MAG Sisters conclude jubilee year with Masses, closing of Holy Door
By Bill Brewer
The year 2024 has been pivotal for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” (MAG), who serve in the Five Rivers and Chattanooga deaneries, as the religious order has commemorated its 75th anniversary.
Bishop Mark Beckman marked the jubilee year with a special Mass for the MAG Sisters on Nov. 7. The Sisters serving in the Diocese of Knoxville gathered in the Our Lady of the Mountains Chapel in the Chancery for the Mass.
Sister Eloísa Torralba Aquino, Sister Maria del Pilar Hinojosa Aguilar, Sister Maria Luisa Morales, and Sister Maria Esther Ordoñez Cuevas attended the Mass and were recognized for their ministry in the Catholic Church and the Church in East Tennessee.
Sister Eloísa serves at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Sister Maria del Pilar serves at St. Bridget Parish in Dayton and Shepherd of the Valley Parish in Dunlap. Sister Maria Luisa serves at St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport and St. Patrick Parish in Morristown. And Sister Maria Esther serves at Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville and St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Mountain City.
Bishop Mark Beckman celebrates Mass for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” on Nov. 7 in the Our Lady of the Mountains Chapel in the Chancery. The celebration commemorated the 75th anniversary of the religious order. (Photo Bill Brewer)
Bishop Beckman expressed joy and gratitude at celebrating the Mass for the MAG Sisters’ diamond jubilee.
“It is so good to be here to celebrate with you Sisters and to celebrate your jubilee, 75 years of service to the people of God as Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ‘Ad Gentes’ to the nations. What a beautiful vocation. I offer this Mass for you all and the good work you all are doing and all of your Sisters throughout the world,” Bishop Beckman said.
Deacon Fredy Vargas, who serves at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, was the deacon of the Word and altar. Blanca Primm, director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Knoxville, gave the reading and responsorial.
In his homily, Bishop Beckman spoke of the appropriateness of the day’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, which wrote of Jesus spending time with tax collectors and sinners, to the displeasure of the Pharisees and Scribes.
The Gospel of Luke then tells of Jesus’ parable of the shepherd leaving all of his sheep to search for one that is lost, and upon finding the lost sheep rejoices that all are reunited.
“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance. And what woman who has 10 coins and loses one of them would not light a lamp and sweep the house searching carefully until she finds it. Then, when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents,” Deacon Vargas said in giving the Gospel from Luke 15:1-10.
Bishop Beckman said it is important to understand that Jesus gave this parable because the religious leaders of His day did not understand “why he was hanging out with sinners.”
“And to them He spoke the parable. What good news for all of us, right? When we are lost, the Lord will come looking for us. He will never leave us alone in the wilderness. His heart is one of compassion for us. Because we know that about the Lord and His goodness, He calls us to be like that and to reach out to the lost ones,” the bishop said.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” began their diamond jubilee year on Dec. 12, 2023, and celebrated with a Mass and the opening of a Holy Door at their convent in Jonesborough on Dec. 15, 2023. The Mass was celebrated by Father Michael Cummins, pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport.
At the Nov. 7 Chancery Mass, Bishop Beckman spoke of the religious order’s ministry in East Tennessee and around the world.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ‘‘Ad Gentes’’ have been serving in several countries for 75 years. (Photo Bill Brewer)
“I think about the beautiful ministry, Sisters, that your community has been doing now for 75 years. You have been making present and real in our world the beautiful heart of Christ, who is coming in search of the lost ones,” Bishop Beckman said.
He emphasized how, in Jesus’ parable, the shepherd puts the lost sheep on his shoulders “with great joy.” And the bishop shared that he thinks about the houses of prayer in Chattanooga established by the MAG Sisters and “the great joy of God’s people being gathered together.”
“There is cause for rejoicing when we know the goodness of the Lord and have the opportunity to participate in that goodness, to be like the shepherd who is going out looking or like the woman who is sweeping the house diligently looking for the lost coin. Thank you all for that ministry, for your ‘Yes’ to the Lord, and for being present here in this Diocese of Knoxville representing the heart of Jesus,” Bishop Beckman continued in his homily.
“I am grateful for you, and I want to say I am grateful on behalf of the whole Church here in the Diocese of Knoxville. You are a beautiful gift to the Lord and to us,” the bishop concluded.
The jubilee year ended on Dec. 12 after Father Cummins celebrated Mass on Nov. 29 at the Jonesborough convent and the Holy Door there was closed.
In his homily, Father Cummins said that it is good to remember the mercy of the Lord and all of God’s blessings.
“I believe that this jubilee year for your community has been a year of many blessings—blessings for your community and blessings through your community for so many other people,” Father Cummins said. “Through the Holy Door, your community has welcomed many people over this past year—the young, the old, families, people who have no one, those strong in their faith, those whose faith was hurting and weak. You have welcomed all, and in that welcoming, you have been a blessing for them. By welcoming them, you have brought them to Jesus our Lord, the Good Shepherd.”
Father Cummins asked the Missionary Sisters to remember the mercy of God and the blessings of the jubilee year.
“Like the Blessed Mother herself, we are called to treasure these things in our hearts, to ponder upon them, and to be strengthened and encouraged by them. … Ponder those blessings in your hearts and always open wide the door to Christ,” he said.
Father Cummins said the Sisters have welcomed Jesus into their homes and hearts during the jubilee year in each visitor, noting that Jesus often comes to His people in the disguise of a visitor, and when another person is welcomed in Christian charity, we welcome Jesus.
“Jesus is the welcome guest in the heart of your community, and today He calls you ‘sister, mother, friend’ for having welcomed Him and for doing the will of the Father in welcoming so many others and each other in Christian charity,” he shared.
The Sisters are pleased with and grateful for the jubilee year celebrations.
“It’s a blessing from God because Pope Francis gave us this special blessing to have a jubilee year,” said Sister Maria Esther.
The Missionary Sisters have been serving in East Tennessee since 1993, only five years after the Diocese of Knoxville was established. A dozen or so MAG Sisters have served in the Diocese of Knoxville through the decades.
The Sisters’ ministry was underscored recently during the tragic flooding in upper East Tennessee from Hurricane Helene. They immediately stepped into service to assist the parishes and Hispanic communities in Erwin, Mountain City, Newport, and Greeneville that were hardest hit by floodwaters.
“It was so hard for the families. We went to see the river after the storm, and everything is destroyed. It’s very sad,” Sister Maria Esther said.
“Afterward, we went to pray there. We prayed the rosary there. And we walked along the river where lives were lost,” she added. “We also went to visit families, where we offered our prayers.”
The Missionary Sisters, who are very humble in their approach to life and ministry, are just as active in their vocations in the Chattanooga Deanery.
“Through this tragedy, we can see God’s love through the children who are generous with their giving to others. And it was amazing to see the response of people who gathered to pray for the victims,” Sister Maria Luisa said.
The Sisters reached out to Catholics and non-Catholics alike and said religious affiliation never factored into the flood-response efforts.
“The objective was to be united and to pray as one for those impacted by the flood,” Sister Maria Luisa noted.
The Missionary Sisters launched their East Tennessee ministry in Chattanooga, where they reached out to Hispanic members of the Chattanooga Deanery and worked with priests in organizing rosaries and Masses.
Over time they expanded their presence to the Tri-Cities, where they continued their apostolate. That apostolate included ministering to farm workers who assist agricultural operations in that area.
“Being in the Diocese of Knoxville is a gift to us as well, especially now with Bishop Beckman. We are so eager to serve with him, with all these goals he has and new horizons he has described. We are ready to work with him and continue serving the parishes. We want to work with him hand in hand,” Sister Maria del Pilar said.
The Sisters described how those in their order who first ministered in East Tennessee faced the challenges of bringing Hispanic Catholics together in fellowship, prayer, and worship, and attracting non-Catholics to the faith. In recent years, the challenges have changed as technology can be an obstacle to faith and as Hispanic youth balance life in the United States and their Latin American heritage.
“It is our turn to accompany the youth and adjust ourselves so we can help the kids to find Jesus through technology because we are not going to take technology away from them. It’s a challenge and an opportunity. Also, we need to listen to them without judging them. When we listen to them, they respond,” Sister Eloísa said.
The Missionary Sisters also hope to attract young women to the religious order through vocation awareness and being present and visible with their ministry and promoting the faith throughout the diocese.
The Sisters cited an example from St. Patrick Parish, where a small group of young Hispanic women expressed interest in forming a co-ed choir. Sister Maria Luisa, who works with St. Patrick and St. Dominic parishes, began working with the young women, and the group has grown to 16 young-adult members singing at St. Patrick.
Sister Maria Luisa was intent on bringing the young women back to the Church at St. Patrick; she wanted to bring them “back home.” Father Miguel Vélez, pastor of St. Patrick, opened the way for them to begin singing at Masses each week as part of the parish’s music ministry.
Another success at St. Patrick was recruiting young altar servers to serve at Masses after the COVID pandemic. Sister Maria Luisa, partnering with Father Vélez, was able to rebuild the team of altar servers that included many Hispanic youth members of the parish. St. Patrick now has 30 altar servers ranging in age from 9 to 16 to serve at the Masses.
And in many individual cases, the Missionary Sisters have been pivotal in conversions to the faith.
“In order to help the youth, the strategy is to help the parents,” Sister Eloísa said. “It’s a key time to help them relate to their children.”
An outreach of this effort has led to an active family ministry at St. Patrick, where workshops led by priests and deacons are attracting dozens of families that want to grow in faith.
Another ministry initiative the Missionary Sisters are serious about is English as a second language for not only the people they minister to but for themselves as well. The four sisters are learning English so they can serve any Diocese of Knoxville parish, not just the ones with Hispanic communities.
“I give classes in English at Shepherd of the Valley, where I have 15 children. Some of them are Anglo, so I need to prepare my lessons in English. I have to say, ‘Oh, my goodness. Holy Spirit come to me.’ The goal of the Sisters is to be bilingual and teach all of the children, not just the Hispanics,” said Sister Maria Del Pilar, who also volunteers at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga.
Beyond ministry programs and religious education within parishes, the Missionary Sisters also go out into the community to reach people where they are.
The Sisters teach leadership development classes, lead sacramental and quinceañera preparation courses, provide counseling, accompany individuals to court, and help people find jobs.
In Unicoi and Washington counties, they visit the migrant farm workers and coordinate having Mass celebrated for them.
“They do great work,” said Mrs. Primm. “They are out there, in the community. Their presence is very important, essential, because they accompany the people in the field.”
“They visit families at home taking the Gospel and inviting them to become part of the parish community. The Sisters go where many can’t with their missionary vocation, sharing the Gospel where they serve,” Mrs. Primm added.
The Sisters also have established two casas de oración, or “houses of prayer,” in Chattanooga. These gathering places are strategically located in areas that will help them reach more people on the margins.
The Santa Cruz Casa de Oración is located in a former recreation center and serves around 500 people. The second, Immaculate Conception, was originally a garage and hosts around 350 people. Activities at the casas de oración include prayer and rosary groups, Mass, food distribution, marriage classes, counseling, and medical assistance. The Sisters and lay leaders host prayer services, musical gatherings, classes, and other community events.
