The Nun Who Breaks Down Walls

What does peace mean for you, your community and your country?

Peace is God within me. In my community is what I see in the generosity of many who come and give of themselves so wonderfully to others. And I see peace in my country when we come together in unity in spite of the fact of great diversity that exists in us.

In what special ways do women bring peace to the world?

Women bring peace to the world by our nurturing sense of self that we give to others in the caring that we do to the people we see around us.

How do you maintain hope when there isn’t always peace around you?

I maintain hope by making sure that I find God within me so that the God in me can discover God among others.

What does your Caritas organisation concretely do to work for peace?

Our Caritas organisation works with others in our community to make sure we can work together to respond to those most in need, the most vulnerable in dire need of help. We work together because we need to work together to reach out to as many people as we can.

What would you ask of world leaders to bring peace?

I would ask world leaders to find solutions that work, to reach out to communities that are struggling and find it difficult to have peace and find solutions that work for them.

Tell me about a woman who’s inspired you.

A woman that’s inspired me is Sr Juliana Garcia, a wonderful woman who was in my life, who was my mentor and who helped me see the importance of being church, of living out our faith to the fullest and staying close to Jesus as our leader, our sense of direction, our sense of everything.

If you could ask people to do one gesture to work towards peace today, what would it be?

Go and find someone you don’t know, who’s different from you, and get to know them. Peace for me is God within me. I need to find God within me so I can find peace in myself as I do whatever I do in my life and in my day.