Anne McCarthy RSCJ and Pat Murphy RSCJ made their first vows at Woldingham on 24th July 1965, along with Catherine Swan, who died two years ago and another novice who subsequently left the Society. Fifty years later they celebrated their Golden Jubilee with RSCJ, family and friends in Hayes, with a special Mass, during which they renewed their vows.
They each look back over a half century, filled with change and renewal, and God's faithful love...
Anne: I entered a pre Vatican II Society with strict enclosure and a very traditional Noviceship. The Council opened the doors to renewal in the Church and gave the Society the opportunity to return to its roots and look at what our charism meant in the modern world. I had been brought up in the heart of a parish and I missed this involvement and support very much. From 1978 it was one of my joys and greatly enhanced my spirituality and sense of mission to be able to engage with the local parishes in Guildford, Newcastle, and latterly in Hayes.
Pat and I celebrated our Jubilee at our usual 9.15am morning Mass with the communities, a few RSCJ friends, some family and parishioners. The celebrant was Father Antony Arockiam, one of our Claretian priests, whose homily was inspiring. Afterwards we had coffee and cakes with the parishioners and enjoyed the special Jubilee cake, created by Anne’s sister.
Pat: What I could never have imagined on the day I made my vows was the change that was about to sweep through the Church, including Religious Life, heralded by the Second Vatican Council, which was in session during my Novitiate. Leaving Woldingham for two years of study in London, I moved from the Surrey countryside to Wandsworth in London, with some of my peers. As the only driver among us at that time, a stranger to London, and blinkered by the bonnet which was part of our habit, I drove our minibus daily from Wandsworth to Notting Hill – quite a challenge!
But this was nothing in comparison to the intellectual and cultural challenge of the theology of the Council, imparted to us by the leading scholars of that time. We were very fortunate in being helped to understand and begin to integrate the Council teachings at a time of immense change and renewal in the Church and in the Society. I am eternally grateful for that opportunity – one of many blessings of my religious formation. What I learned and experienced all those years ago has enriched my commitment as an RSCJ. God’s timing was fortuitous.