Meet Sister Lorraine Malo
It is only in love that the human
heart is happy and in loving action that fulfillment and peace
reside
BACKGROUND
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Sister Lorraine Malo
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My life began on a beautiful June Sunday in a small farming
community in Manitoba. My life has been blessed, even from
day one, since my mother once told me that I seemed to enjoy
being born! (Is that possible?) I was the last child of nine,
although my mother had already lost two of her children, so
we grew up seven. Our life was a simple one - family, home,
school, and church were the mainstay of our days. We moved
to Winnipeg when I was three and then a second move to Vancouver
when I was eleven. It is here that I first met the Sisters
of St. Joseph and looking back, I realize that I probably
fell in love with them at that time. They seemed to be such
a happy group at St. Patrick’s school and I wanted, even
at that early age, to share their joy.
When I was about seventeen, the desire to do something meaningful
with my life became stronger, and after some years of struggle
against the idea of becoming a nun, I finally decided that
I would have to at least give it a try for a few months if
I was ever to have any peace. I presented myself to the Sisters
of St. Joseph and was honestly surprised that they took me
in! I think I had listened too much to the teasing of my brothers
who kept saying that I would never be accepted because I was
too noisy, I liked the boys too much, I was ‘worldly’,
not holy enough, etc., etc., etc. Well, any time I got lonely
during those first years of adjustment, I determined that
my brothers would never be able to say; “I told you so”,
and so I stayed! Almost fifty years later I am grateful that
my brothers were wrong!
MINISTRY PROGRESSION
Like many of our Sisters, my early years were spent teaching
elementary school. Eventually, I went back to university and
it was during that time that one of my courses offered a placement
in a hospital chaplaincy programme. I relished that ministry
of presence and listening to people when they were at extremely
vulnerable points in their lives, and after further training,
I worked as a hospital chaplain for many years.
TURNING POINTS
Somewhere along the line, the desire to serve the poor in
more concrete ways surfaced in my heart, and like the call
to religious life some years before, it just wouldn’t
go away. I knew that I’d have no peace until I did something
about it. One of our sisters was working in Haiti at the time
and I decided that I would take a leave of absence from my
job and travel to Haiti for a six-month trial. The rest is
history! I fell in love with that poor country and its courageous
people. I now work in a children’s hospital in Port-au-Prince
and feel truly blessed to be there. I do a variety of things
- teaching in the hospital classroom in the afternoons, being
‘pharmacist’ once a week at a clinic in one of the
poorest slums of the city, spending time in the mornings with
the critically ill children and their parents. For the first
time in my life I feel I am doing what my heart has wanted
to do for a hundred years! I would not trade places with anyone
and feel that I am right where God wants me to be.
WHERE ARE YOU TODAY
Just by coincidence, I leave tomorrow to return to Haiti
after a six-week furlough. I’ve enjoyed a wonderful holiday
with family and friends and I return refreshed, renewed and
ready for action! Sometimes people ask what keeps me going
in Haiti. How do I maintain a sense of hope amidst the suffering
and misery of this poor country? For starters, I know that
I would not last one minute in Haiti if it were not for the
realization that I am loved beyond measure by our gracious
God. Secondly, our senior Sisters, whose ministry now is one
of prayer and presence, assure me that not a day passes that
they do not remember me in their prayers and hold me in their
hearts! Thirdly, I feel sustained and strengthened by the
awareness that my pitifully small efforts are helping people
whose lives are a daily struggle for survival. Believe me,
if anyone was to ask me to take a Satisfaction Survey I know
I would top all the charts!
My message to any of you who might be reading this web page
is to follow your heart. If you feel any desire to serve and
want to experience fullness of life in every way, come and
join us. It is only in love that the human heart is happy
and in loving action that fulfillment and peace reside.
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