Hearts on Fire: The Story of the Maryknoll Sisters

by Penny Lernoux, Robert Ellsberg, Arthur Jones

Through the voices of the Sisters themselves, Lernoux draws an inspiring and moving portrait of a community in constant transition and shows how--in their process of growth and conversion--they left an indelible mark on the church and the world. Photos. A Catholic Book Award winner.

Genres: Religion

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EXCELLENT HISTORY OF THE MISSONARY ORDER

Sister Barbara Hendricks wrote in the Foreword to this 1993 book, “[Penny Lernoux] died … on October 8, 1989. [She] was not able to finish her last book, yet the memory of this valiant woman journalist … lives on in her writings… As I look back over that brief year and a half in which Maryknoll Sisters collaborated with Penny in her research, interviews, discussions, and times of sharing hospitality… it was as if we were writing this book with her.” (Pg. ix) She adds, “Why did the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation agree to a collaborative effort … in the writing of this book? … [A publisher] first proposed the idea … The Sisters … declined… But when Penny Lernoux … sent her proposal … something happened. Her proposal touched our hearts… And that is precisely why, even after Penny’s unforeseen death, we Maryknoll Sisters continued to collaborate in the completion of this book.” (Pg. xv)

Penny Lernoux wrote in the Introduction, “this book… is about the dream of a group of idealistic American women---the Maryknoll Sisters… these Maryknollers are flesh-and-blood pioneers… Founded in 1912, they were the first congregation of AMERICAN Catholic women to go abroad in mission… these Maryknollers are different as well, because they stand outside the mainstream.” (Pg. xxi)

She continues, “Mary (Mollie) Josephine Rogers, the founder of the Maryknoll Sisters, never doubted the headship of the Fathers in mission work, but she was determined that the Sisters not be permanently relegated to the role of domestic helpmates in the United States. After four frustrating years of repeated petitions, the Vatican … gave approval for the Maryknoll Sisters to be established as a missionary Congregation… A year later, in 1921, the first group of Maryknoll women set out for China… the Americans were often better suited for such work than European Sisters in China, because the latter were hemmed in by Old World traditions that prevented any but formal contact with the Chinese… the Maryknoll women had no qualms about going out to live in Chinese villages, away from convent and the protection of priests… because they were women, these Maryknoll women were welcomed into Chinese homes, whereas the men were prevented from such contact by strict Chinese customs.” (Pg. xxix)

She recounts, “By … 1912, four young women helpers were already living in Hawthorne… The women were a courageous group. They had no money, did not know one another, and were bound only by a common interest in foreign missions.” (Pg. 26) She goes on, "In 1920, the same year the sisters receive Vatican recognition, four… set out for the West Coast… and in 1921 six sailed for China… Mother Mary Joseph [offered] consoling words to the parents… The Maryknoll Fathers were already in China, and they would look out for the young women… promising that she herself would carefully monitor the situation there.” (Pg. 40)

She explains, “Although the Sisters’ earliest works were aimed at obtaining an income, Mary Paul never lost sight of the Maryknollers’ primary purpose in coming to China---to evangelize among women. Poor Chinese factory girls, peasants, university students or the wives of upper-class government officials---all were potential converts to Catholicism, though the largest number would come from the poorer classes, particularly the peasantry.” (Pg. 49)

She recounts, “In August 1937, when war was imminent, Herman Joseph and another Sister visited a Shanghai bank to withdraw all the Maryknollers’ money in gold. The tree-lined avenues in the concessions were banked with sandbags and fenced by barbed wire… and machine guns ‘were everywhere in evidence.’” (Pg. 83)

She reports, “It was November 1947, and the Maryknoll house at Ossining was busy preparing for Christmas. After two years of peace, most of the Sisters were back at their missions, and the Motherhouse overflowed with enthusiastic young novices. The future seemed to hold nothing but promise---until Mother Mary Joseph announced she was leaving office.” (Pg. 121)

In 1962 Pope John XXIII announced that ‘Divine Providence is leading us toward a new order of human relations…’; “Among the millions hearing these words were the sixteen hundred Maryknoll Sisters around the world, Sisters whose lives would be transformed by the implications of this message for all people in mission… No one at that point could have anticipated the full extent of tumult unleashed by the decade of the 1960s.” (Pg. 139-140)

Later, “Not all the drama that marked the Maryknoll Sisters’ renewal was played out in the mountainous mission fields or in their schools and clinics in the developing world. In the Sisters’ first major post-Vatican II gatherings of 1968 and 1970, there would be a subtler drama enacted around conference tables, in impassioned conversations over coffee breaks, and in quiet exchanges after hours…” (Pg. 166)

She notes, “They were always there, the Maryknoll Sisters who heard the gospel and who saw the signs of the times, calling them to go further, faster, deeper than the church or their own Congregation’s insights and traditions allowed… the responsibility of the missioner was not simply to provide services for the poor, but also to accompany them on the road to their own empowerment.” (Pg. 195)

She explains, “Many of the women who were attracted to enter Maryknoll have shard the experience of having met Maryknoll Sisters whom they admired as women involved in meaningful ministry and community…” (Pg. 259)

This book will be of great interest to those studying Catholic foreign missions.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had recently read a book about a Maryknoll priest (not on GR: The Pagoda and the Cross) and when I came across this, I wanted to give the Sisters equal time. The author was a big fan of the Maryknoll Sisters and it definitely shows. Lots of gripping stories: of Sisters, priests and others interned in the Los Baños concentration camp on the Philippines during WWII; of a group of 6 Maryknoll priests & sisters conspiring against the Guatemalan government in the 1960s; of another Sister who began the cooperative movement in 1950 (or 60s) South Korea with a credit union... I was very impressed with the work of these women. It was also interesting to see the change in emphasis from their beginnings (wanting to "convert pagans") to the 1980s (when the research on the book concluded), at which time the goal of many of the Sisters simply seemed to be to go to a remote, poor place and live with the people. (Might have been doing more for them than the people...but I think in most cases the Sisters began by living with, and moved on to working with...to help ameliorate the people's lives.)

I was also interested to note how little there was about the men of Maryknoll and that the Sister who was imprisoned - and tortured - in China with the bishop who was the subject of The Pagoda and the Cross didn't even get a mention in this book. This heroic woman endured waterboarding many times.... I wondered if she'd been left out because she was working so closely with a priest and so didn't fit the profile the author wanted to present...

[John Politis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny Lernoux died before finishing this book. The writing toward the end is not as strong. However, the story of the first American Catholic missionary order reflect the general history of the church in the very volatile 20th Century from the perspective of some some very determined and perceptive women. Particularly interesting is how the Sisters changed in their attitude toward communism and the U.S. government and their harrowing experiences with both right and left-wing extremists which never caused them to lose their faith.

[Joshunda Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring read about the Catholic church's first foreign mission based in America. What a courageous and intrepid group of women.