Above left, Agnella Iu in Hong Kong before she joined the Carmelites. Above right, Sister Agnella Iu as a newly professed Carmelite nun in Hong Kong. Bottom left, Carmelite Sister Agnella Iu stands by the porcelain china which she hand paints with floral designs and sells for the support of the monastery. Bottom right, Carmelite Sister Agnella Iu. (Courtesy photos)
A soul unfolding: 50 years a Carmelite
Fifty years ago, on Oct. 1, 1973, Sister Agnella Iu made her first profession of vows as a Carmelite Sister in Hong Kong. Twenty-four days later she would be in Hawaii, the youngest of seven founding nuns of Hawaii’s first Carmelite monastery, Carmel of the Holy Trinity, at St. Stephen Diocesan Center. Removed from the world, this cloistered, contemplative order, whose primary apostolate is prayer, celebrates the golden anniversary of its establishment in Hawaii on Oct. 25. Bishop Larry Silva will celebrate Mass with the sisters at their convent at 9 a.m. on Oct. 15 to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Sister Agnella is the only surviving member of the original seven. She and seven other sisters, from Hawaii and from the Philippines, make up the community today.
By Sister Agnella Iu, OCD, interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Special to the Herald
Back in 1973, I remember Father (Msgr.) Daniel Dever sharing the story of his good friend Sister Veronica (Alice Arakaki of Maui) who entered a Carmelite Monastery in Long Beach, California. She used to be his secretary at the Catholic Schools Department. He was invited to celebrate the Mass for her golden jubilee. Asking about her feelings of being a nun for 50 years, he said that she responded: “I feel my life in Carmel can be summed up in one word, ‘stretch’.” Hearing that story and that response impressed me so much that I asked myself, “When I reach my golden jubilee, what would be the key word I could use to sum up my life in Carmel?”
At that time, I thought of the word “unfolding.” In Carmel, the soul unfolds in God’s light. However, now at my golden jubilee, there are actually three words that sum up my life: “waiting,” “entering,” and “inspiring.”
Waiting. Waiting is crucial for me. I waited a long time before I came to Carmel. It was not until I was 15 years of age that I was baptized. At that time, the Precious Blood Sisters near my school in Hong Kong let me choose my baptismal name. I chose Saint Agnes. Why? All the saints were new to me. Her little story is that before she died, she told the executioner, “Be quick. It is not good for the bride to let the bridegroom wait so long.”
At the age of 18, I thought that maybe I had a religious vocation. I thought of the Precious Blood Sisters because I love teaching. But God has his way. On a picnic with the Legion of Mary, we went to Stanley Beach in Hong Kong. After activities, the Precious Blood Sister who was with us said, “Let us go up the hill to visit the sisters.” That is the first time I knew that cloistered sisters were there. I felt something stir in my heart. I visited them a few times after thinking that God was calling me to be a Carmelite.
One day, during the summer holiday, I made my way to the Carmelite Monastery and said that I wanted to enter now. But the sister on the other side of the grille said, “How can you enter now? You need to know more about our life, and we need to know more about you.” She encouraged me to continue my studies. After I finished my college in Taiwan, I returned to Hong Kong and asked my mother’s permission. My brother helped me. That same year in September I entered. I had waited four years.
This wait was followed by more waiting: for my religious clothing, for my first profession of vows, and for my solemn profession. I talked a lot to God during those times. But the reality is that God waited for me. This mutual waiting is the work of God the Father.
Entering. I want to enter into the heart of Jesus. But first, Jesus came to enter into our humanity, into our life, into my heart. This is really a great grace. This is the work of Jesus. Mutual waiting; mutual entering. Let him enter into your being. This entering is God’s plan for me to participate in the three Divine Persons’ life. It is not for me only, to participate and enter. I need to inspire others.
Inspire. My last word is inspire. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. I pray that I can share the treasure of the love of God, of the living presence of God with the whole human family. I give you the word of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that has inspired my life in Carmel.
