She arrived in Hawaii on May 16, 2019. She was elected last August as a first councilor and mother sub-prioress of Carmel of the Holy Trinity, in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
