“To everything there is a season…” is part and parcel of the life story of Sister Jovita Agustin.
Growing up in Hawaii where the seasons fold one into the other without extreme changes, Sister Jovita was delightfully surprised to find, upon entering the convent in Syracuse, New York in 1959, how much she enjoyed the change from fall to winter and spring to summer. As an elementary teacher in various schools in New York State for several years, Sister’s appreciation of new scenery grew as she moved from there back to Hawaii and on to California and Florida.
In 2006 there was a change in the season of her life — Sister Jovita was called to a new ministry in Honolulu. St. Francis Hospital there was in need of sisters to visit the sick and to bring Communion to Catholic patients.
Sometimes the institutions we serve undergo unanticipated “seasons.” When the hospital underwent a change in mission to place its emphasis on outpatient care, