Angels without wings
View(s):Formed in 1963 the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd mark their golden jubilee
Yes, indeed, they are angels without wings who spend their lives in prayer for anyone and everyone who needs them. Formed in 1963, the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd have been a community that I was and still am privileged to be associated with. Being parentless, my adolescent years were under the guidance of the active Sisters of the Good Shepherd at Nayakakanda.
Looking back, I can honestly say they were some of the best years of my life. Contrary to what the common consensus is about life in a convent, my life at Nayakakanda was challenging, filled with fun, tempered with justice and mercy in times of trial and stress, but most importantly, appreciated as a human being.
Irish eyes were continuously smiling on us at Good Shepherd Nayakakanda because we were blessed with Irish Sisters of the Good Shepherd. I had the good fortune of being directly under Mother Mary Therese Daly -the Sisters were known as ‘Mother’ way back in the 1950s and 60s. Mother Therese was the mother I never had, her kind loving heart filled all the loneliness in mine and life at the convent was always like a morn in spring!
Moving away to the real world was a shock I was not prepared for but the gentle guidance was always there to fall back on. Mother Therese herself did not have the good health she would have liked and was sent back to Ireland but returned and took over the ‘Maria Nirmala Centre’ at Negombo which excelled in needlework.
In 1963, Mother Good Counsel founded the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd, primarily to accommodate the auxiliary Sri Lankan Sisters who had not yet taken their vows. In 1975, Mother Therese took charge of the Contemplatives at Halgashenna in Hanwella and they blossomed under her guidance and tutelage.
From way back when, the Contemplatives have willingly and joyfully accepted requests for prayers regardless of caste, creed or religion. You generally find loads and loads of prayer intentions and requests put up on a board, all of which are faithfully adhered to. The Church encourages the contemplative life because of the fruits that the contemplative life produce for the vitality of the Church.
When Mother Therese took over, she encouraged the Sisters to get involved in needlework, knitting, agriculture, poultry and other jobs which would help supplement their meagre existence. This they embraced with great willingness. It was always a joy to visit them. They were so easy to be with, so simple and unassuming but most importantly, so happy with what little they had.
Today, the angels without wings have indeed spread their wings; they count three houses at Nayakakanda, Niripola and Kalamulla. Some of them have gone to foreign countries to encourage and foster the faith. It gives them great joy to know that they are helping people through their prayers. During their community prayers, they pray especially for suffering countries and for those suffering tragedies in the world. They pray throughout the day – during work, recreation, and rest – this is their gift to the Church.
In my trying to be the voice for the Contemplative Missionaries today, I hope we all have a greater appreciation of the value and role that the contemplative nuns play in the Church.
Thank you, dear Sisters for helping so many over the course of these 50 years to find strength, light, peace, joy and a burning love for God.
May all of you have a beautiful and blessed Golden Jubilee!
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