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This is one in an occasional series of profiles on priests, brothers and sisters of the Diocese of Orlando. The profiles share information about the person as well as the vocation. Ursuline Sister Bernadette Mackay responded to questions from Tanya Goodman of the Florida Catholic staff.
Sister Bernadette Mackay was born on the island of Trinidad and Tobago to John Angus Mackay and Olive Mackay. Her parents raised eight children — five boys and three girls. Sister Mackay is fifth in the lineup. All but one was sent away to be educated. Sister Mackay attended St. Joseph’s School in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from preschool through eighth grade. She then went to Barbados to attend St. Ursula High School. She obtained her secretarial degree from Roslyn House Finishing School in London. She received her bachelor’s from Digby Stuart Training College, University of London, Surrey, England, in teacher training. She received a master’s in religion and religious education from Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y. In addition to working as a secretary in Trinidad and Tobago, she was principal of St. Angela’s Primary School in Georgetown, Guyana, and principal of Academia Merici (preschool-high school) in Caracas, Venezuela.
Sister Bernadette Mackay
Q: What did you do before becoming a sister?
A: I lived at home with my parents after completing my training as a secretary. In Trinidad, in those days, women were not encouraged to go on to higher studies, so like my sister before me I worked as a secretary.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be a sister?
A: It was during a confirmation retreat, when I was about 12 years old that God first invited me to consider religious life as an option for life.
Q: Why did you become a sister? Did you decide right away? What was the process of your discernment/decision?
A: During that retreat, the idea of becoming a sister was not too welcome. There were no flashing lights or visions, simply an idea that emerged and one that remained percolating in my mind and heart for many years. No was always my first response as the thought would float to the surface. No, God, not me, you must be mistaken. I told no one and went about my life as a normal teenager.
As the teen years advanced the idea became somewhat repulsive and I began a tug of war with my God. I struggled to let go of the idea and began to search for other options. I could be a good nurse and a great teacher. I could be … the list was endless. Nonetheless, the voice of the “Hound of Heaven” remained ever constant. It was a gentle but persistent call. I found many distractions to engage my heart but all to no avail. Finally and reluctantly, I approached one of the sisters. This was the beginning of my discernment. But I left school and went far away from that sister. I communicated with her by letter still perhaps hoping that the voice within me would go away. But it did not. It only became more persistent till finally I decided that I needed to heed the call. I went for an interview, which slowly evolved into my joining the Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union.
Q: Why did you select this particular religious order?
A: In my heart, I knew that my call was rooted in service to the world. The Ursuline Sisters, as I knew them, were women engaged in an international ministry. They had sisters placed in countries all over the world. This is where my heart was leading me.
Q: Who was most surprised by your vocation?
A: My mother was probably the most surprised. She was not really excited with my decision, but despite her own personal struggle to accept that this was the best decision for me, she worked tirelessly to help me prepare for my departure from home.
Q: What would you be doing if you had not become a sister?
A: It is hard to say. Probably, the only option I would have had available to me at the time was to remain in Trinidad, working as a secretary and one day marrying and having a family. What I would have liked to do would have been to become a nurse and serve in some far-off places, but this would not have been possible while living in Trinidad. Motherhood would have been a wonderful second option with, hopefully, many children
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of being a sister?
A: The living of the Gospel message, of “option for the poor.” Living the “option” for the poor calls for constant evaluation of choices, the choosing of which seldom brings instant gratification but rather isolation. It is important to stay focused on Jesus and his absolute challenge to make the poor and the outcasts your friends.
Q: Did you always have a close relationship with God? Describe that and how as a young person you may have lived your faith.
A: I grew up in a Catholic environment. Going to church and celebrating the important feasts were important for our family. However, looking in from the outside you would not have noticed anything too different from the other families in our neighborhood. We did not have family devotions, but by osmosis we were taught to say morning and night prayers. I learned most of my beliefs from watching my parents and asking them questions. My father was not ostentatious about his beliefs, but he was always sympathetic and compassionate toward his employees and those in need who would cross his path.
What I do remember from his actions was that he always carried his rosary in his pocket and he would pray his beads each night before he went to bed. My mother was always working for our parish church in one way or another. She had a visible and tangible love for Mary and I learned from watching her. She would always make sure that we were first in line to participate in parish activities.
The day of my first Communion was a truly mystical moment for me. It was that moment of encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist that has marked my entire religious journey and continues to challenge my journey with Jesus.
As a young person growing up in high school, I was attentive to the religious beliefs that I had observed in my parents. I joined groups that served the poor, as well as those that promoted devotion to Mary. But otherwise, I lived my faith life without any particular fanfare. In those days there were no youth groups or youth retreats, etc. Living one’s faith was expressed by being faithful to the religious teachings learned at home.
Q: In your work, what has been your greatest joy, disappointment?
A: My greatest joy has been to have had the opportunity to work and to serve so many people from so many different countries and cultures. Each assignment to serve became a “door opening” to undreamed-of horizons and an opportunity to encounter Jesus in the lived experience of so many people.
