The nuns of the Daughters of Charity find joy and fulfillment in feeding street dwellers.

Don’t be surprised if one of these days, you’ll come across radio advertisements, posters, brochures or encounter short talks in schools and even in shopping malls inviting young women to become nuns.
   
Gone are the days of waiting for the chosen flock to knock on the door and announce their calling. The dwindling number of nuns has prompted many congregations to become more aggressive
to recruit young women to their fold.

In crisis

Sister Lilybeth Cortez, Aspirants and Regional Vocation coordinator of the Daughters of Charity (DC), for instance, says their congregation is now in crisis. While there were about 30 or 40 girls who enter in one batch alone in the ‘80s, that number seems to be a dream now.

“Now, we only have two aspirants, two postulants, five seminary sisters and six sisters in the Initial Formation in Mission stage or juniorate. Kakaunti yun. We do not know kung talagang magpepersevere pa lahat yun,” laments
Sr. Lilybeth.

Sister Nerissa Herbon, DC Postulants’ coordinator, attributes the decline to the prevailing materialism, consumerism and the more appealing things the world offers.

“Or nakain na sila ng profession o mga trabaho nila, sa kagustuhan nilang makabuhay ng pamilya.
It can also be due to the negative impact caused to those who belong to dysfunctional families,” Sr. Nerissa opines.

Promoting nunhood even in malls!

For this reason, the nuns of DC have embarked on an intensified vocation promotion in their provincial houses, in schools, and yes, even in shopping malls to attract more women to consider entering the religious life.
 
“Tapos na yung panahon na naghihintay kami kung sino yung darating. Now, we really need to look for people and invite,” Sr. Lilybeth admits.

Upon invitation, Sr. Lilybeth says they go to schools and malls to speak about their congregation. In SM Megamall for instance, they recently conducted a 10-minute talk about their company to those attending Mass at the atrium chapel. They also went to Centro Escolar University recently to offer guidance, counseling and to encourage students that there is another option besides married life. Fortunately, they do get very positive response especially in public schools and colleges.

Sister Rowena Borcillo, NCR Vocation coordinator of DC, says it is just a matter of finding the right person.

“Sometimes these young ladies just need somebody to tap them and accompany them for their own discernment. Since there are so many options in the world now, it becomes difficult for them to commit. So we need to accompany them in their own decision-making.

This is not what we call Search-In really but life direction. When you join the Search-In, it doesn’t mean na lahat sila magmamadre. Everything is just a come and see. Some women, meanwhile, already have that seed of vocation, but they do not know where to go, what to do, how to go about it and what congregation to join. It’s like shopping for the right congregation. This is why we are here, we are willing to accompany them for that purpose,” Sr. Lilybeth explains.
                                                                                
   
The search- in

This writer recently attended a Search-In of the DC where over 80 young “searchers,” mostly college students and professionals, came to discern what they should pursue in life.

Bernadette Tabangay, a 26-year-old civil engineer, is currently in that discernment stage. “I want to know kung ano yung will ni God para sa akin. Wala akong relative na madre at yung calling na naririnig ko hindi ganon ka concrete. But I really need guidance para sa decision na gagawin ko. Seeing the life of the sisters is really helping me. Natanggal din yung stereotyping. Hindi lang siya eye-opening but heart-opening as well,” she says.

On the other hand, Jesasain Sabasa, 23; Rose Ann Castillo, 24; and Raquel Ann Sinaca, 21, all admit they once wanted to become nuns at some point in their lives.

Castillo, for one, has long been attracted to the nuns of their church. “Sa province namin, malapit lang ang simbahan sa bahay. Pag may nakikita akong madre, natutuwa ako. Nung nagkaisip ako, may desire na akong magmadre. Kaya gusto ko malaman kung gusto ko pa ba yun until now,” she adds.
College senior Sinaca, meanwhile, wanted to become a nun since she was still in kindergarten. However, her dream was set aside as she grew up and saw the need to work and provide for her family. But everytime she would put aside the idea of entering the convent, Sinaca reveals that she would dream of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

In her dream, the Virgin Mary would show her pictures of churches, and many times, even catastrophes and calamities that would later happen in real life. This has urged her to reconsider her decision because of the seemingly unique mission in store for her.

