Florida Catholic | Religious Living Their Commitments

‘Living up to their commitments’

Archbishop Favalora tells religious jubilarians, “You are a special sign of the living God.”

DANIEL SOÑÉ | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 02.15.08

Members of 20 religious communities currently serving in the archdiocese pose with Archbishop John C. Fabalora after the celebration of religious life at St. Mary Cathedral Feb. 3.

DANIEL SOÑÉ | FC
Members of 20 religious communities currently serving in the archdiocese pose with Archbishop John C. Fabalora and Archbishop Robert Gonzalez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, after the celebration of religious life at St. Mary Cathedral Feb. 3.

MIAMI | Three of them have been sisters longer than the Archdiocese of Miami — celebrating its 50th anniversary this year — has been in existence.

“They are a wonderful sign to the world that they can live up to their commitments,” said Archbishop John C. Favalora during the Mass Feb. 3 honoring four women religious for their decades of service.

Four religious sisters
celebrate jubilees

Two — Sister Clemencia Fernandez of the Daughters of Charity and Sister John Norton of the Adrian Dominicans — were marking 60 years of religious life; one — Sister Kathleenjoy Cooper of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart — was marking 50; and the fourth — Sister Rosa Maria Lopez of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine — was celebrating 25.

More than 200 religious men and women, representing 20 of the congregations serving in the archdiocese, turned out for the ceremony. It is an annual event honoring those living out the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience as consecrated religious.

“Although all of us are called to this life of the Beatitudes, some are called to live it by clearly dispossessing themselves of everything in order to show that Jesus Christ is sufficient,” said Archbishop
Robert Gonzalez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who delivered the homily at the Mass.

He said religious life provides visible evidence of the Resurrection, for it proves “the existence in this world of a communion of life, love and truth that is more powerful than the law of corruption and decay that makes it impossible for us to live the life for which we were created.”

The lives of religious prove that “(Christ’s) grace is sufficient,” Bishop Gonzalez said.

Indeed, Sister Cooper, who joined the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart the same year the archdiocese was created, has relied mightily on God’s grace. She spent years on dialysis, received two kidney transplants, underwent other serious surgeries and is recovering now from a torn Achilles tendon.

Despite the challenges, she has never ceased working and regards her vocation as a blessing.

“As time passes, I realize more and more that this is what God wanted me to do,” Sister Cooper said. “If I could do it all again, I would.”

For all of the jubilarians, the call to religious life was not a sudden epiphany but a gradual and increasing revelation.

“I didn’t just wake up one day and realize ‘Oh, this is what God wants from me.’ It was an ever-increasing and progressive discovery, even today,” Sister Cooper said.

Sister Lopez, a graduate of Sts. Peter and Paul elementary school and Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami, joined the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1983. She said formulating and cultivating a relationship with Christ is central.

“Faithfulness to prayer, your life, and your commitment to Christ is essential. But you cannot do it without that relationship with Christ,” she said.

She compared her commitment to that of married couples.

“Being a bride of Christ is just like in any marriage. He serves you, and you serve him. It can be very tough sometimes, but if you remain faithful and have a good relationship, you’ll be all right,” Sister Lopez said.

Staying power is one of the greatest challenges to marriages today, Archbishop Favalora noted.

“So many marriages are ending quickly. They need to see that fidelity to their vows is well within their reach. Sisters, brothers and priests are so important because they are examples that people can live up to their commitments,” the archbishop said.

“You are a special sign of the living God,” he added. “You are a sign of this church.”

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