Special Mass celebrated by Bishop Beckman concludes 50th anniversary
By Gabrielle Nolan
After a yearlong celebration of their Golden Jubilee, the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., concluded their festivities with a special gathering at their Knoxville-based convent on Aug. 30.
The event included an open house with food and refreshments, confession, vespers, and a Mass led by Bishop Mark Beckman. Father Christopher Floersh, parochial vicar at St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut, concelebrated, and Deacon Bob Hunt of All Saints Parish in Knoxville served as deacon of the Word and altar.
The religious order was founded on Sept. 1, 1973, and Sister Mary Lisa Renfer, RSM, commented that it’s a “miracle of the Holy Spirit at work” that the community has made it to this milestone.
“We started with a very small group of Sisters seeking to return to the charism of our foundress. They were young, it was in the midst of a very confusing time after the Second Vatican Council, but they, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, knew that there were certain essentials of religious life that they needed to continue to live. So, in 50 years it’s amazing to see how we’ve grown,” Sister Mary Lisa said.
The Religious Sisters of Mercy currently include about 120 Sisters who are stationed at convents all around the world, including the United States, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scotland.
“We’ve just continued to go deeper in those essentials of religious life, our understanding of religious life in the Church and the gift of being able to serve the Church as a religious woman,” said Sister Mary Lisa, who serves as the Knoxville community’s superior. “So, it’s a time to really thank the Lord for how He has blessed us and led us through these years, in hope for the future to keep going deeper and keep our eyes on him in the midst of all of this. … I think it’s a beautiful time to turn to the Lord again in gratitude and in supplication to be faithful as we continue on for the next 50 years.”
Throughout the jubilee year, friends and benefactors of the Sisters visited their chapel for an opportunity to pray and receive a plenary indulgence allowed by Pope Francis.
Sister Maliya Grace Suen, RSM, shared that every day for the past year she has been able to offer her prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
“Our convents have now become places of pilgrimage, where people can come to meet the Lord and experience His mercy for themselves and their own faith life, but they also can apply this to somebody who has died. Which is, if you think about it, the ultimate sense of living that jubilee in heaven. It allows some of your loved ones to enter into the final jubilee,” she said.
Sister Maliya Grace also spoke of how the jubilee year is a biblical concept that comes from chapter 25 of the book of Leviticus.
“The Lord tells the Israelites every 50 years you are to hold a jubilee,” she explained. “And in the jubilee, the Lord tells them that you should free all prisoners, forgive all debts, and really you should celebrate for a whole year. He even says that on the 49th year, He will provide a big enough harvest that they don’t even need to harvest for the jubilee year. It is a sign of heaven where there’s no more debt, no more sin … all relationships are restored … inequality is kind of done away with.”
‘Pour that mercy forth’
Delivering his homily to an overflowing chapel of guests, Bishop Beckman pointed to the right side of the chapel where a stained-glass image of the crucifixion depicts the Religious Sisters of Mercy below the cross.
“The love of God that flows from the heart of Christ, His mercy, received by Mary, His mother, and communicated to the great Sisters of Mercy and the great work that you all do and the example of Mother Catherine McAuley,” the bishop said. “So, there is something about love poured out, freely given, the self-giving love that God offers us on the cross that is greater than any human power. That’s where we get our strength from as people of faith, don’t we?”
He referenced the Gospel reading of the day from Matthew 25, which describes the parable of the 10 virgins with their oil lamps.
“The oil that they hold is nothing other than the mercy of God they have received,” Bishop Beckman explained. “You can’t give that to another. You have to receive it yourself, so that you are ready to pour that mercy forth on those around you.”
The bishop acknowledged the medical ministry that many of the
Religious Sisters of Mercy are engaged in “so that the wounded, those who are in need of healing, are touched by the love of Christ in what you do for them.”
Bishop Beckman said the Sisters are a reminder that every person is in need of God’s mercy.
“We stand as beggars before the cross, and our prayer is ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ And when we receive that mercy, it opens our hearts, and then we begin to love others as the Lord loves us. … And God chose to let Himself be given for you and for me and for all humanity on the cross,” he said.
At the end of his homily in the convent chapel, Bishop Beckman thanked the Sisters for their witness to mercy and for all that they “do for love of the bridegroom.”
“He knows your hearts, and He knows all the ways that you’ve been open to that mercy, and He also knows the ways that you have shared that mercy,” he said. “And His invitation to you is let your flasks continue to be filled by His mercy and His love. And you just stand before His heart at the cross and you say that same prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”
Radiating God’s love
Mena Dunn, a parishioner at Holy Ghost in Knoxville, attended the closing of the jubilee. Mrs. Dunn was invited by the Sisters, who teach at the homeschool co-op in which her children are members.
“With our co-op, they teach our teenage girls, and the girls love them so much. It has a lot of them really discerning if they want a religious life or not. It’s almost like a wildfire, even the littlest girls. They don’t teach the little kids, they just walk by the little kids, and the little girls are like, we want to do that,” she said. “It’s so beautiful. … It’s very inspiring to the little girls, just their presence.”
Mrs. Dunn commented that the Sisters “radiate God’s love to everybody,” and she hopes their community continues to grow.
“I just hope that this convent is bursting with Sisters because what they do for the community is so beautiful, and we really need more Sisters. They show us the role of the feminine genius in the Church. We need it,” she said.
Bruce Fisher, a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, was retiring years ago when a Religious Sister of Mercy recruited him to volunteer for the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, a mobile medical clinic that provides free health care to the uninsured of East Tennessee.
Mr. Fisher began driving the mobile clinic to the various clinic sites as well as helping with patient education. Almost 10 years later, he still enjoys volunteering for this ministry.
He shared that the Sisters have love for the people they serve, providing “good medical care without any hesitation.”
“I can’t help but praise them and say good things about them. It doesn’t matter what job they’re doing, whether it be the mobile clinic or working at the Chancery,” Mr. Fisher said.
For more information on the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., visit their website at almamercy.org.