Sr M Glorina BS

                                    Sr M Glorina BS of Holy Family

Born                                       : 11.03.1949

Entered Bethany                   : 01.06.1967

Temporary Profession          : 06.05.1970

Perpetual Profession            : 12.05.1976

Slept in the Lord                   : 07.06.2021

“Like Gold in the Furnace He tried them and like a Sacrificial burnt offering He accepted them” Wisdom 3:6.

These words became true in the life of Sr Glorina who returned to her heavenly home on Monday 07 June 2021. Sr Glorina nee Justine was born to the Late Shabi Doming DSouza and the Late Mary DSouza at “The Queen of the Universe Church, Ranipura’ of Mangalore Diocese, on March 11, 1949. She was always quick to say that she knew she was loved, if not spoiled from the beginning, by her parents and her three brothers and six sisters. “I had a very happy childhood,” she wrote. “As I was growing up, I knew I was deeply loved by my parents and my older brothers and sisters. I have often reflected on the unloved and abused children of today’s world and am grateful for the love I have known all through my lifetime. “She loved her mother deeply and she wrote, “My Mother and I were the best of friends and companions.” Knowing her mother was not well she said, “I often prayed to the Blessed Mother asking her not to let my mother die.” However, when Justine was just 12, her mother passed away and she was left to the care of her elder sisters and brothers. In turn she was a mother to her incapacitated sister and took care of her by meeting her needs whenever time permitted her. She loved her family deeply and thought about them every day. She was taught by Bethany Sisters at Sacred Hearts’ High School, Kulshekar. She excelled in her school work. As a result of her acquaintances with Bethany Sisters she was confirmed in her vocation to become a religious. Mother Macrina was the Superior General when Justine entered the postulancy on June 01, 1967. She received the habit on May 06, 1970, and made her Perpetual vows on May 12, 1976. Her faithfulness to the religious way of life was steady and sure and she was keenly interested in all matters relating to Community.

She was a hard worker and spent her time until recently in assisting various School offices in maintaining accounts and other correspondence. Although graduated, when she was assigned the Aided clerical job in the High School office, she took a leap of faith and served in all sincerity, fidelity, transparency and loyalty in various Educational Institutions of the Congregation. She was a member of Bethany Convent, Bangalore, St Mary’s Convent, Arsikere, St Xavier’s Convent, Ajekar, Nazareth Convent, Bajpe, Maryvale Convent, Kinnigoli, Madeleine Convent, Mulki, St Raymond’s Convent Vamanjoor and presently Santa Cruz Convent, Kulshekar. During those years she was known for her generosity and wisdom, her ready spirit and her love for people and preparing herbal decoctions. Sometimes she would just sit in the recreation hall with the elderly and give them company with her wit and wisdom, her warmth and loving attention. She was gentle, compassionate and always genuinely interested in people. She was ever ready to start a conversation especially with someone who looked shy or like the outsider in a group. She had a way of drawing people out and was easily likable.

Sr Glorina moved to Santa Cruz Convent, Kulshekar in 2008 after her retirement to serve Sacred Hearts’ English Medium Hr Pry School and was the same loving and gentle, bright presence there. She was a generous Sister whose simple love for the Lord was contagious. The Sisters truly loved her. Visits with her revealed that she was alert to what was happening around her and at the same time to what was happening within. She speaks of this in her last commitment-to-mission statement

written for the centenary year of Bethany: “YES is the word for this time in my life. I say YES to what has been and what will be I say YES to God who has been saying YES to me for 50 years in Bethany. I want to live the rest of my days as a YES and a thank you to our Sisters of Bethany and to God who sustains me She lived life to the full, even when it was difficult. She was a woman who was at peace with her life and with the ways of God with her. God granted her the privilege of celebrating her Golden Jubilee together with her batch mates in April 2021. She was always profoundly grateful for the “ample abundance of God’s graces” that she received in her 51 years as a Sister of Bethany.

Sr Glorina true to her name found her glory and comfort in the loving company of Jesus through prayer. When she picked a flower, she would talk to it, encouraging it to glorify its Creator. She never needed to be in the forefront; yet neither was she a shrinking violet. She was always in the background, providing prayer support and doing simple tasks to serve the community and the Lord. She offered Mercy Rosaries unceasingly for the various intentions. She always had a litany of prayer intentions: for the souls in purgatory, for those suffering alone, for vocations, and on and on. She had filial trust in Mother Mary; hence her fingers kept rolling the Rosary beads. She managed her time well in utilising it in her work, common activities and prayer. She was punctual for all the spiritual exercises as well as her mission. She had deep faith in God which made her surrender her life eventualities into the caring hands of God. She was devoted to pastoral care; sought to serve the people in distance parishes on Sundays by teaching catechism, animating Marian Sodalities and attending SCC meetings. As she was nearing Golden years of her religious life, Sr Glorina opened herself more and more to God and His will for her, to her own human frailty and limitations, to her Sisters whom she loved dearly. In this manner, in her own daily unfolding, she revealed the extraordinary beauty of her life as God’s daughter and spouse.