The Sisters of Christian Charity] should have…a merciful heart to compassionate all” (Constitutions, Article 7). For Mother Pauline these were not just empty words, but they described the way she lived her entire life. From the time she was a child until she was in her 60’s Mother Pauline was a living example of these words. At age 7 Pauline picked up broken glass on the way to school so others wouldn’t be injured by stepping on it. As a teenager she joined with other young women to help care for the sick poor in their homes and at 17, she cared for her mother during her final illness and death. After the founding of the Congregation in 1849, there are numerous examples of Mother Pauline’s heart of service. From nursing neighbors suffering from cholera to making the arduous sea voyage to North America less than a year before her death, Mother Pauline’s active spirit and merciful heart continue to inspire me.
I believe that taking care of those “on the margins” is one way in which the Sisters of Christian Charity strive to follow in Mother Pauline’s footsteps. I minister as a Registered Nurse in a clinic that serves the uninsured and underinsured in the county where I live. Because of their socioeconomic status or immigration status, my patients struggle in so many ways to receive the help they need. Often this means providing life-sustaining medication for them when they have nowhere else to turn, or making visits to their homes to provide services. Sometimes it is providing funds for food or transportation; other times, it’s merely a listening ear. Just as Mother Pauline did, we try to ease our patients’ burdens and keep them healthy in a world that, many times, makes accessing services difficult.
Intentionally being among the poor was integral to Mother Pauline’s life. Her good friend, Professor Christopher Schlueter, wrote of her: “…whenever she can, she creeps into the huts of the poor to alleviate their suffering… She spends her life chiefly for others in an untiring, wonderfully inventive service to those who suffer.” This intentionality continues today. During my seven years as a professed Sister, I have lived in a convent that is located in one of the poorest cities in the State of New Jersey. We want to be here for God’s people, as a Christian witness, not only in ministry, but in where and how we chose to live. It is a great grace to share Mother Pauline’s merciful heart of service in this time and place.