Testimonies - Sr. Josée Richer DW

A Missionary Calling

One day, a missionary priest was sharing his experience in Africa to a youth group. One young 13 year old exclaimed, " That's what I want to do in life. Go to Africa. I want to be a sister."

Now, this young woman, Sr. Josée Richer from Welland Ontario, is a Daughter of Wisdom (Fille de la Sagesse) and she answers God's call to be a missionary. She has recently left Canada to open a new mission with three other sisters in the far and remote country of Indonesia.

What prompted this young woman to choose such a leap in faith? She says "Still very young, I felt an opening in my heart to the love of God. I was touched by the vastness and the intensity of that love."

Later, during a live-in discernement week-end with the Daughters of Wisdom, she comes upon this Biblical passage: "Your spouse will be Yahwé your Creator". Then and there, she says "I decided, should I become a religious, I would choose the Daughters of Wisdom because their spirituality attracted me."

In Indonesia, Josée and her companions will work on the island of Flores, where the Montfort fathers, also founded by St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, are already present. Starting a new mission in Indonesia is quite a challenge. The first step in her new mission is to take part in the life of the villagers, to help better their living conditions, especially those of women and children. Josée's formation as nurse and social worker will be very useful.

In the past, Sr. Josée lived one year as a missionary in Madagascar, Africa. Before leaving for Indonesia, she shares her thoughts, "Facing the unknown causes fear. I place my confidence in myself, and in Jesus, the Wisdom of God."

Sr. Josée talks of her motivation in this endeavour. "The spirituality of the Daughters of Wisdom is one of Incarnation . When Wisdom incarnates in Jesus-Christ, God becomes vulnerable. To follow Jesus, one must lie down like him on the cross and open one's arms. That's what I want...to remain open. Such a disposition is very demanding. I take time to listen to the source within me. I felt this calling like a spring welling up that I could not stop. Now is the time to answer, to let the water gush forth, and everything else will fall in place."

Learn more about the Daughters of Wisdom