From an early age I learned from my mother that disappointments are new challenges to be embraced. This did not mean that I did not feel pain or loss or upset — yes I did — but from deep within there would always emerge the example of my mother, trusting her inner strength to propel her through each tragedy or hardship. She would never take no for an answer. Her motto was to find a creative solution to the unexpected or undesired event and turn it around to produce something new and positive.
Q: What do you wish people knew and/or understood about being a religious?
A: Religious life is not for the fainthearted. It is not for those who are afraid and looking for a safe haven from the uncertainties of life.
Religious life is for those open to the invitation of Jesus to leave everything to be engaged in living in such a way that you can hear and respond to the voices of all the people of our global planet, especially those of women and children who are most numbered among the Anawim, or as I prefer to say, “God’s little people.”
Religious life today is an invitation to live deeply from a contemplative stance that is rooted in the ever-unfolding crises of our global planet.
Q: What advice would you offer to someone discerning becoming a sister?
A: Listen deeply to the stirrings from deep within your being. Seek guidance from a deeply prayerful person whose prayer is attentive to the signs of the times.
Be engaged in an outreach program that takes you well beyond your comfort zone. Read the newspapers from the perspective of those who have no voice in the politics of the situation, and form an opinion that is based on Gospel principles. Be wary of religious practices that are phony or overzealous. Listen to the voice of Jesus as you hear it on the streets
Q: When and why did you first come to the Diocese of Orlando?
A: I came to the Diocese of Orlando almost 24 years ago. Initially, I worked with the farmworkers in Apopka. Four years later, I began working at the Mission Office for our sister Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, outreach and I have been in this job since then.
Q: What have been the most challenging aspects of your ministry?
A: There have been too many to count. Some highlights from my years at the mission office have been:
• Engaging many in our Orlando Diocese to participate in short-term mission experiences. These experiences have been an invitation to leave behind the comforts of life, to share in the simpler things of life and to be challenged by the experience.
• Experiencing firsthand the transforming power of the word of God in the lives of so many people, and hearing within those experiences a personal invitation to a greater commitment to the Gospel.
• Developing an educational initiative that provides quality education for children in a remote mountain village with an opportunity to become successful professionals in the future, an opportunity which before now could not be even imagined. Through this initiative, another group of the poor have the opportunity to be recognized as people created in the image and likeness of God.
Q: What do you wish people understood better about the work you do and the population you serve?
A: The important task here is to provide an opportunity for those of us who have grown up in a country of affluence with a deeper understanding of the commitment of Jesus to being with and providing for the needs of those who are left out. The proof of discipleship can be measured in our ability to share from our abundance rather than from convenience.
Recently, I watched a group of adults from our mountain village excitedly open a single brownie square, break off a piece, savor the flavor, exclaim their delight and then rewrap the more than half that remained to take home to share with their children. One small brownie square fed many mouths. The five loaves and two fishes repeated all over again. When we can share from our abundance we become the living word of Jesus.
Q: Who do you most admire and why?
A: The men and women I call the modern-day saints, because their lives were dedicated to the promotion and recognition of the dignity of every human person and their right to be heard and listened to as people, despite their living situations or financial resources.
Among them are: Mahatma Gandhi; Dom Helder Camara; Archbishop Oscar Romero; Mother Teresa; Pope John XXIII; Dorothy Day; Dorothy Kazel; Immaculée Ilibagiza; just to name a few.
Q: Who is your favorite saint and why?
A: Probably my namesake, St. Bernadette, because her life is the story of a girl from very humble means, who despite her personal fears and public ridicule remained faithful to the charge that was given her by God. I believe that if we dare to listen intently to the truth within us and to the challenges heard in the circumstances of life, we will know our life’s journey and be able to find the strength to live our lives to the full. St. Bernadette heard the invitation of God spoken to her through Mary and lived her life only to speak the truth that she had heard.
Q: When you get a day off, what do you enjoy doing?
A: I renew my energies through a variety of creative activities: arts and crafts, breadmaking, photography, walking, bike riding, reading and above all enjoying nature walks, watching the ocean, listening to the sound of water, etc.
Q: What is your favorite movie and why?
A: I like movies that are based on real-life stories, movies which tell the story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things simply by living their lives from their deepest truth.
Most recently I was at the screening of the movie “Soul Surfer,” a simple story of a young surfer who lost one of her arms to a shark attack. Because she believed she had a gift to share with others, she was able to transcend her tragedy and invite others to do the same in their own particular circumstances. This is a movie for all ages, and especially one that should be seen by all adolescents.
The real impact of the movie will be generated in the dialogue and reflection that follow from the viewing.
Q: Is there anything you wish to add?
A: Can there be anything left to say?? Perhaps only to invite everyone who reads this sketchy outline, to read between the lines, that life is like a multiflavored ice cream cone. Each gentle lick awakens a new set of taste buds and reminds you that life is full of flavor when we can pause to savor the taste.
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