Sr. Filomena Silva, OSB

I was born on the Island of St. George, Azores. From the age of eighteen I knew I had a call to religious life but my mother did not want me to become a sister. She convinced me to move to Toronto, Canada where my sister lived. For the next 20 years I worked and travelled, had a good job and a good life but had no time for God.

Then God’s call came again. When I heard the gospel one Sunday, “leave everything you have a come and follow me” I had the desire to do just that.

In my search for the community I felt right about, I called the Benedictines in Winnipeg, though I had never heard of them before.

I was invited to visit the Monastery for a weekend. Later, after a week-long live-in I was introduced to the Benedictine way of life. Everything felt right, the prayer life, the variety of work, the wonderful welcome of the Sisters.

I returned to Toronto, quit my job at Doubleday Books and moved to Winnipeg to join the community. It has been 9 years since then and I have learned that God’s unconditional love for humanity is a treasure that had been hidden and is now discovered. I have also learned to know myself and how to pray contemplatively. I love the simplicity of life in the monastery and the fact that, as a community, we work for the common good.

I became a Health Care Aid because I love the elderly. Presently I enjoy working at St. Joseph’s Residence, a personal care home formerly owned and operated by our community.  To see Jesus in every one of my residents, to be able to assist the ones that do not speak English are blessings for which I am grateful.