Maryknoll Sisters

Sister Anne Marie Emdin (l) is a welcome visitor for elderly people who have no one. Read on for her update from Macau, China.

Last month, Mr. and Mrs. Hui invited me to share with their family the Winter Solstice Pot Luck supper.  He is 90 and she is 88.

Mr. Hui is now totally blind. He had been the Church caretaker for many years and they have a small cement house on the church property next to our elderly center.  They borrowed the Church hall for the occasion, and I counted 40-plus family members: children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren running all over the church hall in a wonderful spirit. 

As we were leaving, Mrs. Hui said to me, “The wonderful thing about having so many relatives is I can leave the hall and go to bed knowing the offspring will clean up!”

Earlier that day, our center invited all those elderly who would not have someone to celebrate the Winter Solstice with them to join together to celebrate the festival with a noon meal.  We started this custom 19 years ago with the idea that either you brought something to share or contributed some money so the center could buy extra goodies. 

For the last two years, most of the elderly contributed a bit of cash but this year several decided to do some communal cooking!  They went shopping together and were at the center to start their preparations before 7:30 am. 

They had a glorious time cooking together in the parish tea area and serving over 60 elderly who came to share the meal. The center, of course, also provided quite a few dishes to supplement the delicious food prepared by the group. Winter Solstice is the biggest festival in the Chinese “religious” calendar, and to be alone on that day is, if at all possible, not to be considered. 

The Catholic Youth Center also prepares a meal to deliver on that night to many single elderly or any poor family they know.  The youth of the teenage center spend hours cooking and delivering both food and extra goodies to these families on that day before they go home to their own family meal.

Our Pastor, Father Angel, invited all of the morning Mass people to a “bring your own breakfast and share it” after Mass on Winter Solstice. Many had to leave, even though it was a legal holiday, but around 15 of us stayed for breakfast and a bit of a song fest with Seminarian Hung on the guitar and Father on the accordion. Times like this are great for building the spirit of the group.

For Christmas Eve, Father Angel decided that we should go caroling in the north district of Macau (our parish boundary). The main problem was that our three choirs were, for the most part, taking part in the diocesan program down in the center plaza at the same time.   Not to be put off by such fickleness by our choirs, Father invited anyone interested to take part in this event. 

We were a motley crew of Chinese, Filipinas, Indonesians, one Mexican (the pastor), one Polish assistant pastor, and one tone-deaf American, ranging in age from a toddler being pushed in a baby stroller up and to a couple of 80-plus-year-old women from our elderly center.  Father Angel put on a choir robe that came only to his knees and a pair of authentic feathered wings and led the group while playing his accordion. The group also included five other “angels” in cardboard wings and two guitars and a tambourine! 

At the Macau-China border, we created a sensation—not necessarily for our singing ability, as part of the group could only sing in Chinese and the other songsters only in English, and we sang in both languages simultaneously, but shall we just say the Macau-China border has not seen such a spectacularly weird vision of angels and red-capped Santas singing in the 450+ years of its existence! 

There was a rush for cameras or mobile phones by people going in or coming out of China to record this event and a dash for the candy that the smaller (and not-so -small) “angels” were passing out. Our presence was truly verified on film, and we too had a great fun, getting back well in time to prepare for Midnight Mass.

 – Sister Anne Marie Emdin, MM

In Macau, China, Sr. Anne Marie (c.) combines care of the elderly with care of the body.

Last month, while I was doing some foot care for Grandmother Ma in her home, as she is wheelchair-bound, I received a telephone call from the elderly center on Ha Van Street in Macau, where I was to go next.

 “Did we forget to mention to you that we have moved to a new location?” came a voice over the phone.

 “Well, yes. You did.” I replied.  The original center managed by the social welfare department was torn down last year and is being rebuilt. The center for the elderly temporarily uses borrowed premises.

The staff member assured me that someone would be at the last borrowed place and would escort me down to their newly rented center.  “Don’t worry; we will get you to our new quarters,”she assured me.

When I finished with Grandmother Ma, I went to the old temporary center and there at the door were seven grandmothers and one grandfather waiting for me.  As we paraded en mass down the middle of the street together, I couldn’t help but wonder if humming “76 Trombones . . .” would be appropriate or if I should be a bit more pious and sing the hymn of Ruth from the Old Testament: “Wherever you go I will go . . .?”

