Meet Sister Helen Smaggus - a woman with a passion
for life...
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Sister Helen Smaggus
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Can you imagine an educator, a naturalist, a therapist,
a gardener, a musician, a director of homes and of wilderness
camps for street kids, a canoeist, a high school chaplain,
a friend and benefactor of the poor, a lover of life
and of people ...all wrapped up into one special package
in the person of Sister Helen Smaggus, a Sister
of St. Joseph of Pembroke.
“As I look back on my life” she states
simply, “it seems that God had a very strong hand in
things from very early. One evidence of this was that after
having lost my mother at an early age, I was fortunate enough
to be placed in the care of very devout and loving Catholic
foster parents. In the rural setting of their home in Brudenell,
Ontario, my love for the land and my at-homeness with Nature
took root in me.”
From her early education in one-room schools in Brudenell
and Osceola, it was quite an adjustment for Helen to attend
high school at St. Joseph's Academy, Renfrew, where she was
taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
“It was something to meet women whom
I could already recognize as competent educators who cared
for their students. I felt cared for, especially by Sister
Clare Gallagher who became a strong presence in my life.”
Although the seeds of her vocation to Religious Life had
already been sown, Helen experienced them being watered, nurtured,
and brought to life through this exposure to the Sisters.
“It may sound as if it was a very easy
step for me to respond to this voice from within calling me
to Religious Life, but such was not the case. Even though
I was reading The Imitation of Christ‚ daily,
and in my idealism, wanting to follow Christ closely and give
my life completely to him, I decided to delay and to get my
teacher training before taking this big step. In the summer
following graduation from Grade XIII, I took a job at a local
factory. The work was hard. At this time I began to waver
in my determination. In the evening when out having a good
time with my friends, I would say, 'I don't think I'll go.'
But in the morning when facing the harshness of my day at
the factory, my idealism would return and urge me to enter.
After several weeks of this torture, I visited Sister Clare
who encouraged me to take the step. And I did so in September
1955.”
Sister Helen was immediately assigned to teaching a Grade
Three class, and there she discovered her ability to excite
children about singing. After Teachers College she became
qualified as a music supervisor for classroom singing. And
it is this enthusiasm and love of singing that has permeated
her life and all of the varied ministries she has subsequently
pursued: teaching for 11 years; work with street kids in a
controlled setting in Regina for 13 years and opening and
directing wilderness camps for them during 5 summers; High
School chaplaincy work at her Alma Mater in Renfrew for 2
years; inspiring children to sing in church and school choirs,
which has been a constant in her life; leading the Sisters
in singing at Congregational events; and in helping persons
to find their own voice resonance in her Bioenergetic Analysis
practice of the past 9 years.
“I can say that I needed a family to be
with, and my community has been that family- encouraging me,
challenging me, loving me, laughing and crying with me. I
have loved my work and my community, and have always found
time also to paddle my canoe, to work in my garden, to gather
herbs to make tinctures and salves, and even now and then
to try a new recipe or make some home-made wine. I've been
really blessed with a great love and zest for life, an ability
to adapt quickly, and a sense that God was very close, very
present to me in each turn of the road.”
A typical day for Helen?
There are none, but there are some significant constants:
An early morning time of relaxation with a cup of coffee
on the deck followed by a walk through the back fields
with Sister Mary and her dog Molly with Helen's cat
Goldie trailing along; after breakfast, a prayer time
and/or some time spent in working in the big garden
or with the flowers; planning the almost daily distribution
of garden produce; preparing for practice with the Holy
Name Children's choir; several hours of working with
clients in Bioenergetic therapy, teaching singing in
a Grade Six class at Holy Name School; welcoming the
children and conducting choir practice, and afterwards
driving some of the children home; taking a turn preparing
dinner; watering plants and/or doing necessary garden
work; participating in her community cluster meeting
or, on other nights, praying/sharing and/or playing
cards with the two Sisters with whom she lives; checking
her telephone messages and arranging client interviews;
telephone conversations with friends or with members
of her family; watching some TV; and doing some light
reading before retiring.
Helen is known in her community as someone who is ever
ready to learn and to try the new, to push the frontiers
of her experience of life, and to generate excitement
in others about doing the same.
“As I have matured I find that some of my motivations
have become more refined. At one time I sought and demanded
perfection from myself and from everyone, especially
in my ministries. Now I have become much more aware
that it is the person and the process that are more
important than the final 'take'.”
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