Ireland

What it means to me to be an Associate

I was only ‘reunited’ with the Daughters a few years ago. I remember as a child visiting my aunt (Sr Alexis Mary) who was matron at Much Hadham. My younger sister was a student at St Philomena’s and I started nursing at St Anthony’s.
Now I find not only great friendship with the Sisters at Beech Park and co Associates. Just as important, after the meetings, I return home with the peace and calmness that only prayer and meditation can bring in this hectic and disturbed world.

— Freddie Muldoon

Being an Associate of the Daughters of the Cross offers us a valuable opportunity to take some time away from the ‘busyness’ and stresses of living in an increasingly secular Ireland while caring for an elderly parent with Alzheimer’s. In addition the sacraments and personal prayer help us to focus on the person and message of our Lord Jesus Christ, Lectio Divina, and our own spirituality in the company of good people, with whom we can share our faith without fear. The positive message in the combination of the Resurrection and the Cross in the spirituality of Marie Therese Haze is what first drew us to the Associates and gives us hope whatever happens. 

— God bless, Eoin and Maura

To be an Associate means a lot to me, coming together to share our spiritual experiences and to enrich our lives through this experience. I have known the Daughters of the Cross since I was fourteen years of age and I am very grateful to them for allowing me to become an Associate enabling me to keep up the contact. I find that the time spent together at the meetings in Beech Park are a great help. Meeting regularly with all the Associates has always been a great support to me through sharing one another’s prayer experiences and learning from each other.

— Carmel Palmer

Having worked with the Daughters of the Cross of Liege for twenty two years it was a great delight for me to be invited to become an Associate. To me it means joining in prayers and spiritual readings with my friends in the convent in Beech Park. We have many discussions on matters of faith and truth, and are able to agree or disagree on various theological issues.  The DVD and talks on the lives of the Saints have inspired me to give better example and to try to live a more spiritual life. I know that if I have any family problems I will have the reassurance of prayers and help from the Associates

— Margaret Blake

The words ‘Associate’ and ‘Friendship’ sum up what being an Associate of the   Daughters of the Cross mean to us.  My friendship with the Daughters of the Cross goes back to shortly after I was married in 1967. At that time we lived across the road from St Gabriel’s hospital. As I had to leave work in a bank when I married, I approached the Sisters to see if they could give me suitable employment. I got a job as a receptionist and preparing patients accounts. I loved working in an environment where there was so much prayer and where the daily Eucharist was celebrated. As St Gabriel’s had a maternity unit our first two children were born there. When he was six  weeks old, our second baby died of what was known as a cot death.  The first people to come to our house after the death were the Sisters from St Gabriel’s. When the Sisters discovered that Enda worked in a bank they invited him on to the fund raising committee where he remained for many years.  When I left work after the death of our baby we continued to keep in touch and each Christmas we were invited to Midnight Mass in the hospital and our youngest daughter, Marguerite, was invited to place the baby Jesus in the crib.  During the years when the Sisters decided to leave St Gabriel’s and transfer to Beech Park we kept in touch through Sr Elizabeth Mears Sr Sarah, RIP. Then Sr Una in recent years invited us to become Associates and so we look forward to our regular meetings and value the prayers of the Sisters and our coming together for special occasions.

— Enda and Maura