Consecrated life: Rewards outweigh the challenges

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Maria Elena Romero, DCJ is with the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus and is presently assigned to Mount Carmel Home in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

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On Oct. 8, 1925, the first sisters of the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus arrived at their new home on Alameda St. in Corpus Christi. They had been invited to come to the Diocese of Corpus Christi by Bishop Emmanuel Ledvina. The sisters set up a day nursery and by 1945 began to consider the possibility of establishing an additional foundation in the area to serve the aging.

Bishop Ledvina saw a great need in the diocese for this type of facility and gave his consent, as well as $1,000 towards the purchase of land on S. Alameda St. During the next few years, many benefactors gave generously to the building fund and a groundbreaking took place on Feb. 2, 1953 for Mount Carmel Home.

Blessed Maria Teresa of Saint Joseph founded the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus on July 2, 1891. It was founded as a contemplative-apostolic religious congregation of Pontifical Right. Mother Maria Teresa put the contemplative spirit of the Carmelites into the active service of the direct apostolate. This union of prayer and service became the congregation’s life and mission.

The life of the congregation is the reparation for sin and the sanctification of souls.
Especially dear to the congregation is the sanctification and protection of priests. Today the Carmelite sisters are spread over four continents, ministering in senior homes; day care centers for children; day nurseries; center treatments for children and youth; and independent and assisted living homes for the elderly.

I entered in the Carmelite house that was located four blocks away from my family’s home in Nicaragua. I joined the congregation on Dec. 27, 1983 and took final vows on July 2, 1991, the same year the congregation was celebrating 100 years since its foundation.

Throughout the years, I have served in different countries and apostolates, but mostly in health care ministries. One of my first assignments was at our Mission on Maracaibo, Venezuela in our health care clinic for the poor. Here my biggest challenge was to draw blood from babies. But I saw the face of Jesus in all the sick patients that came daily to receive medical care. Sometimes patients were sent from the hospital to our clinic because they did not have the personnel for their care. I could get any patient in with the help of a caring doctor, even though the clinic was always overwhelmed with the number of patients.

In 1998, I was transferred to Texas and began working with the elderly and learning English, not an easy task. I never expected to come to the US; I was preparing myself to serve in a remote little town in the mountains of Nicaragua. In Corpus Christi, my ministry was primarily with the elderly; my task was mostly in distribution of medication, which I have done for about 22 years. I always feel a great sense of responsibility knowing that a mistake could cause great harm.

At present, my work consists of assisting my superior in her vocational ministries. As mistress of postulants and novices, I have received much help from Father Jesus Sancho, a Carmelite priest, Mother Katharina, our former general superior, Sister Philiberta and Sister Mary Joseph. They all gave me a helping hand while preparing for my journey as formator. I am always working in promoting vocations wherever I go.

Our foundress once said that the zeal of the sisters in the service of the Church must be renewed in every generation until the end of time. God has placed his work in our weak hands, we need to be filled with awe and gratitude for how mysterious and yet how wonderful are his ways. Therefore we ought to trust in his power and mercy and serve him joyfully.

Anyone that has ever contemplated, or is now contemplating, a vocation in consecrated life, please do not hesitate or be afraid to follow the call; there will be many challenges, but there are more rewarding experiences.