Meet Sister Mary McGuire, CSJ Pembroke
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Sister Mary McGuire
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Mary McGuire was one of ten children born to Cecil and Margaret
McGuire. The youngest of two girls, she was anxious to get
on with life (a characteristic out of which she still lives).
She got a headstart being born premature and weighing 3 pounds.
After one year, much of which was spent in the warmth of the
oven, the doctor was heard to say “I think she will live
now.”
“My parents always believed I would live. Their
faith and trust in a loving God shaped my early years as they
taught me to depend on God for everything. As a young child
I knew that God loved me and I felt special to my family.
We prayed together and early I learned to hold conversations
with God. Sometimes God spoke and I listened other times I
spoke and God listened.”
Mary received her education until grade 10 in a one-room
school. This education was enhanced by nature as she helped
her brothers on her father’s farm.
“This experience of being on the land gave me an
early appreciation and respect for all creatures. I especially
loved the trees and I recall that once when my brother cut
down a tree, I heard the tree cry. I loved the animals, they
were my friends with whom I shared many experiences. I loved
to watch things grow and my father and I would walk through
the fields and he would tell me about God.”
Mary went to boarding school in Chapeau, Quebec when she
was 15 years old to complete her high school education. It
was here that she first met the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke
who were in charge of the boarding school for girls and taught
in the high school. They soon discovered that they had a bright
young woman in their midst, one who showed signs of leadership
and a love of fun and laughter that was contagious.
Mary was particularly impressed with the Sister Sacristan
and would frequently go to the Chapel to watch her perform
her duties in the sanctuary. These times often ended with
a quiet prayer at the back. This sister affirmed Mary in her
faith and devotion. Mary remembers one particular phrase that
she uttered one day…. “You are close to God”.
“It was here in these quiet times, watching this
sister and communing with God that the seeds of my Religious
Vocation were nurtured. In 1955 at age 17, I entered the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Pembroke.”
As a young child Mary often saw her father caring for sick
or wounded animals. She had a pet turkey with a broken leg.
Mary decided to splint the leg, but being very young, she
splinted it with the toes turned inward instead of straight
ahead. The turkey could become dinner so Mary hid it in the
corn field and played with it until it was well. Needless
to say walking was difficult, her brothers named her ‘Wimpy’.
This was Mary’s first venture into nursing and when she
was told by the Mistress of novices that she would go to train
as a nurse, Mary was delighted. Mary graduated in 1961 after
a very rich and enjoyable experience of living with the North
Bay community for 3 years.
After a short time at St. Frances Memorial Hospital in Barry’s
Bay, Mary went to Barrhead, Alberta to work in a hospital
owned and operated by her sisters. This was an opportunity
to learn and take responsibility at times far beyond her years.
She particularly loved the hands-on care and tells a story
about her first experience of a delivery. It happened in the
elevator. The mother told the doctor that Sr. Mary Denis (her
religious name) “had done a wonderful job.”
“This experience taught me the importance of community,
team work and trust in the power of right relationships and
prayer.”
After her years in Barrhead, Mary took a position as Public
Health Nurse in Regina. It was here in Regina that she became
co-founder of Bosco Homes with Father Lucien Larre and Sr.
Vicky Hagel, a Sister of St. Louis.
Soon Mary’s pioneering spirit of evangelical risk and
courage became evident. With little psychological training,
very few friends and teenagers who were in great need of psychological
help and a place to live, she began a journey that would lead
her far beyond her dreams.
“I realized that I had a gift for psychological councilling
and a real love for it, but I felt very inadequate. So, I
began a search that took me to Chicago. Here, I found a doctoral
program at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology
that fit my needs. At the same time, I met Dr. Eugene Gendlin,
founder of ‘Focusing’ - a method and a process that
helps individuals find that inner truth, inner wisdom where
all experiences are carried in the body.”
Mary graduated from the Illinois School in 1982 and immediately
became Director of the Focusing Institute, Chicago. She held
that position until 1996. As Director, she developed the Institute
into a world-wide organization. She traveled extensively helping
to set up and teach programs in many parts of the world.
“What attracted me to the Focusing/Listening process
was how it seemed to be a living forward of the charism of
the Sisters of St. Joseph. It is a gentle, non-judgemental
process of receiving the person exactly where she/he is in
the moment. It allows life to move in whatever direction it
needs to. It helps one own, value and cherish one’s inner
being. It is an entrance into self love, which allows one
to love others without distinction. Like the Charism, the
movement is always toward the MORE - ‘to become all that
God intended for each one.’”
“My experience at the Institute was very rich and
it expanded my vision of what is possible to accomplish if
one wants something badly enough. It awakened my passion for
life and for helping birth life in others. I will always be
grateful to my congregation. I was and am a free spirit. My
community has always supported and nurtured that spirit and
allowed me to express myself in many and diverse ways.”
In 1996 Mary returned to Canada to be closer to her family.
She worked as a psychologist in private practice. She continued
to travel mostly in Europe and U.S.A. giving workshops in
‘Focusing’.
Recently she was chosen as General Superior by the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Pembroke.
“It is with humility and trust in God that I serve
my congregation. I enter this period with the same spirit
of adventure, of passion for life, of belief in the goodness
of each person that has carried me throughout life.”
“I am full of hope as I anticipate exploring with
my congregation what we want religious life to look like in
the future. I strongly believe we can create something beautiful
that fits the needs of our world today. I feel that the experiences
of my life from childhood on, have prepared me for this moment
in time and I am grateful. For all of it, I give thanks.”
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