Love without limits: Alison Khalil
Motherhood has always been my deepest dream, and now, living it each day, I can say with certainty that it is my greatest blessing. To be a mother to my children – Joseph, Danielle, Jacob, Sarah, and Rachel – is a joy that fills my heart in a way nothing else ever could.
Each of them is so wonderfully unique, yet united in the knowledge that they are deeply loved members of our family. One of my greatest joys has been raising them in the faith, teaching them that they are beloved children of God, and watching that truth take root in their lives.
My heart has expanded even further with the gift of becoming a grandmother to Leo and Adriana. There is something profoundly beautiful about seeing your children become parents themselves. It feels like love multiplied.
I now find myself looking forward with excitement and gratitude to the future grandchildren who are on the way, trusting that God’s plan for our family continues to unfold in the most grace-filled way.
In my motherhood, I constantly strive to follow in the footsteps of Mother Mary. Her trust, her surrender, and her quiet strength inspire me daily.
When I feel worry for my children – as all mothers do – it is my faith and trust in God’s protection that brings me peace. Placing my children into His care is my saving grace, reminding me that they belong to Him first.
I am deeply aware that the gift of motherhood is not one given to all, and I carry that awareness with humility and gratitude. I never take for granted the privilege of raising these precious lives. And I ache for those who yearn for this gift with my prayers that their will be aligned with God’s Will for their lives as they wait.
I am so grateful that I come from a long line of strong, faithful women. My great-grandmother, whose name I proudly carry, my grandmothers, and especially my own mother, have all shaped the way I love and nurture.
Alongside my father, my mum in particular laid the foundation of faith that I now pass on to my own children – a gift for which I will be forever grateful.
Motherhood, in all its forms, is a gift I cherish deeply whether as a mother, grandmother, godmother, aunt, sister or friend.
Surrounded by faith-filled women, I am reminded daily that this vocation is not walked alone, but together, in love, faith, and gratitude.
Love beyond biology and borders: Sr Josepha Lergessner SSpS
I am 94 years old, have been a nun for 70 years, spent half of my life in India, and have dozens of children all over the world.
After entering the Holy Spirit Sisters convent in Brisbane in 1952, I was soon told I would be moving to Indore, in India, to help the poor, care for those with leprosy, and look after orphans. I lived in a convent with one other religious sister, and the children we raised in the orphanage became our family.
“All our children – we never brought them up as orphans. They were our children,” I told The Catholic Weekly after the Archdiocese of Sydney’s annual Mass for Congregated Life held in April.
“They have never considered themselves orphans either. They say, ‘You gave us a name, you gave us a home.’”
I still keep in contact with many of them over social media, watching as they grow up and build lives of their own. They have busy careers and happy marriages, and some have moved away from Indore.
I left Indore in 1999 at the request of Bishop George Marian Anathil SVD, but I still miss India and think often of my children.
Since returning, I have made new connections and bonds, learned new skills, and continued working with women and children on the edges of society. Volunteering with the Salvation Army, among other things, I worked with trafficked women and helped some of them escape the system.
We meet now that they are married and have children, and I feel their children become my grandchildren, and they become my daughters.
I’m also in contact with some of their families back in India by phone. They say, “You have to do what Sr Josapha Lergessner SSPS tells you, because she’s your mother there.”
