VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
God waited until I was in my 50s and then he had his great laugh when I was asked to go on my first mission. People may say that it was old fashioned to be asked and go at my age. However, I believe that when God asks you to go somewhere, it is not always just for yourself, it comes from the need of the time and the fact that the congregation sees in you the possibility of answering that need.
I was born on Oahu and raised on Maui. I was a happy student of the Maryknoll Sisters at St. Anthony School in Wailuku, Maui. Over the 10 years there, I read every biography on religious in the library. I also belonged to the missionary society inspired by my teachers. But during my junior year, my parents needed to travel to Europe, so I moved to Oahu and attended Sacred Hearts School. It was then that I fell in love with the Sacred Hearts Sisters, most especially their spirit of adoration.
Later, when I asked to enter the Maryknoll Sisters, they said they would be happy to have me. But, their rule just changed and they were not accepting anyone out of high school anymore. They said I had to work or go to school for two years. In the back of my head I said, “I’m not going to do that.”
So, I went back to the Sacred Hearts and told them the same story. It seemed as if the provincial superior was testing me when she said, “But, you are too young.“ I responded, “How old do I have to be?” She replied, “18.” I pressed further and said, “Well, if I enter on Aug. 5, I will be 18 on Aug. 10. That is only five days apart.” Finally, she accepted me into the convent. I remember saying to myself, “God knew from the beginning that I was not missionary quality.”
But things changed in my 50s. I happened to be visiting in Kalaupapa when I received a phone call. I was struck silent. The provincial superior on the other side of the line said, “Are you there?” I said, “Yes, but I cannot talk to you in public.” She had just asked me if I would go on a foreign mission. She told me to think about it. I asked her, “How much time do I have to respond?” She replied, “How’s about 24 hours?”
That night I went to chapel and prayed. As I was very tired, I said to the Lord, “God, you got to help me make this decision real fast because I want to go to sleep.” I remembered my mother constantly sending money to the missions … constantly. So, I said, “Okay, God, I guess I should go.”
Leaving behind a career in teaching, I also remembered what my father said when I had made my first profession, “Go, wherever the Lord leads you.” What if I said “No, I would rather be in Hawaii”? God might say, “Okay, you stay here, I will go.” What is the use of staying here if God is in the mission? In 1995, I began my new career as a missionary and I have loved working with the people since.
Sister Jane Frances is a Sister of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. She is 63 years professed. As she awaits the reopening of the borders to her mission country, she has been occupied with her dream work of translating from French the writings of their foundress at Malia O Ka Malu Community in Kaimuki.
