Fulfilling the Father’s plan

By Neila Todd

This was the seed planted by the Father in His Chosen one, Clara Rose Martha Perrins born to Anglican parents in Birmingham, England on October 18—the Feast of St Luke the Evangelist—in the Year of Our Lord, 150 years ago.

The anniversary of her death and transition to her eternal reward, January 11, 1949, encourages reflection. We pause to review the comingling of denominational conversions; co-incidences involving connections and supernatural confirmation in the history of this iconic woman.

‘Queenie’, as she was called during her early life, is now our Servant of God, Mother Mary Ellerker of the Blessed Sacrament, O Carm, Foundress of the Corpus Christi Congregation.

Hers was a perfect surrender to God’s will, developed by perspicacity in her choices. She never felt that she was too young to make some revolutionary decisions.

Throughout her life’s many challenges, she would never succumb to acedia. She had chosen to break with her lineage because God’s grace ensured that she would cultivate the right spiritual friendships and priorities. She sought a full Sacramental Church which acknowledged the Real Presence, the sublime mystery of Transubstantiation, the avowed Source and Summit of our faith!

Grace conquered any fear as she pursued the kind of education that would lay the groundwork for her chosen path. In time, she would become writer, traveller, missionary, all contributing to the wellbeing of the total person which she would seek not only for herself but for others.

Her initial religious formation with the Assumptionist Sisters in France, would be expressed by prescient La Mere Aimee De Marie, who wrote that she was radical, that she dreamt of revolutionary action, that she wanted to be “A Ciborium for the King Jesus”.

Mother Foundress, also known as ‘Little Mother’, would next seek Dominican spirituality for her initial small group. Its enduring “With zeal I am zealous for the Lord, God of Hosts”; its pillars of diligent study, intellectual formation, and contemplative prayer would nourish her, but for a while.

Still not satisfied, she would seek affiliation to the Carmelite Order with reference to St Thérèse of Lisieux. The ascent to Carmel, she reasoned, would best fulfil her larger aspirations, as the spirit of iconoclasm propelled her. This action would necessitate changes in Rule and Constitution.

The Servant of God relocated from England in 1929. She stressed commitment to The Divine Office and the Church’s Liturgy; joyous commitment to God’s initiative in every circumstance; openness to the needs of the local Church and accepting the more difficult or less glamorous missions. An assessment of achievements unequivocally displays a plurality of forms, but all from the same source.

In this post-modern age, we revere Our Foundress’ transcendent grace and her teachings as the eternal stability in our lives. She would become an American citizen and continue to hone her talent as a skilled negotiator. She would be criticised as having Anglican tendencies; for working with Negroes. Nonetheless, her Corpus Christi Congregation was approved as a Pontifical Institute in 1946, the island of Trinidad, being the site of the Mother House.

She had seen a nascent globalisation as essential in the modern age. The US and the Caribbean beckoned and she obliged. Her work would also spread to Liberia, West Africa. She always understood the importance of communication through writing, which she did copiously, and travelling for the new realities to be fully achieved.

Her beloved sacrament of unity is gathering increased momentum through ecumenical initiatives, particularly in the land of her birth. She prayed for the sacramental restoration for people of various social ranks and geographical locations, all offering Adoration to The Blessed Sacrament.

Illness and infirmity never stopped her from travel on land or sea, in wartime and in peace. Her legacy continues with her Religious sisters at convents on both sides of the Atlantic. They are complemented by Third Order Lay Carmelites, Handmaids of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and devotees of the Brown Scapular. Let us avoid nostalgia in this anniversary. Instead, let us invite Generation Alpha to a season of Mother Mary Ellerker, Servant of God, one who was certainly not a photocopy. So let us revisit her fame of sanctity which will guide and inspire us to imitate her virtues.

Neila Todd is a Tertiary of Carmel.