VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
It is a missionary thing to accept people for who they are. To ask the questions that may help them to think differently. Or to give them something to ‘up the ante’ in realizing that everyone has goodness within them. In my work with women in need in Hawaii, I gathered them, asked God for guidance in how to respond to them, and helped them to believe in themselves so that they could make other choices.
I did not always work as a housemother for those leaving prostitution. When I first arrived in Hawaii in 1960 I taught at St. Anthony School in Kalihi. Later, I was transferred to join the faculty at St. John the Baptist School. After serving in community positions for a number of years, I helped found the Women’s Concerns Committee, Interfaith Network Against Domestic Violence, and Walking with Women.
It was at the invitation of the Protestant Reverend Pam Vessels that I took on the role of being a housemother. Pam had learned how to make friends with the women in Waikiki. After she got to know them, she asked them if they ever thought of leaving their style of life. But each woman said, “Where would I go?” Pam made it her mission to found a place where they could go.
This fell right into place with Maryknoll’s objective, not so much as to make a center where women would come to us, but that we would go out to the places where women were already, serving women in very necessary ministries. Among these, we worked with Family Peace Center, Catholic Social Service, and S.O.S. (Sisters Offering Support) in helping women in domestic violence situations to leave and re-establish themselves.
Often in the giving of one-day retreats or educational workshops, I would be asked to give a meditation at the beginning of the session. I really had to think about how I would approach the meditation and what would be meaningful for these women. What I did was ask them, “What are you looking for?” Right away, the answers were that they wanted respect, to be accepted for their opinions, and to be treated for who they were.
After drawing a circle of confidentiality and lighting a candle, I said: “We all have a light within us. We have a light, but we can also learn from others.” This was followed by the bringing in of a Scripture reading or a poem to think about their lives in a new way.
It was a treasured learning experience for me to work with these women. I realized that everyone wants the same things in life — to live a peaceful life and to be given respect. From the women who were invited to share their stories to encourage others and let them know that they were understood and not alone in the abusive situations, to those that shared in the creative activities after just being present to let them know they were not going through their challenges alone, everyone had a light within them.
Sister Marie Rosso is a Maryknoll Sister and 70 years professed. She worked in Hawaii from 1960 to 1996. She is retired and resides at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, New York, where she visits with the sisters in assisted living.
