VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
I arrived in Hawaii one day before martial law was imposed in the Philippines. My first ministerial assignment was as an educator at St. Joseph School in Makawao, Maui. Through the catechetical training program in the Diocese of Honolulu, I was able to receive my certificate as a catechist. In my next ministerial assignment at St. John the Baptist Parish in Kalihi, I began the work of catechizing. I went from house to house to spread the Good News.
The work of being a catechist is very fulfilling. But it is not without its challenges. Sometimes doors remain closed after the knock is offered. But that is okay; just continue on. Sometimes people will misunderstand you and try to hurt you, wipe the sand from your feet and move on. What is of utmost importance for the success of any catechist is to totally depend on Divine Providence.
Upon returning to the Philippines, I continued in the work of catechesis, teaching in the public system. Later, from one corner of the island of Guimaras, God was able to use me to eventually catechize the whole island. Some of the most remote areas were only accessible by smaller pump boats.
The general superior at that time, Mother Amparo Elmido, was very wise and prophetic. She studied each religious sister and encouraged them to obey the will of God. She told me, “Sister Louise, if that is the work you like, and God wants you to do it, God will support you.” Needing to find my own means, I never worried. I was so happy. When I rode the jeepney, many hands always offered to pay my fare. Wherever I was, I ate. Like the apostles, I carried nothing more than the Word of God with me and the joy of our founder preacher, St. Dominic, in my heart.
The rosary has been the top secret of my strength. Growing up with my lola (grandmother), it was from her that I learned how to pray the rosary. Even from when I was about 4 years old I remember her waking me up early in the morning to say the 3 a.m. prayer. It is a devotion to the Holy Trinity which she prayed in Spanish. It is a prayer close to my heart.
In the ministry of being a catechist, you just need to obey the will of God. God will support you in whatever you do and wherever you are. Prayer and work should take up and equal 50 percent-50 percent of your life.
If you are not brave enough to take risks, you cannot do the will of God completely. Our work should be a risky one, lest we later have remorse of conscience for not doing more with the freedom, graces and support Divine Providence has given us. Yes, each of us is called to a particular work and given the gifts to bring it to fruition for God’s glory. There will be hindrances and suffering along the way. But, as long as we do everything for God and not for money or material goods, we will never want for more.
Sister Louise Banares is a Dominican Sister of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines. She ministered in Hawaii from 1971 to 1981. In her retirement at the Dominican Sisters Motherhouse in Molo, Iloilo City, in the Philippines, she continues to serve as a prayer warrior for all.
