Religious women enrich Dundalk pastorate

When COVID-19 restrictions meant three newly-arrived religious women couldn’t count on the usual ways of meeting their new Dundalk-area parishioners, they improvised.

“We definitely have to be more creative and more flexible,” said Mother Maria Aeiparthenos Berry, of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, and the local superior at the convent at Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in Graceland Park.

They began with a daily walk around one of three neighborhood routes. They pray the rosary, wearing distinctive blue-and-gray habits. They introduced themselves through a video series. And they’ve prayed – a lot.

“It was a very good way for us to start praying for the people,” said Sister Maria Virgen Prometida Luna. “We’ve been able to meet a lot of families here.”

They’ve visited a homebound man and befriended a non-Catholic woman who brought them donations. Another  neighbor, Deborah Kehring, helped paint the convent and tends their garden.

“I’m so happy they’re there,” said Kehring, who, at the urging of Mother Maria, fulfilled a pledge to return to Mass. “I went back to church. I made a promise to Mother Maria.”

Mother Maria, 34, was introduced to the order while a student at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., drawn, she said, to “the joy in the way they were living a sacrificial life for Christ.”

Her conviction grew during a mission trip to an orphanage run by the sisters in Peru.

“That’s when I saw what God wanted me to do,” Mother Maria said.

Serving with her at the pastorate that includes the parishes of Sacred Heart of Mary, St. Rita in Dundalk and Our Lady of Fatima in Baltimore are Sister Mary Mother of Merciful Love Haggard– usually called Sister Merciful Love – and Sister Virgen Prometida.

Sister Merciful Love, 25, from Yorktown, Va., decided on religious life after earning a college degree in global affairs, drawn by the order’s spirituality and dedication to Mary. She is serving in Dundalk while awaiting further studies in Rome.

Sister Prometida, a native of Mexico who grew up in East Texas, worked in fundraising before joining the religious community in 2015. She first considered religious life when her sister became a Missionary of Charity in 2004.

She chose the SSVMs because she was familiar with the Incarnate Word Fathers, who staffed her Dallas parish. The IVE fathers and the SSVMs comprise the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word.

Sister Prometida leads faith formation for the three parishes, including a children’s group at Our Lady of Fatima. Mother Maria works with the youth group at Sacred Heart of Mary. The Sisters also lead a grief ministry series.

They were invited to the Archdiocese of Baltimore by Archbishop William E. Lori to assist Father Mariano Varela, an Incarnate Word Father and pastor of the pastorate who arrived there in  September 2019.

“It’s a challenge to reach all of them,” Father Varela said, noting that the sisters  have helped implement the pastoral plan for faith formation and fortifying family life. “They are helping to strengthen that.”

Besides the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, the SSVM sisters also take a fourth vow: Marian consecration. Every sister’s name honors the Blessed Mother in different languages. Mother Maria’s name is Greek for “Ever Virgin.” Sister Prometida’s name is Spanish for “Virgin Betrothed.”

The Sisters exude joy in ministry and community, having been known to play a game of frisbee with local girls in a park. Around the world, Friday night in SSVM communities is pizza night.

“It’s in community life where we find our rest,” Sister Merciful Love said.

They’ve found a welcome in Dundalk.

“It is a place where families struggle,” said Sister Merciful Love, who noted their openness and generosity, as well as their deep roots in the community and strong family heritage.

Dundalk, said Mother Maria, “is a fruitful land. It needs fresh hope and encouragement.”

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