Sister Maisie Ng professed her vows at IC Church, Fayetteville
By Deacon Tom Cuskey, editor
Above: Fr. Nader Ata, OFM Conv. (at rear), bestows a blessing upon Sister Maisie Ng (center) during her profession of initial vows with the Sisters of St. Francis. At left is Sister Jeanne Weisbeck, general minister of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities.
“Thanks be to God!”
Sister Maisie Ng
The phrase was the theme of the homily, and it captured the spirit of the celebration at Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville on September 14 where the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (SOSF) witnessed the initial vows of a new member. Sister Maisie Ng professed her First Vows during a Mass celebrated by Father Nader Ata, OSM Conv.
Father Ata, the associate pastor of Syracuse’s Assumption Church, repeated “Thanks be to God” at several junctures in the homily, celebrating the glory of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit in leading Sister Maisie to her vocation. The homily was preceded by her echoing the refrain of the Responsorial Psalm — “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will!” — as she was called forth from the congregation by Sister Veronica Wood, the formation director of the order.
“She was my novice,” Sister Veronica shared, speaking of Maisie’s journey toward her Rite of Temporary Profession as the initial vows are known. Maisie was born in Hong Kong and first came to the U.S. as a high school exchange student. She moved to Toronto where her mother lived and ultimately applied to enter the Neumann Community, working with Sister Caryn Crook, vocations director and a Central New York native.
Members of the Sister of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities extend their hands joining in prayer over Sister Maisie.
“While we were waiting for the visa to come through, Covid hit,” Sister Veronica explained, “so I was meeting with Maisie on Zoom for about a year and a half, and then Maisie entered, in August 2021.”
Sister Maisie’s journey started with a year of candidacy followed by a Canonical Novitiate, a year of prayer and learning. A year of apostolic ministry followed, which included six months of work at Francis House, the order’s hospice center in Syracuse. Having completed her three years of preparation and formation, Sister Maisie took these initial vows, the bridge to the next steps along the vocational path.
“They take the vows for three years … their formation goes on for life, but this is still a part of initial formation,” Sister Veronica said. “She’s in the temporary vows, and then after three years, she would take final vows, if she so chooses.”
The choice to begin this process of vocational discernment was not originally in Sister Maisie’s plans.
“Well, I never wanted to be a sister,” Sister Maisie said. “But it was through [Eucharistic] adoration that I’ve heard some voices. So, after discernment, starting from 2017, it just started and kept moving on.”
It was a year later that Sister received “the very big sign from God,” as she described it. She had a job she enjoyed, working for someone who treated her like family, and she couldn’t make up her mind to follow the vocational call. “But then he called me. He said, ‘Maisie, I’m sorry I have to lay you off’ because he wanted to sell the company. So, I got a package to go, and then I thanked God. Seriously!”
Sister Maisie received the Community Medal, the symbol of her dedication to the Sisters of St. Francis, from Fr. Nader Ata, OFM Conv.
What assignments lie ahead in her next three years are still to be determined.
“I don’t have an assignment yet, but we are both — the community and myself — discerning what the next step is,” she shared.
One thing for certain is that the Neumann Community is there to prayerfully support her on the path, as evidenced by the turnout of fellow Sisters to witness this liturgy. And prayer is the key step, as in reply to our final question of Sister Maisie: What advice do you have for others who may be contemplating the religious life?
“Just take it to prayer. Give it time for prayer, because God will speak to you, not only in the heart, but with external people who will come to you and speak … you have to feel the deep peace in you. And that’s, I think, how discernment is. You know, we don’t have the certainty … walk by faith, not by sight.”
