Sister Eileen Smith, RSM




This story was originally published in November 2005.

My journey toward Mercy began at the age of five when my family moved from Jersey City, New Jersey, to North Plainfield, New Jersey.  Upon seeing the beauty of Mt. St. Mary in Watchung, New Jersey, I wanted to go to school at Mt. St. Mary Academy.  My father, realizing my enthusiasm, tried to calm me by telling me it was a high school.  Since I was just entering kindergarten, that seemed like an eternity!

As I waited, I attended St. Joseph School in North Plainfield where I first met the Sisters of Mercy.  These Sisters inspired me to grow in my faith.  From childhood I felt drawn to God.  Recognizing that the Sisters who taught me were close to God, I wanted to follow in their footsteps. So from second grade on, I proudly told everyone that I wanted to become a nun.

Initially, I wanted to be a Carmelite.  After all, I was born on July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  My teachers at St. Joseph School shared wonderful stories of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite.  She was my heroine, and I wanted to be just like her.  However, as I grew up, I realized that the Sisters of Mercy I knew were also role models.  Their love and affection touched me so deeply that I realized that God was calling me to Mercy rather than to Carmel.

I entered the novitiate in 1964 at the time when the changes of Vatican Council II were beginning to affect religious life.  What I loved most about my formative years was the opportunity to study and to pray over Scripture.  I loved it so much that I decided to major in Religious Studies in college.  However, that was not possible since Georgian Court College in Lakewood, New Jersey, did not offer it as a major.  So I majored in French and became a secondary language teacher at Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed teaching French and Latin, when it became possible, I began my graduate studies in theology at Providence College in Rhode Island.  During my final year in the ministry of education, I was able to teach theology at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

In 1970, the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of New Jersey formed a House of Prayer committee.  I immediately felt drawn to join the committee and to become involved in the establishment of a House of Prayer.  However, when the time came for the selection of the first core group, I could not join because I had responded to a call to work in the ministry of formation.  My years in this ministry were both challenging and fulfilling, and I treasure the relationships that I developed in working with the women who entered religious life at that time.

In 1980, upon completing my time in formation, I became a member of the core group of the Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer in Watchung, New Jersey.  My commitment there has deeply impacted my life.  I have treasured and continue to treasure the community experience that I have had with Sisters Mary Jo Kearns and Theresina Flannery, as well as the opportunity to journey with so many God-seekers through my ministry of spiritual direction, retreats, and programs on Scripture, faith, and prayer.  During the last ten years of my Mercy life, I have been deeply energized by the Mission Statement of our Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, especially the part that calls us to be in solidarity with God’s poor ones. Because of that, I journeyed to Texas and Honduras for several brief immersion experiences.  I also ministered in a poor multicultural parish in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Those experiences eventually led me to minister with our Sisters in Honduras for a year.  That year was a blessed one!  I met so many wonderful and inspiring people.  Who knows!  God may call me there again.  For now, I am delighted to be able to offer spiritual direction, retreats, and spirituality programs to the ever-growing Hispanic population in the Central Jersey area.

As I reflect on my 41 years as a Sister of Mercy, I am so grateful to God for God’s goodness to me and trust God will continue to show me the path that leads to fullness of life.

If you would like to talk further with Sister Eileen about her life and ministry, you may contact her at: epsmithrsmh@att.net