The Society of the Sacred Heart
Australia-Aotearoa
New Zealand ,
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The Society of the Sacred Heart
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It is not what you are nor what you have been that God sees with
all merciful eyes,
There is something wanting in education where a child has not had its share of leisure, to be rapt in silence and alone… Janet Stuart rscJ
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Eulogy by Sr Esmey Herscovitch rscJ
20.03.09 Marnie was loved by family, students, friends, by those she guided… by all who came into her life. She in turn cared deeply about people and made each feel special and one writes: “ … ever since we left Redfern I have had a picture of Marnie on my bedside table and her brother Ted on our fridge, constantly reminding me of the worthiness of me”. The nurses and those who attended her in these recent weeks in hospital were known by name and introduced to her visitors. One person wrote: “… few of us have the capacity for such selfless commitment or the gift of love given so ungrudgingly”. Another said: “I want to say that Marnie's greatest gift to us all (was that) she loved unconditionally.” She was an educator, spiritual director, guide, leader and team player, a wisdom figure, elder, passionate for social justice, and a lover of beauty. Marnie had a gift for making beautiful arrangements of flowers. Strangely enough, flowers that were totally unexpected have bloomed in my garden these last few days. She was gifted intellectually and a very deep thinker. Marnie was articulate, and well read and could quote from scripture, literature, current affairs and other writings, “Her wisdom and graciousness combined with her resolute fight for justice made her a significant and precious person to us all”, writes a friend. She was very hospitable and welcoming to all who crossed her path. If you went anywhere with her you were sure to meet someone she knew!
Of her school days one writes: Marnie joined the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1948 and a fellow-novice thought at the time that she was a perfect novice; this image was a little shattered when some time later she and a couple of other young sisters got the giggles during the praying of the office, the official prayer of the church. I was one of several generations of new arrivals in the novitiate at Rose Bay for whom Marnie was a guide, introducing us to the customs of convent life as they were at the time. In reality that ˝ hour with her each evening was a time of recreation and unwinding. By the early ‘60s she realized that things had to change and so she found it hard to be introducing us to ways that were no longer relevant to our times. Soon after Vatican II but before the impact had really been felt Marnie and another sister organized for Roger Pryke to give to the community at Rose Bay a talk on obedience, with permission, of course! It was the type of initiative that was not the norm at that time and the lecture led us to a fresh and challenging understanding of religious obedience. Some years later when the mother of one of the sisters was ill, and this mother lived alone, Marnie arranged for the mother to be brought to Rose Bay to be looked after there – another unusual initiative at such a time. Marnie was a devoted teacher and one year group has met every year since their school days, and Marnie joined them. She was much loved and appreciated by her students. One writes: “Marnie was Class Mistress for our class from 1963-64 our last 2years at Rose Bay. She saw us through the Leaving Certificate with love and devotion and she was very dear to us all. She attended all out reunions over the 45+ yrs since we left school. Latterly we learnt about her social justice work and were in complete admiration of her. One of them said ‘The world has lost a genuinely good woman with the passing of Marnie’”. Marnie was also very close to her family and just as they were so closely involved with caring for her during the past 14-15 months she herself was very involved with Celie and Ted during their illnesses. Marnie never drove a car but she had a wonderful sense of direction and could have been a taxi driver par excellence in terms of how to get to places. This sense of direction could be an image for what was to follow. In 1970 Marnie attended as a delegate an international gathering of sisters. This was a very significant moment in terms of the renewal of the Society of the Sacred Heart and directed us more strongly in the ways of social justice even though it has been a part of our tradition but not often articulated. This experience and an experience in the Philippines were very significant. Marnie embarked on training in spiritual direction and became involved with retreat teams, adult faith formation, renewal groups, Christian life groups. Of all the involvements Marnie had the street retreat movement seemed one of the most fulfilling and humbling for her. Through these works she enabled many to come to know God as loving and compassionate rather than demanding and judgmental. She helped to free people from theologies that were fundamentalist or destructive. I shall let Marnie speak for herself about coming to Redfern and the street retreats: -
Within the Society of the Sacred Heart Marnie challenged our mindsets, stretched our thinking, expanded our vision, and it certainly was not comfortable! She had vision that we struggled to embrace or see, but she did not let go of it. One of us describes her as being like a dog with a bone where issues of social justice were concerned. One writes:- “Marnie seemed to me to be our prophet whose voice was often lost in the wilderness. Some of her ideas were not practical but they were always rooted in justice for the poor. I made a couple of retreats under her direction and found the depth of her own faith-life inspiring”. Marnie had many literary ‘friends’ that were sources of inspiration and she shared their wisdoms very generously; Thomas Merton, Julian of Norwich, John O’Donohue, Sebastian Moore; and reflections by Edwina Gateley were a source of nourishment in those last weeks of her life. During her life we often heard her quote Julian of Norwich: “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well”. These words must have helped her to be courageous, persevering, hope-filled, enabling of others in spite of the big disappointments of recent years. One last story and a highlight for Marnie was the trip to Uluru; those who went now take up this story:-
“Marnie had long dreamt of travelling to Uluru and was so happy when the 7
Redfernites finally set out on 1 August 2009. She was a most wonderful
travelling companion, laughed often and her wonderful sense of humour was almost
always on display. She was almost delirious with happiness and joy the night we
arrived at Uluru and sat watching the sun set with Uluru in one direction and
Kata Tjuta the other. Len was pushing Marnie in the wheelchair (at one point
because of rough terrain). A young Japanese student was walking in the opposite
direction. On seeing Marnie and Len, she stopped, looked at them and in the most
sincere way and with obviously genuine admiration said ‘What a sweet couple. I
hope that one day I will have a husband who will push me in my wheelchair like
that’! Marnie laughed and laughed and dined out for some time about the
reference to the ‘sweet couple’. I hope these words of John O’Donohue will speak to you of Marnie at this moment. “Though we need to weep your loss, You dwell in that safe place in our hearts, Where no storm or night or pain can reach you. Your love was like the dawn Brightening over our lives, Awakening beneath the dark A further adventure in colour. And may she continue to inspire us: To enter each day with a generous heart. To serve the call of courage and love Until we see your beautiful face again In that land where there is no separation, Where tears will be wiped from our mind, And where we will never lose you again.
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