Charity has a rich history in the United States. Imagine, though, devoting your entire life to charitable service. That’s exactly what we should hope to learn from Sister Nirmala Joshi, who died June 23.
A native of India, the kindhearted Sister Nirmala converted from Hinduism to Catholicism after years at a Christian boarding school. She told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that a part of her daily routine returning home from school included a detour that took her by an enormous white statue of Jesus Christ, with arms outstretched. After initial uncertainty, she came to rejoice in that imagery, embracing the ideal of service, which she saw as inherent in Christianity.
Though not entirely converted after her primary education, she went to Kolkata, India, where she joined the Missionaries of Charity, the well-known organization started in 1950 by Mother Teresa. The two became close, as it was Mother Teresa who had personally invited Sister Nirmala to volunteer with the order. Sister Nirmala expressed decades later a simple truth that she learned early on from her mentor: “Do not think now of your whole life, but try to live day by day.”
Sister Nirmala strived to put that motto to practical use. She became a contemplative sister, which is one of two categories of nuns in the order. In this role, she devoted 12 hours each day to prayer for the poor, followed by two hours of demanding volunteer service.
After learning of Sister Nirmala’s death, the archbishop of Kolkata said that even in her last days on earth, Sister Nirmala spoke only about the work to be done.
Hers is a legacy of constant work. At Mother Teresa’s behest, Sister Nirmala continued her education in law, with the goal of giving free help to the poorest of the poor. Then in 1997, when Mother Teresa’s ailments became severe, a request was made for someone to take over her role, that of superior general of the order. Forty-four regional superiors and delegates gathered to find someone to lead. Pope John Paul II recommended the nuns choose someone who was deeply spiritual — the nearly unanimous choice was Sister Nirmala.
Though humble and small in stature, Sister Nirmala should be remembered as a source of strength. She spoke little and preferred the solitude of prayer, while acting when service was required. In 1965, she traveled with five other sisters to open the first Missionaries of Charity center outside of India, in Venezuela.
Sister Nirmala served in the position of superior general for about 12 years before stepping down in 2009 because of her health. She is gone now, but her example continues through all who offer charitable service. Though we may differ on beliefs, it is her pure spirit of caring for others that we should seek to have in common.