The energy of the grace of God
Mission is adventure. When the U.S. bishops, through the LCWR (Leadership Council of Women Religious) invited religious of different congregations to volunteer to go to Albania in the 1990s, I said, “Yes.” I had the openness and the enthusiasm to go. I had never been to Europe or to a former Communist country. But I was interested in this call to mission, because the plea was for religious to go and help rebuild the church that had fallen due to Communism and to accompany the people now walking in new freedom.
In 1995, I travelled with two other Maryknoll Sisters to Pogradec, Albania. I passed myself into the unknown, placing myself totally into the hands of God. After the first year, my companions got sick and I was left alone. Like St. Paul the Apostle, however, I continued on to help build the church, being the first Catholic presence in Pogradec in nearly 40 years. From learning the language, to visiting homes and patients in the hospital, to teaching and starting Christian communities, these were the beginnings of what would later become the Catholic Church.
After several years, I was recalled to Maryknoll, N.Y., to work on mission awareness. In 2006, I was sent back to Albania to help with an Italian school run by the Dominicans from Bologna. At the same time another Italian sister came to visit me and asked me to help her with the women’s program she was trying to run. I had the language, they did not. I did not want to leave the school, but also was very aware of the importance of this other work. So during the week I taught at the school, and on the weekends I went to help with the women’s program. It was a journey, a real mission.
The children of Albania are very special. Working with the grade school and high school children was precious as they were inquisitive and eager to learn. For those interested in learning about the Catholic faith, we taught them about church as the living people of God, not necessarily a building. Although they were not baptized, these students became my co-missionaries sharing the stories of faith and hope they learned with others. Over the course of seven years, 19 had asked to be baptized. From this core group of new Catholics, others’ lives were touched and the light of faith continues to be passed on.
Some people ask me, “Where do you get your energy?” What has kept me strong in mission and in life? It is the energy of the grace of God. I feel I am a contemplative. In Albania, I really discovered that it was important not only to be integrated with the people, but to also give myself time to just be myself in creation and before the presence of God. This means to be attentive, present to what I see and hear, and to where I am. It is not about saying, “Now, it is time to pray.” I am not like that. It’s like if people ask, “Why are you breathing?” How can you explain that? It is a gift, a grace from God.
Sister Lourdes Fernandez is a Maryknoll Sister of the Central Pacific Region which includes Hawaii. Born in the Philippines, she joined Maryknoll in 1967. Her first mission assignment was to Hawaii where she taught for two years. Sister will be continuing her service in Maryknoll, N.Y.
