There is rejoicing in heaven and sadness on earth. Sr Ruth died on 14 June in Trinidad where she was born, entered the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny and devoted her life for love of Christ and for those she served through Servol which she co-founded with her soul-friend Fr Gerry Pantin. Her skills and tireless energy built Servol into a landmark NGO dedicated to the education, mentoring, and whole person development of at-risk children, adolescents, and marginalized communities.
I first met her when I visited Tobago decades ago. Her religious sisters, who were hosting me, prevailed on her to take me to see the daily return of thousands of Scarlet Ibis to the Caroni swamp shortly before sunset. She had better things to do with her time but she was an obedient and generously self-giving religious as well as a strong-willed, brilliant founder and administrator. Thousands of these brilliant crimson-red birds fly back across the Gulf of Paria from their feeding grounds to roost for the night. Humans gaze on its beauty and precision with wonder. Ruth has now wonderfully returned home. She had found it in many ways throughout her life, in her work and friendships and family but she never forgot it was her final destination and purpose. In my first meeting with Ruth we connected deeply and she shared with me the other, contemplative, dimension of her being and of her vocation.
In time she returned to her times of meditation each day as faithfully and naturally as the scarlet ibis. Then she used her teaching and organisational genius to develop a strong community of meditators in Trinidad and Tobago and which has spread around the Caribbean. If I’m not mistaken, we meditated briefly on the boat in the swamp that evening. If not, we certainly meditated many times together in many locations over the years, most recently at Bonnevaux.
She was a born teacher and founder. As National Coordinator, Regional Coordinator and member of our Guiding Council, she not only introduced countless people to meditation and helped them to integrate it into their lives, just as she had. She also trained and inspired them to do the same with others. This enriched the whole church throughout the Caribbean helped by her friendship with the Archbishop of Trinidad and Tobago, Jason Gordon. She courageously empowered people and wisely knew when to withdraw and when to take the lead. She longed to devote more of her time to the WCCM as, with the support of her religious community, she was already doing. It took time to detach herself from the organisation of Servol but as this happened she came to Bonnevaux when we moved there. Her time as part of its fledgling community was short and both she and I and the community would have loved it to have been longer before cancer forced her to stay in Trinidad. She was one of the major elements of the founding of Bonnevaux and her passing is one of its difficult challenges.
It is easy and right to praise Ruth for all she actively did in her life. I think she would also like us to learn from her inner and outer balance of life and the way she brought her active and contemplative dimensions together. The power of this integration and single-mindedness was her spirit of compassion and wisdom. These qualities are usually mentioned together but not so often encountered in a fully spiritual union in the personality. In time, this happened in her. As I noticed her way of helping and guiding people, I could see she was both detached and committed to telling the truth. She was compassionate but not sentimental. That is why I am sending two photos of her that I took. One, showing her in her beautiful and beloved homeland where she worked so strenuously to help the marginal and most easily neglected. The other shows her capacity to relax, or as the Trinidadians say, just to ‘lime’, meaning to let go and enjoy life with no particular agenda
As I do personally, the WCCM as a whole owes much more to Sr Ruth than can be expressed. We send our condolences to her family and religious sisters, to the church in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean and especially to the community of meditators of Trinidad who she spiritually gave birth to and will today be facing the maturing that we all need to face when a beloved teacher dies.
Thank you so much for the wonderful story of Sr Ruth. You have shared her life with us beautifully, I woke at 5;00am have turned on my phone, read it and have been utterly uplifted, and so in that way her work has continued to spread. (Raewyn)
Although somewhat prepared by your prayer for sr Ruth during Mass, last Sunday, I was impressed to find the message of her passing, yesterday. My sincere condolences for the loss of this our lovely, witty, wise and loving sister father… She must have meant a lot to many of us. I thank God for her guidance, when she was my daily mentrix during my months at Bonnevaux in 2023, while I was preparing for the noviciate. To me, she really was the wise senior, capable of winning souls with careful attention. I thank God that she was around thenadays, and am very, very grateful for knowing her as she was. A light to all of us. (Jenneke)
May the light of the Love of Christ shines on Ruth for eternal life.
(Maryse)
Thank you for such a beautiful and heart-felt tribute for such a remarkable lady. My condolences to you for your deep loss. It makes me realize how much you will miss your dear friend, and what an impact Sr. Ruth had for establishing WCCM in the Caribbean. (Marianne)
Sad news indeed. I will always remember her fondly. My condolences, Laurence and through you to all of WCCM. Thank you for your kind an thoughtful words celebrating her life. May she rest in peace, she has certainly left a palpable and unforgettable legacy. (José María)
Thank you for your message to let us all know of Ruth’s passing. I’m happy to feel her freedom and sad to know it is our loss. She warmed all our hearts while she lived with us in Bonnevaux. Her smiling wisdom and gentleness held everyone slightly safer and in good, grounded connection – to each other and to the one heart we all gathered around. She was fun. And she was serious. And she bore her fatigue with such (mostly) uncomplaining grace and always with a quick humour and an overriding care for everyone around her. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to quietly mourn her passing and celebrate her life. (Michael)
Thank you so much Fr. Laurence, For this beautiful tribute to Sr. Ruth. And my sincere condolences to you on this latest grief and loss. And indeed to all members of the Bonnevaux Community past and present But joy in heaven…as you say. Your two photos say so much and the second one communicates something so lovely about her relationship with you – the ease and relaxedness with which she permitted you to see her ‘lime’! Thank you for sending condolences on behalf of us all to her Religious Community and to her people in Trinidad and Tobago. What service, what giving, what a mystery that such a person is taken from among us in the prime of her mission and witness to compassion and solidarity. God’s continued blessing of good health and well-being upon you,
(Judith )
