What We Do
Sisters' Stories
Sr Patricia Murnane fmdm
My name is Patricia. I am a Franciscan Missionary of the Divine Motherhood. My love and understanding of the gospel message, the 'Good News', grew and developed during my secondary school years. The desire to know more about God drew me to prayer and an ongoing awareness of God's presence in all creation.
My family live in Victoria and during my childhood years we lived in a coastal city, moving to a dairy farm in northern Victoria when I was older. It was during these years in the country that my awareness of God as Creator seemed very meaningful and real. A line from one of the Psalms “Be still and know that I am God” became a focal point for prayer. As my prayer developed I also began to appreciate the people around me more. I was inspired by my teachers, the Franciscan Sisters, and their joy and generosity of life. After reading the life of Francis of Assisi I came to a decision. In the Gospel Story Jesus invites the disciples to 'Come and See' when they wanted to know more about him. I decided to join the FMDMs to find out more about them and to see if God was asking me to live the Gospel in a more radical way.
I made that decision over 37 years ago. As an FMDM today I have seen many changes in our lifestyle but always it seems to me, the call is the same. A call to a radical faith in God, a radical love for others and a radical hope for our human future.
Eucharistic living, the daily giving and receiving, the ups and downs are a challenge and a part of our human condition and I find that I need the support and prayer of my community as well as time for personal prayer and reflection to nurture and sustain me.
Our Congregational Charism is to conceive, birth and nurture the life of Christ in our hearts, our communities and our world, and I continue to try to do this in my ministry in the hospital and in the parish and community placing myself in the hands of God.