Friday, May 18, 2018

SISTER MARION CARABOTT (Montpelier Court, London, UK)

Sister Marion Carabott
Montpelier Court, London, UK


As a MSOLA, how have you been a ‘woman apostle’ in the different places where you have been?   

 I could summarize my life under these six headings:

- My first appointment after religious Profession was as a teacher in schools in Kashozi (Bukoba diocese, Tanzania)
- Departure from Tanzania and various appointments involving MSOLA Religious Formation in Holmwood (Surrey UK), Dawson Place (London), Switzerland, Congo (at the time it was Zaire), Motherwell (Scotland) and Toulouse (France)
-  General Administration of the Congregation in Frascati.
- Novice Mistress at Gisagara, Rwanda with the local Congregation of the Abizeramariya followed by a period of belonging to the Provincial Council of Central Africa which included Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. 
- Return to UK – member of the Provincial Council of North Sea Province that included the Netherlands and UK entities, then of the Provincial Council of Europe.
- Last move to Montpelier Court, Ealing London, where I now am.

In Tanzania, it gave me great joy to teach in Kamkukubwa School and Ihungo College where I built relationships with the students. I worked with enthusiasm to increase their knowledge and prepare them for their future life and this included trying to instil Christian valuesand a desire to serve and bring about justice and peace in their country in their future life. One important aspect was trying to help them to open up to various ethnic groups in their school and in their country and to see the richness of diversity. I felt I was ‘a woman apostle’ among them.

Being engaged in formationis very different from working in other activities. It took some time to persuade myself that this “mission” is as important as working in ministries on the “mission field”. However, I became more and more aware that collaborating in the formation of postulants and novices in order to ensure their deep attachment to Christ, to His Mission and to the Congregation was a privileged serviceas it meant preparing them, as the Cardinal advised tobe“Apostles and nothing but Apostles”.  That demanded of me an effort to become more and more ‘a woman apostle’ myself so as to be able to foster a deep desire in young women to give their life as fully as possible to bring about God’s Kingdom in Africa by a total self-gift. 

During the time in the General Administration in Frascati, my horizon opened up to the situation of the whole Congregation. As a General Team, we endeavoured to organise on -going formation sessions to enable our Sisters to deepen their spiritual lives so that they could grow as women apostles. We tried to discover the needs of the local Church in Africa by collaborating with Bishops and when we appointed Sisters we kept mind their wellbeing, health, aspirations, competence and when possible their desires. Satisfying all these factors was quite a challenge. We felt we were ‘women apostles’ caring deeply for other ‘women apostles’ whose desire was to share Gospel joy with the African world. 

Collaborating and living with the Abizeramariya was an enriching time for me. They inspired me by their love for the poor and the destitute and taught me a lot by the way they related with them without expecting any thanks, appreciation or the least satisfaction and reward. It was obvious that HIV and AIDS patients, poor people and those who had lived a very deprived life were very often far from easy to relate with. They could be very demanding and I saw in these Sisters and in those who were in formation strong ‘women apostles’ who inspired me to strive to become a better ‘woman apostle’ myself in order to be able to give those entrusted to my care a formation that is worthy of their call.

Leaving Rwanda and returning to UK was a difficult experience for me. I was now in charge of Sisters who had come back from Africa because they were elderly, sick or following on-going formation. I was touched to see that in UK each one tried to live her missionary vocation as fully as she could in whatever situation she found herself and I became even more aware that one could be a ‘woman apostle’ everywhere as our Mission is ONE. 

I am now in Montpelier Court, London, community. Each one of us who is in good health has a ministry outside the community. While in UK, I have been involved first with the Jesuit Refugee Service, then with the PACT (Prison Ministry) and now in the Parish and visiting house bound persons. I remain a missionary at heart with a desire to make Jesus and His love for all, known to those I come in contact with. I hope and pray that I may remain a ‘woman apostle’ to the end….which cannot be too far now since I am nearly 83 years old.

Was there any prophetic action you remember particularly? Could you explain it?

The prophetic action I can particularly remember and which marked me for the rest of my life took place during the time I taught mature students who were in the sixth form at Ihungo College, which was run by the Brothers of Christian Instruction. This is how this event came about. 

When I first arrived in Kashozi, which was my first appointment after profession, I first taught at Kamkukubwa School for Girls. I was very happy in this Girls’ school, which had an African Sister from the local Congregation as Headmistress. It was my first experience of inculturation.

However, this did not last long as a Brother who used to come from Uganda to teach Physics in the Boys’ Secondary School in Ihungo could no longer come.  One day as I returned from Kamkukubwa, I was called by Sr. Gisela my Superior and to my surprise I was told that Cardinal Rugambwa had obtained the necessary permission from the Vatican for me to be transferred to Ihungo Boys’ School as he had discovered that I had graduated in the Sciences…..At that time (1964) Sisters were not allowed to teach boys!!  That is why he had to apply for that special permission from Rome. (Thank God things have gone a long way since then and many Sisters and women can now teach even in Seminaries.) My surprise became a shock, as Science had advanced considerably and there had been great discoveries since I had previously taught in Malta before I entered. Nevertheless, I felt that I had no alternative and that I had to accept this challenge as the Cardinal said he had not been able to find anybody else to take over these lessons to sixth form students. What came to my mind were St Paul’s words in 2 Cor.12: 9,10: “My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness.”  

