Meet Sister Mary Sheridan
A Profile of Sister Mary Sheridan, a member
of The Sisters
of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie.
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Sister Mary Sheridan (L) with a friend from
Harbour Island (R)
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Whatever would cause an inner-city girl, born and raised
in Hamilton, Ontario, to enter a religious order of
women in North Bay, Ontario? A combination of the Holy
Spirit, a desire for adventure, and a chance for missionary
activities - that's what!
Imagine my surprise when I found out that North Bay
was nowhere near the North Pole (which I had thought)
and was quite a sizeable little city and not a frontier
town (which I had envisioned) and my missionary activities
were confined for many years to the classroom. I'm sure
the Holy Spirit had many a chuckle over the contrast
between the dream and the reality. Yet I never regretted
my decision to come to the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Sault Ste. Marie in North Bay! I found adventure in
life and missionary work to be done no matter where
I was. I taught in schools from Thunder Bay to North
Bay, in cities, villages and First Nation Reserves.
After 28 years of classrooms, I began a lengthy period
of parish work mostly on the Reserves where I came to
know the native peoples and to come to a deep appreciation
of their culture and values, and their marvelous sense
of the Creator interacting in their lives. Other places
where I ministered included two remote towns and one
small town on the TransCanada Highway. My last parish
assignment took me to the Bahamas where, with Sister
Margaret Cushman, we had charge of three small churches
situated in North Eleuthera and Harbour Island. This
was a challenging but rewarding task enriched through
a new culture and a new kind of spirituality. Truly
God is present in all peoples and speaks in so many
different ways.
Now I am back in North Bay, retired - sort of - but
not sitting or standing still. The Holy Spirit is so
active and is showing me that there is still more work
ahead, whether in doing or being or both. “To God
be the glory for ever and ever.”
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