What We Do
Sisters' Stories
Sr Mary Love fmdm
“Wherever you go, I will go too.” These were the words God spoke in my heart as I travelled to Australia four years ago, to take up a new ministry as Pastoral Associate in Bendigo, central Victoria. As I continue on life's journey, I become more and more aware that God has been with me all along.
From a very early age I was aware of the desire in my heart to be a religious sister. As a teenager, by chance - or so it seemed to me - I visited Ladywell Convent, the FMDM Motherhouse in southern England. I was deeply struck by the spirit of joy which I experienced in the FMDM sisters living there and on leaving school I joined them. During the early years of formation, I began to experience for myself the pain and joy of Gospel living, following Christ in the footsteps of Francis and Clare.
After three years teaching in the USA, I returned to Ladywell to assist our General Bursar who was responsible for the worldwide finances of the FMDMs. As a sister, I had thought I would never have to consider money again, but little did I know what God had in store for me! In my subsequent years of working in finance I often found my necessary involvement in the business world difficult to reconcile with a spiritual life. But this tension turned me back to God again and again, to discover, like Francis, that God is in the everyday things, even finance.
My understanding of our FMDM charism continues to grow, and I see it as still very relevant to our present world. Our call to nurture life, like Mary, and to treasure every living person and thing as brother or sister, like Francis, finds expression in my present ministry. I have the privilege of working directly with people, sharing their lives' journeys. I am often amazed at how God guides me to particular persons who need a listening ear or a companion on the way, and I have been greatly enriched by witnessing their faith through the joys and heartbreaks of life.