A vocation is understood as a call from God, and for Sister Therese Chau, it was a very surprising one, so much so that even after 19 years, she is still amazed at God’s call for her. Sr Chau talks about her life in Perth, her mission to spread the Good News and what it means to be a Dominican Sister. Photo: Natashya Fernandez.
By Natashya Fernandez
A vocation is understood as a call from God and for Sister Therese Chau, it was a very surprising one, so much so that even after 19 years, she is still amazed at God’s call for her.
In an interview with The Record Magazine, Sr Chau talks about her life in Perth, her mission to spread the Good News and what it means to be a Dominican Sister.
The Dominican Order is about preaching the Gospel and for Sr Chau it is through Media. At the recent launch of ‘Upon This Rock’, a short documentary on Monsignor John Hawes, Sr Chau so eloquently captures his life as a ‘yes’ to God’s call.
Based in Perth for the last six years, Sr Chau is from the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St Catherine Siena, Thanh Tam, Xuan Loc Diocese in the city of Bien Hoa, Vietnam, Sr Chau said that her calling was one that surprised her.
“My call to join the Dominican Congregation was a surprise, not only to my parents but also to myself!
“At the age of eight, I started boarding school at The Congregation of the Lovers of the Cross and stayed with the sisters until I graduated from high school.
Sr Chau with one of the actors who played Monsignor Hawes at the recent launch of her short documentary on Monsignor John Hawes, called ‘Upon This Rock’. Photo: Natashya Fernandez.
Everybody thought that if I ever joined religious life, I would join the Lovers of the Cross Congregation.
“It happened when my brother took me to visit the Dominican Congregation, just out of the blue. He didn’t know much about them and neither did I.
“When I spoke to one of the sisters who enquired if I wanted to visit their motherhouse, I said yes, and stayed,” she said.
“And, here I am 19 years later. I made my first profession in 2003 and was finally professed in 2009.
“God called St Dominic in the early 13th century when the Church in Europe was infiltrated by heretics.
“Dominic wanted his brethren to acquire knowledge about God in the Old and New Testament to preach Veritas – Truth to those who were being deceived.
“Searching for the truth is one of the Charisms of our Order,” Sr Chau added.
“Dominican tradition has been that we would obtain knowledge, divine and secular, in order to serve God and God’s people. I love learning and study which is one of the pillars of Dominican tradition. That’s why I fit into the Dominican life very well. In contemplating on my vocation, I know that I will grow in nature and grace as St Thomas Aquinas states – ‘Grace perfects nature’,” she said.
Religious life was not something that just happened for Sr Chau, hers was a family that was always spiritual, she said.
Growing up in a family of 12 siblings in the Central Highland of Vietnam, Đăk Lăk Province, her family lived close to the village church, so going to church and praying every day was the norm for them.
“Every morning, my parents would wake us up at 4am to go to church. At 7pm, we would go back again to say the Rosary,” Sr Chau recalled fondly.
Chau and her religious siblings-one priest and 4 nuns Sr Chau with her siblings, a brother who is a priest and four sisters who are nuns. Photo: Supplied.
So it wasn’t surprising that five of her siblings including herself, have joined various congregations.
While the formation process is similar to that of other orders, Sr Chau said that in order for her to become a Dominican Sister, she had to study further.
“I had to complete a three-year course in Philosophy and Theology, which I did from 2003 to 2006. After my final profession, we participated in the ongoing formation program which takes place every year.
“As a Dominican Sister, I want to use media to bring good news to the people,” she added.
“I want to tell inspiring stories of different people and organisations around the Archdiocese. We have enough bad stories served by secular media, and that is why, through my videos and stories, I want to encourage people to live values that were preached by Jesus, by St Dominic and forbearers of the Dominican tradition.
To young people, she would like to send a simple message – stay online and keep connected with God, who is online 24/7 to reveal God’s loving plan for you
“As the Holy Spirit began to call Dominic to a new vocation as a founder of a religious order when he encountered an innkeeper – an Albegensian heretic, God reveals his call for us at any moment and circumstances of our lives,” Sr Chau concluded.
From pages from 12 to 13 Issue 9: ‘What is a Vocation?’ of The Record Magazine