However, we did make it to the new temporary quarters for the Center and although it is quite crowded, it suits the folks fine, at least until the new building is built in one or two years.

Since we were starting the Mid-Autumn Festival season in Macau (15^th day of the 8^th Lunar Month or September 11 in the solar Calendar this year), I brought some “fruit” flavored penny candy (whoever heard of penny candy these days?) to distribute when I went to take the blood pressures of those getting rice from the group Caritas Internationalis on September 3.

My 12-year-old “secretary” came by and decided that each recipient should get one of each flavor rather than only one piece of candy, although when I am alone, I use the grab-bag system and do not piece-meal the candy. 

He had an absolutely glorious time going through the bag and selecting 4-5 pieces of different flavored candy for each customer.  The mothers in the background thoroughly enjoyed his largesse and I did too. In view of the fact that he is usually the recipient rather than the donor of various handouts, I did not limit his generosity. 

Nevertheless, the candy ran out well before the last person came for a blood pressure measurement. Then again, the late customers did not know candy had been part of the service so there was no problem.  This time however there were more men asking for their blood pressures to be taken (and taking the candy) than I had in the past.

Perhaps they do need a sweet incentive?

 – Sister Anne Marie Emdin, MM

Strong yet flexible, the bamboo symbolizes the resilience of the peoples of East Asia. “The bamboo bends but doesn ‘t break,” explains Sister Helen Kenny, who has witnessed the changes in the region for almost half a century.

The nations of the region have weathered many storms – war, colonial occupation, internal struggles and social and political upheavals – and have emerged as dynamic, vibrant nations – each with a unique cultural heritage and language but united by a common Asian identity.

On the surface, the Philippines reminded me of East Africa with its profusion of tropical fruits and flowers and the warm hospitality of its people. It also shares with Africa a colonial background, by Spain and then the United States. As it struggles to forge its own identity, it is going through the growing pains of unemployment, corruption, militarization and a growing gap between rich and poor.

Katrina Eggert and I enjoyed the first celebration of our Golden Jubilee during the Asia East World Section meeting where we shared our vocation journey and enjoyed a special Filipino meal in our honor. It was indeed a memorable beginning to a year of celebration for us.

A highlight of our trip was a visit to Fort Santiago in Manila where our Sisters Trinita and Brigida were imprisoned and tortured during the Second World War, uniting us with the thousands of Filipino men and women who suffered, were tortured and killed at this time. We also visited Miriam College where the Maryknoll identity is thriving. We were over­whelmed by the hospitality of the College’s new President, Rosario Lapus, and many of the senior staff who gave us a tour of the campus and shared their history of a long and loving relationship with Maryknoll. It is easy to see that the centennial celebrations in the Philippines will be very special indeed.

Hong Kong is a vibrant, dynamic city with one of the best public transport systems I have ever seen. I expected a concrete jungle but found beautiful gardens and tree-lined streets even in the heart of the city. As always on these visits, one is inspired and impressed by the ministries of each Sister – so diverse and so in keeping with the needs of the people. Whether we are assisting migrant workers, editing human rights bulletins, animating youth, teaching, providing pastoral care to patients, or preparing reports about the Church in China, each ministry is meaningful and needed.

The staff at Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital and Maryknoll Convent School stopped everything else they were doing to give us their full attention for a day. It was very humbling indeed to experience the respect and appreciation in which our congregation is held. Both institutions have been turned over to local staff who are alive with the Maryknoll spirit and very proud to maintain the standards and values that were instilled by the Maryknoll founders. At Holy Spirit Study Center, Bishop Tong expressed his deep appreciation for the Sisters who have worked in Hong Kong and assured us that we are still needed there.

Macau felt like home since the Portuguese influence there is similar to what I had experienced in Mozambique, another former Portuguese colony. Cultural and historic treasures abound in a multitude of churches, museums and galleries while the ever-growmg expansion of casinos helps to finance China’s amazing growth and prosperity.

A short side trip to Guangzhou where we had a taste of the student life of Sisters Anastasia Lindawati and Ngoc­ Ha Pham capped our visit. We can only say a heartfelt thanks to all those who shared so deeply of themselves and who are so wholly committed to keeping the Maryknoll legacy alive – truly a gift as we move towards our centennial.

— Sister Janice McLaughlin, MM