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. BRIGID KELLY
My name is Brigid and I live in a Community of 4
Sisters, two are involved in Pastoral Ministry and
one is retired. I am engaged in Pastoral Ministry.
While the focus ”Service of the Poor”,
inspired by our 4th Vow is at the heart of all we
do, how it is expressed differs slightly from
Parish to Parish depending on the needs of the
area.
As Parish Sister I am involved in a wide variety of
activities which includes:
- Parish Pastoral Team member & Local Pastoral Area Team member.
- Coordinator of Sacramental Preparation Programmes/Meetings.
- Eucharistic Minister to sick, housebound-Nursing Homes Services.
- Visitation of families, re: illness, bereavement, Sacramental Preparation.
- Attendance at Group Meetings e.g. Catechists, Needlework, Youth, Ladies.
- Attendance at Workshops, Diocesan days and Courses related to Ministry.
- Liaising with other Parish Groups-S.V.P.
- Administrative work, letters of advocacy, references, print out for meetings.
Community
ministry.
Prayer –time, cooking, shopping office admin.
and sharing time together as Community.
A day in my
life…
The alarm rings; ….it time to surface!
I need time for Prayer and breakfast before leaving
home at 8.40.a.m. for 9.a.m. Morning Prayer (Divine
Office) and Mass in the Parish. This is a real
oasis in my day-a place of blessing as we gather as
Parish community for prayer. I go from Mass, as
Eucharistic Minister to some of our sick
Parishioners in their own homes and then on to one
of the 5 Nursing Homes in the Parish. A definite
time is important for Staff and morning nursing
routines are usually complete from 10.a.m.until
12.30 mid-day.
I travel home for lunch around 12.45 and usually
meet up with the other Sisters, each in for a
snack! The journey affords me time to reflect on
the morning. Having caught up with the midday news,
it is sometimes Rosary walk in the Park-lovely at
this time of year when Spring is bursting forth all
around.
Having caught up on a return phone call re home
visit, I go to the local Hospital where two of our
Parishioners are at present. Visits support the
families at such times.
At 5 o clock we gather as Community for an evening
meal (prepared by one of us on 3 evenings) followed
by Evening Prayer (Divine Office) other evenings
flexi meal time. Then there is usually time to
relax “feet up”. T.V. radio and
reading.
Tonight I attend a Parents Meeting as it offers
them a time to meet together, to look at the
materials their children will use this month in
Sacramental Preparation, talk about the topic at an
adult level and build up that sense of
belonging.
On return home sharing on the day together usually
brings the day to a close.
Looking back over today as a Sister of Charity
there is much to be grateful for, especially as I
have been a Sister for 45 years - and I continue to
search my heart so as to respond as Mary Aikenhead
(our Foundress) would to today’s emerging
needs.