Mother Maureen speaks of a change in vocations

Intermountain Catholic

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Mother Maureen Goodwin could not wait to become a Carmelite. She entered right out of high school and has been happy ever since.IC photo by Chris Young

HOLLADAY — "I entered the Order of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns in 1950, and the way my vocation happened would probably not happen again in our society," said Mother Maureen Goodwin, prioress of the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Monastery in Holladay.

The Carmelite Monastery held elections and Mother Maureen was re-elected prioress in 2008 for a three-year term. This is her second term.

"I was just at an association meeting of a group of Carmels, and many of the sisters who are my age entered after high school," said Mother Maureen. "It was common in our era. But the girls now at high school age are not ready to enter. They are more mature after college.

"I could hardly wait to get out of high school to enter because I wanted to come when I was a sophomore," said Mother Maureen. "But they said, ‘Oh my dear, no, you have to finish high school. And as soon as I graduated, I entered, and I have been happy ever since."

Mother Maureen said actually any vocation is a call from God. She said St. Therese, the Little Flower, was instrumental in the 1950s and still is today in religious and priestly vocations. Mother Maureen read St. Therese’s story and knew of other religious orders, but knew she either wanted to be a Maryknoll missionary or a Carmelite. It was her upbringing. She had more contact with the church and religious life.

"The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary were our teachers in school, and so I was very aware of religious life," said Mother Maureen. "Often girls at that age are thinking of what they want to do with their lives, and I very soon decided on Carmelite. If you are a Maryknoll sister you are someplace in the world, which is wonderful work. But when you are a Carmel, you can pray for the whole world, and you are not pinned down to one little point. And in God’s eyes maybe you can do more offering prayer to God for people that you do not even know.

"It is a life of faith. When you have the faith, it is very strong," said Mother Maureen. "When I entered I just knew that was what I wanted to do and the sisters accepted me and I was so grateful. I did not realize when I applied that they would have to approve. I thought when I knocked on the door, they would say, ‘Well come in my dear.’ It was just as good I didn’t know. I would have been uneasy."

Mother Maureen grew up in Glendale, Calif. She entered in the Carmelites in Alhambra, Calif. Two years later in 1952, she was the youngest member of five Carmelites who arrived in Utah to make a new foundation in the Diocese of Salt Lake City at the request of Bishop Duane G. Hunt.

"When we came the diocese was officially missionary territory," said Mother Maureen. "Today it remains spiritually a missionary territory."

Not that many girls are being called to the cloistered life of the Carmelites, Mother Maureen said. More are called to the teaching orders. But vocations in every sector of the church have fallen off, including the priesthood. This is a worldwide problem, with maybe the exception of Africa and Vietnam.

"No matter what problem we might encounter, I am over flowing with gratitude to God for the grace of my vocation," she said. "It is such a blessing and joy to be the bride of Christ. Our life of prayer and sacrifice to win graces for priests and salvation of souls is beyond the wall of the enclosure, but it reaches to every corner of the world. Our vocation is ecclesial and apostolic.

"But the vocations are beginning to pick up," said Mother Maureen. "Our Province in California has a good number of students in the formation program. A few years ago there were none. Some of our Carmels are receiving a few applications. Some monasteries are uniting and some have closed. We feel the contemplative life here in the Diocese of Salt Lake City is so needed, and our Catholic people appreciate so much our apostolate of prayer that it would be quite a blow to the diocese if we, because of lack of members, decided to close. So we are doing everything we can to stay open. We are following the avenue of foreign vocations because there are more vocations in India, Korea, and Africa, as well as young priests from Africa and Vietnam.

"But Carmel is exploring different avenues, with God’s help, to continue because the sisters are getting older," said Mother Maureen. "It is like that in every Carmel, with very few young sisters. We have eight sisters in our monastery. One sister resides at St. Joseph Villa because of her knees. We also have a sister whom we are borrowing from a Carmel in central Vietnam. She has been with us for about a year and a half, and she is learning English. Her visa is for three years. We find her to be a big help."