A Day in the Life of...
On this page one of our sisters give a brief account of what life is like for her as she lives her life as a Religious Sister of Charity.
SR. JOANNA
BRENNAN
Greetings! My name is Joanna, the name given to me
some forty-seven years ago when I became a
religious Sister of Charity. My Baptismal name is
Ann, although I have had the opportunity over the
years to revert back to the name Ann I decided to
stay with Joanna as I have a niece named Joanna
after me who I am very close to.
I live and work in
Knowle West, South Bristol. There are four sisters
here in the community and all four of us are
involved in one way or another in the lives of the
people of Knowle West which is a Council Estate
built in the early thirties. Life is never dull on
the estate, there is always something happening.
The Sisters of Charity have worked here since 1935,
and have lived and ministered here since 1937 when
the convent was opened.
My day begins around 8am, I
don’t like mornings much, especially in the
cold, dark, winter, cold. I find getting up a
little easier in the spring and summer mornings.
After getting up I spend some time in prayer before
going to the Parish Church a few hundred yards down
the road for Mass at 9.30am. After Mass I return to
the convent, have another period of prayer and
reflection on the Scripture Readings of the day. I
then have a cup of tea and feel ready for the
challenges of the day.
One morning a week I take
Holy Communion to a number of sick and housebound
people in their own homes. I also take along the
Parish Newsletter so that they are kept up to date
on parish news. I experience ministering to the
sick and housebound as a great privilege, we pray
together, I listen to how their week has been and
fill them in on the latest local news. They always
assure me of their prayers for me. I never fail to
be moved by their deep faith, devotion and
reverence for the Eucharist.
I visit the more
recently bereaved on a regular basis to offer
support and a shoulder to cry on as they try to
come to terms with their loss and grief. These
visits are usually a mixture of sadness and joy as
memories are relived and personal stories shared.
These are moments when I sense and realize that
“I am standing on Holy Ground” and I
feel both humbled and privileged to be trusted with
another person’s life- story.
On Sunday
mornings, I take my place on the Parish Rota for
Readers and for Childrens Liturgy Group; my turn
for both these ministries comes around about once a
month. I find both ministries challenging but good.
I enjoy proclaiming God’s Word and I try to
take the message to heart, maybe not always
successfully! Children’s Liturgy is lively
and fun. A simple version of the Gospel for the
Sunday is read to the children, they are invited to
listen, some questions about the story follow. I
never cease to be amazed by how much the children
know about Jesus, how much they remember and
retain, their simple childlike faith and trust is
truly remarkable. The children draw pictures of
what the story has meant to them and these they
take up in the Offertory Procession and show them
to the rest of the congregation, they then get a
huge clap from the congregation and they return to
their proud mums and dads. In the Childrens Liturgy
Group we have children from Knowle West, Poland,
the Philippians, China, Nigeria, India and Sierra
Leone all offering something of their deep faith,
reverence, and rich cultures to the parish which
was until fairly recently predominately white and
very local.
In our parish and area there is always
something to be done and volunteers needed.
Recently I volunteered as a Catechist to the First
Holy Communion Programme. We have thirty children
in the Programme and I am working with a group of
seven children aged between ten years old and
thirteen years old. I meet with them on a Monday
evening after school. They are a lively responsive
bunch who enjoys preparing for their First Holy
Communion. I look forward to seeing their faith
grow as the Programme progresses.
I also have
responsibilities in the community like sharing in
household tasks which can be many, and taking my
turn at cooking the evening meal. As a Community we
eat our evening meal together and share with each
other how our day has been. We pray the Evening
Prayer of the Church together each evening when we
remember in particular in our prayer the various
needs that we have become aware of through our
ministry that day as well as the needs of the
world.
After Evening Prayer it is time to relax,
sometimes I watch television but most of all I like
to read. I enjoy a good detective or crime novel, I
also enjoy playing solitaire, keeping in touch with
family and friends is very important to me so I
make sure to take time to do just that.
Before I
retire to bed, I give thanks to God for caring for
me, for loving me and for using me with my
weaknesses and vulnerability to share His love with
others.
Thank you for taking time to read, “A
Day in My Life”; I hope you found it
interesting.
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