After graduating from high school, she did as many young women do — went to college, worked and travelled. She never considered becoming a sister until she came to Canada. Here, she met some Sisters of Providence through their connection with Mary Help of Christians Church, Edmonton’s Chinese Catholic parish.
“I still didn’t think about religious life too much. I felt that I had an obligation to look after my aging parents at that time. When they passed away, I started to think about it more seriously after 1996,” she said.
She needed to stay busy to take her mind off the loss of her parents. While grieving their deaths, she spent her hours doing volunteer tasks, such as working funeral luncheons for the Catholic Women’s League.
“After my parents passed away, I started to volunteer in the Church and in the hospitals. At that time I didn’t see it as a ministry, just a way to use my time. It turned out to be very meaningful for me,” she said.
In 1997 the Sisters of Providence invited some young women to join them for five weeks, experiencing the life of a sister by living in the convent and doing inner city ministry. Wong was assigned to the Marian Centre and L’Arche Edmonton. The call to embrace religious life tugged at her once again. She brought Communion to patients in the hospital. Patients would ask if she was a nun. The question always struck her as odd. In retrospect, those patients already saw the qualities of a religious sister that she had not yet seen in herself.
In 2000 she became an associate with the Sisters of Providence. In 2003 she spent a few days on retreat in Combermere, Ont. When she spoke to a priest there about the possibility of becoming a sister, he suggested she give it a try. In the Chinese culture, Catholics treat priests with utmost reverence and respect. So Wong obeyed the priest’s suggestion. She entered the Sisters of Providence as a candidate in 2004.
Now, she is the treasurer of her local convent and also a part-time receptionist at Providence Renewal Centre. She does pastoral care at a continuing care centre, and sometimes works in Calgary at Father Lacombe Home. She is the director of the Providence Associates. She is an English/Chinese interpreter in court and hospitals, and for others who need help communicating.
(Western Catholic Reporter)
This article is part of our Call to Service special feature.
