Fieldwork Testimonies

The New Evangelization on Wheels
May 15, 2010
Greenville, RI
 A Mater Ecclesiae senior shares her experience of fieldwork in Canada 

As her four years of study are coming to an end, the mission ahead is becoming a close reality.  Mélanie Pilon shares her fieldwork experience in Canada, where she shadowed Mater Ecclesiae College alumna in their work on a road team.  Diana Rivera and Veronica Canales spend most of their time traveling to different regions of Ontario and Québec giving retreats, running camps and offering integral formation to girls, young women and families.  Mélanie gives us an insight into this field by sharing her experience on the road this past April. 

What exactly do you mean by “on the road”? 

Well, the meaning is quite literal.  Life on the road means living out of a suitcase for a week or two and traveling between several different cities, staying for a few days in each one.  Because we do not yet have a stable team of consecrated women working in Québec and Ontario, we currently have a road team that is paving the way until we have enough work and a center where a larger team of consecrated women can come and work permanently. 

What sort of work did you do on the road?

If I ever thought my childhood camp experiences were over, I was very wrong.  The majority of our time on the road was spent in a camp for children preparing for their First Communion and their parents.  The three-day camp allowed the children to get to know the Church as their family and to deepen their understanding and love for the Eucharist, in an environment of joy and charity.  While the children participated in various activities and formative sessions, their parents also received conferences from the priests present at the camp. 

During the weekend, the children made their first confession, having the help of their parents and educators in preparing for the sacrament. 

While the children enjoyed the dynamism of the weekend, parents also commented on how much it had helped them to better live their mission as parents.  Many left resolved to return to Sunday Mass and get more involved in their parishes. 

Where did you travel? 

We went wherever the GPS took us…and sometimes that wasn’t exactly where we had planned!  Life on a road team involves a lot of time driving, especially when we’re talking about the Canadian road team.  Canada is known for its vast and sparsely populated terrain, and we had the chance of experiencing that as we traveled from one city to another in Québec and Ontario.  

However, we spent most of our time in Montreal, Quebec, where the road team is currently supporting Fr. Pierre Desroches in his parish, St. Pierre Claver.  Of course, being in Québec also means speaking French…an added dimension to the adventure! 

We also traveled to Ottawa, Ontario, where we helped oversee the activities of a Challenge club.  Challenge is a club for 10-16 year old girls to grow in virtue, friendship and their Catholic faith. It’s a place for them to learn about themselves by doing apostolic projects and creating a positive impact on friends, family and the world. 

Since it is the year of the priest, the club in Ottawa has jumped on the opportunity to thank their parish priests.  They are currently planning a dinner for them, to show them how much they appreciate their priesthood.  They have divided themselves into different committees to prepare food, decorations, entertainment and thank you cards.  That’s not to mention the prayer and sacrifice campaign they have all taken on.  When these girls are convinced, there is nothing they can’t do – our job is simply to give them the tools they need to become the Christian leaders our world needs!     

How is this preparing you for your future as a missionary for the Catholic Church?

My week on the road was a snapshot of what I have been preparing for in the last four years at Mater Ecclesiae College.  I got to put a name and a face to the children, teens and families I spend my days studying to be able to help.  As missionaries, we have given our lives so that Christ can be known and loved, and one of the main avenues in which we do this is through our work with youth and families. 

Serving Others in Downtown Providence
April 15, 2010
Greenville, RI

During the annual Holy Week Convention held at Mater Ecclesiae College, 46 girls from around the United States, Canada, Mexico and El Salvador united to spend March 31 – April 4 together having an opportunity to pray and do outreach in downtown Providence. Four consecrated women worked full-time with the young women, helping them to settle into the college and feel at home with the rest of the students. 

Saturday, April 3, 2010 gave the young women an opportunity to do some concrete fieldwork and be real missionaries, by launching out to the city streets of downtown Providence for a day of evangelization missions. They began their mission day with praying the rosary outside the local abortion clinic.

“We were definitely a strong presence there with our mission t-shirts and crucifixes” said Lori Lively, a consecrated woman who joined the girls on the mission. “It was a little shocking for the girls to see young women entering the clinic on the Saturday before Easter Sunday.”

Next, the missionaries headed over to the Providence homeless shelter nearby to offer bagged lunches that they had put together. “I had no idea whose lives we’d touch,” said Autumn Smith from California as she recounted how the homeless people were more cheerful by the end than when the girls first arrived.

“You think you’re giving but you’re really receiving from them,” said her sister Rebecca Smith who also participated in the Holy Week events. 

Sarah Kulhman from Ohio shared a moment of God’s providence when she met a homeless woman on the street who revealed that she hadn’t been to Church in several years. After spending a few moments speaking with her, the woman began to cry. They gave her one of the bagged lunches that we made and a crucifix…which made her cry even more.

Before leaving, the missionaries sang some familiar songs to liven up the atmosphere. “They were totally getting into it” said Sarah. “I wish we could have stayed longer.” The one day mission was a concrete expression of Mater Ecclesiae College’s efforts to reach out to the local community in a concrete way.