How to be a nun

Sr. Rowena says those who would like to become nuns in their company must be from 20 to 35 years old, college graduates or have finished at least two years in college, and professionals.

“Sometimes we also accept over-aged women in their 40s but on a case-to-case basis. Ideally, we want young professionals who have already reached a certain level of maturity and know what they really want in life. We also accept widows with children who are already grown-ups and not dependent anymore on their mother,” relates Sr. Rowena who adds that their foundress St. Louise de Marillac was actually a widow with one child but has chosen to consecrate herself to God and the poor.
 
Daughters of the streets

The Daughters of Charity (DC) was founded in 1633 by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac in Paris. The founders asked help from the ladies coming from the elite class to take care of sick people who were casualties of war. But later on these ladies became occupied with familial and social obligations that they decided to send their helpers to represent them. After some time, a young woman named Margaret Nauseau volunteered her services. This eventually encouraged other ladies to volunteer as well which marked the beginning of the Daughters of Charity.

Today, the DC nuns are found in 93 countries catering not only to the sick but also the illiterate, the elderly, the abandoned, victims of calamities and disasters, parishioners, indigenous peoples, the streetchildren and the poorest of the poor. They are found in schools, orphanages, hospitals, parishes, health ministries, in disaster relief operations and even in insurgent communities. DC also has pastoral communities and houses, in Mindanao particularly in war-torn areas like Basilan, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi, Ipil, Ozamis and Marawi. They are also in Mindoro with the Mangyans, in Boracay with the Aetas, with families of migrants and people with AIDS.

“Our company is called Society of Apostolic Knight. We are categorized not as a religious congregation but as apostolic because our vows are not perpetual. We renew it every year during
the Feast of the Annunciation. We don’t even profess our vows, we just emit them in private. And after seven to eight years of initial formation, we still go through an ongoing stage of formation until we grow old. We believe that the formation must continue for our growth, for improvement of ourselves and for better service of those living in poverty,” Sr. Nerissa explains.

Apart from the three vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, the DC nuns also have the vow of service for the poor. This is why they are called “Daughters of the Streets.”

The tasks

Contrary to perceptions that nuns are like slaves or helpers in convents being made to do exhausting chores, Sr. Rowena clarifies that household chores are also part of being a nun.

‘’This helps in our vocation. Ang pinakamahirap dito ay ang harapin ang mga sarili namin at panindigan ang desisyong ginawa. Plus, we are assigned to live with the poor and serve them and how can we serve them if we don’t know how or if we have our own servants to do it for us. Even our Mother Superior is not called as such but as Sister Servant because we are servants of the people. Most of all, we enjoy what we do and that’s what matters,”
she points out.
 
Fun to be a nun

Unknown to many, Sr. Nerissa reveals that it is actually fun and exciting to be nuns in their congregation. For one, they have been assigned to help communities in the war-torn areas of Mindanao which makes their stay even more risky but extremely meaningful.
   
“Times have changed. We have become more open, more spontaneous and allowing. But our mission has also become more challenging. Mas naging mahirap ang misyon. How can we live a life of simplicity and humility in the midst of a materialistic world?”

In her 25 years of being a nun, the 47-year-old Sr. Nerissa says she is truly happy despite the struggles. For her, all the sacrifices she made, including going against her mother’s will and leaving her boyfriend for her vocation, are worth it.
   
“Hindi madali ang dinaanan ko, pati sarili kong nanay kaya kong kalimutan because of this. Of course marami ring temptations along the way. Mayroon ding mga attractions even inside. Up to now, nagkakacrush din kami, naiin-love din. We’re human beings. We’re normal. We are also tempted to get out and have a family. Siguro nakakatulong din ito dahil mas naaappreciate namin yung vocation na pinili namin. I fight these temptations by living a life of prayer, strengthening my love for the community and nurturing a deep relationship and intimacy with Jesus,” she ends.

(The Daughters of Charity is celebrating three important milestones, the 350th death anniversary of founders St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, the 150th year of its presence in the Philippines and the bicentennial year of Hospicio de San Jose, one of its provincial houses.)