Just read this article from the Arizona Daily Star — Retiring nun is emissary of light to people in their darkest hours by Stephanie Innes (June 15, 2008). Sister Mary Ann Rawson, 67, was a chaplain for the Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, Arizona. She is a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM website).
Here are some quotes from the article to give you a sense of how Sister Mary Ann ministers to people.
[Sister Mary Ann] has spent the last 15 years … sitting with families and patients during times of unexpected health crises, tragedies and often during the final stages of a life. “I represent something larger than myself,” she explains.
Those who know Rawson say she has touched the lives of thousands of local patients and their families — sitting with them through illness and death…. “We all find her very insightful, and she has a special way of relating to people who are having chronic physical or emotional issues,” said Cheryl Wilson-Weiss, who is director of spiritual care for Carondelet and oversees its six full-time chaplains.
Rawson has also been invaluable to staff members at St. Joe’s, who experience constant stress in their jobs. “She accepts you as you are,” said Nikki Hinrichs, the office coordinator who has worked with Rawson since 1999.
The chaplains’ philosophy is that while a cure isn’t always possible, there’s always room for healing. “We’re all spiritual beings. We express it in different ways,” Wilson-Weiss said. “What Sister Mary Ann does is a ministry of presence, simply reminding people there is a loving God. She has that capacity…. We cannot give what we don’t have.”
Though she’s retiring from her job as a chaplain, Sister Mary Ann is still very much involved with ministry. The article noted that she volunteers for a state refugee- and immigrant-support program and is a court-appointed special advocate.
"She wrote the way she lived: on the fly, without retrospect, always on the way, climbing higher."
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Sister Julie-
Thanks for sharing this moving story of a remarkable woman. May her example inspire us to be better instruments of God’s will and blessings to each other.
Sr Julie, you asked a few weeks back what kind of items readers would like - well, I very much like this kind of item. It lifts the heart, and I just love that bit at the start ‘I represent something larger than myself.’ How true that is for each one of us. God bless, have a god day!
Sr. Mary Ann sounds like a very special person. Although subtle, the gift of presence is indeed an important one. Thanks for posting it.
dee
Ann, that line struck me too and I’m still meditating on it. While a person certainly has personal reasons for becoming a nun, ultimately it is a vocation that is beyond ourselves. A nun represents herself, certainly, but she also represents her religious community, religious life itself, the Church, and God in a way. It is very humbling and I pray always to honor those who are part of the larger context that I somehow represent.
Thank you for the wise words, Dee … “Although subtle, the gift of presence is indeed an important one.”
With David I pray that people like Sister Mary Ann lift our spirts and compel us to reach out to others.
Oh, and Ann, thanks for the affirmation about posting these types of articles. They lift my heart too.
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