Sister Renee Mirkes, OSF, PhD, Ethics Director, Center for NaProEthics, ethics division of the Saint Paul VI Institute, Omaha, Nebraska. shares her experience of speaking to three different groups in Brazil.
When I would tell people about my upcoming travel to Brazil, they would immediately respond: ‘by yourself?’ I would answer: ‘No, Jesus will be beside, before, and behind me. And [since “the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing,” (Jn 5:19)] God the Father will be leading me. And [since the Father sends the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name] the Spirit of Jesus will be my steady companion (Jn 14:17). And, of course, my guardian angel, Winnie (named in honor of Sr. Winifred), kept hovering over me—just in case I failed to get the message from the Family of God!
So, on August 18th, the five of us flew from Omaha to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to Sao Paulo, Brazil. A trip, including the layovers in Omaha and Atlanta, lasting 19 hours. A bit grueling, but with Divine friends, a shoe-in . . .
Three different organizations— (1) the Sao Paulo province of the Incarnate Word Institute of priests and Sisters; (2) the Brazilian NaPro physicians and FertilityCare teachers that the Saint Paul VI Institute has trained over the past 11 years; and (3) the Missionaries of Mary of Nazareth consisting of 500+ Brazilian families dedicated to evangelization—had booked me for their respective venues.
The Sao Paulo province of The Incarnate Word Institute, numbering about 200, is one province of their international missionary order whose 800 priests and 1200 Sisters serve the Church in 17 provinces around the world, including the U.S. Picture #1 shows the Sao Paulo province members who invited me to their respective homes—the Sisters’ Convent in Berragen and the nearby Priests’ seminary—asked me to address two bioethics issues: the Church’s teaching on IVF (NaProTechnology: A Remedy for the Tyranny of IVF) and on transgender ideology (Light at the End of the Transgender Tunnel). I fell in love with this community—in so many respects like the FSCC with joy, dedication to the gospel of Jesus, and community solidarity emblematic of their love for God and the Body of Christ. I felt at home instantly. Though living in austere poverty, and in the midst of what looked to me like a tropical jungle, these religious men and women managed to enlist a donor who made simultaneous translation of my lectures possible with headsets for everyone and a translator’s booth besides! Sister Joy, a Maryland native who joined the community while studying at the Angelicum in Rome, is quadri-lingual and translated my English text into Portuguese and into the headsets of the Sisters and priests as I spoke. When I got behind the podium, the audience looked like a United Nations gathering! Their attention during, and very smart questions after, my lectures were both gratifying and thought-provoking. I will never, ever forget this community.
The second sponsors: approximately 60 Brazilian physicians and practitioners, trained in Omaha and certified in NaProTechnology and FertilityCare, were my friends long before I came to Sao Paulo. I love them dearly, and—please don’t tell the other foreign students that we’ve trained over my 28 years—they have first place in my heart. You would love them too: their infectious optimism, sincere gratitude, and genuine love for what they’ve learned and put into medical practice in Brazil just steals your heart. Dr. Carolina Delage designed the event as a webinar with approximately 30 ‘live’ participants who were close enough to attend in the conference room of her clinic and with another 30 ‘virtual’ attendees who were zooming in from Brazilian sites distant from Sao Paulo. Months before I arrived, these NaPro professionals collectively submitted 12 questions, dealing with ethics issues relevant to their practice. Dr. Carolina’s sister, Paula, who lived in Australia for seven years and speaks perfect Aussie English, translated my answers into Portuguese. They put the respective question on the screen in English and Portuguese, and I gave the answer first in English and Paula translated the answer into Portuguese. After 12 questions were answered, Dr. Carolina opened up the webinar to live and virtual questions. A lively Q&A concluded with a joint pic of ‘live’ and ‘virtual’ participants as they came on screen one-by-one [Cf. Pic #2]. They all shouted in English: ‘Thank you Sister Renee; we love you!’ So sweet.
The grand finale, of sorts, to the first two events just described was the conference sponsored by the Missionaries of Mary of Nazareth. A lay missionary association comprised of 500+ families, each of which is dedicated to one thing—spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ near and far. The large audience—gathered in the huge gymnasium of the Italian-Brazilian University of Sao Paulo—consisted of approximately 500 couples with their babies in tow, with older-aged children participating elsewhere in events arranged according to age. Three features distinguished this venue from any in my experience: (1) an LED screen so big that you’d expect to see the likes of Mark Zuckerberg standing in front of it [Cf. pic #3]; (2) such quiet babies—no crying or cooing, just playing quietly, and (3) my presentations (on Humanae Vitae and IVF) punctuated by the “bark” of—you won’t believe this—peacocks who were outside the gym doors and who roamed the University campus at will. Despite the intermittent peacocks’ “bark,” the attention from the audience held firm. Their applause and standing ovation were unexpected and humbling.
Upon return, I thanked the Triune God (and Winnie) for being with me the whole way to and from Sao Paulo, Brazil and never letting go of my hand.
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