Teaching these students was tough, especially in the beginning. I will never forget my first weeks in Ihungo: I felt that the students were not ready to accept a woman to teach them Physics… somehow, they held the opinion that such a subject should be taught by men and certainly not by a Religious Sister! Before I could start my first lesson, they asked me what qualifications I had, where I had graduated and if and where I had taught this subject before. After answering these questions, they then asked why I chose to be a Religious Sister since I would have had the opportunity of teaching Physics, earning a good salary and leading a happy and comfortable life in the world. I tried to explain that the priority for me was to answer God’s callto become a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa and give myself completely to making Jesus known and loved, especially in Africa. My career was of no importance when compared to God’s call.  I felt that they were surprised by this reply and some were struck in a positive way. Others were not and when I started giving my first lesson, one student went to the back of the class, took a chair and sat with his back to me in protest….I had to pick up my courage and continue with the lesson…He kept doing this for the first few days, then when he seemed to have realised that lessons were worth listening to, he returned to his desk and behaved normally. As the weeks went by, I felt that I had, thanks to the Lord’s help, earned their confidence and the year ended well as the students succeeded in their exams. This event made me feel more strongly that I was a ‘woman apostle’ and that it was a prophetic action, as it had a strong impact on the students who became aware that Religious life has great value and that women are able to accomplish jobs that they previously thought could only be done well by men.

This ministry strongly marked the foundations for all my future nominations. I was deeply convinced that God is always by my side to support me and that truly, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me”. This conviction helped me to accept other appointments which were equally and even more challenging in the future.

When you think of your experience of living in international and intercultural communities, what comes to you? Some words, an image, joys, challenges… 

The first words that come to me are Mother Salome’s advice, “Love one another” and the image that first comes to me is that of the first Christian community…. It was the first effort that the disciples of Jesus made to live Christian values together and especially the gesture of sharing and solidarity (Acts 4:32-5:11).  Barnabas was generous, authentic and honest and presented the money he had obtained from selling the land he owned, to the apostles. However, Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the money of the land they had sold. It is obvious that the first community was not an ideal oneand none of our MSOLA communities have ever been or will ever be…in the same way that there is no ideal family. 

When I entered in Holmwood, UK, it was the first time I was actually living in an international and intercultural community. It was a great joy to live with Sisters of various nationalities and cultures,but of course, this came with a price.  I became aware that the other Sisters, postulants and novices had different ways of behaving, of thinking, of doing things and I was often challenged about the way I thought, behaved, and did things. I did not find this easy. Accepting and learning other ways of thinking and doing did not come naturally. I had to work at it and learn humility. I had to learn to detach myselfof what I thought was the best way of accomplishing a task.  As I got to know others better and acquired more knowledge about the country and milieu they came from, I became aware of how each one is shaped by the mentality and ways of doing of the place she comes from…. I realised that my way was not the only way and that other ways of doing things could be as good as mine, though different…This helped me to accept others and their different ways and enabled me to grow in tolerance and understanding and enabled me to be ready to let go of my own way of doing things.  The efforts I made to do things in other ways enriched me in many ways.

It is an illusion to think that community life is easy. We are different, we are all imperfect, and we all can be annoyed and threatened by others who are different from us. Clashes are inevitable and part of normal life. However, the more mature we become, the more we become aware of our own imperfections, our little obsessions and manias, our attachment to our own ways of thinking and doing things, and the more we should grow in tolerance and accepting others and their way of acting and doing. There is a saying of Cardinal Newman that goes like this: “To live is to change and to be perfect is have changed often.” If we are true with ourselves, we know how very difficult it is to change ourselves, to convert ourselves. We also have to remember that it is the same with others…often we wish to change others, but I have learnt that the best policy is to invest my energy in CHANGING MYSELF, in making efforts to grow in tolerance and mercy and, above all, to ACCEPT others as they are! To love like Jesus is to live this acceptance of others as they arewithout losing
hope that they too, like us, can grow. 

We are the younger MSOLA generation, still in the stage of temporary vows: what would you like to say to us? 

First of all, I want to tell you all, dear Sisters of the MSOLA younger generation, thatI thank God for the gift of each one of youand for your response to God’s call. He has chosen you to join our MSOLA family and to follow in the footsteps of Cardinal Lavigerie and Mother Salome. I also thank you for the breath of fresh air that you bring to the Congregation and for the hope you give us for the future.  May you all find the joy, fulfilment and deep peace that I have lived all through these years as a member of our Congregation. Life has had its light and darkness, its joys and suffering too, but that is an integral part of discipleship. Following Christ, the suffering servant, is not possible without pain…and there is no Resurrection without Passion.  Like the Risen Christ, we carry our wounds with us.I hope and pray that He may grant you the strength you need to give yourself totally to Him and to the Mission confided to you without counting the cost. May He particularly be your ROCK and SHIELD during difficult times which are an integral part of a life of a missionary Sister who is totally given to Christ.

My dear Sisters may the Lord shower His abundant blessings on you all and watch over you all as you continue on your life’s journey! Be assured of my prayers.

I will now just mention a few things I learnt from my own experience that might help you. In my view, what is most important is a deep and ardent attachment to Christ. Whatever we do as Apostles of Jesus must be rooted ina deep spiritual life. What we arein the depth of our being is definitely more important than whatwe do.

Interviewed by Sr. Ania Wójcik
Lublin, Poland

3 comments:

  1. Nice post the this is used to all the students to know the languages and useful to me i need more updates
    click here

    ReplyDelete
  2. M'y favorit Mistreds ICant forget your accompagnion I am very happy To read this interview

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am Verene on of the Novice of this community in Rwanda 1990

    ReplyDelete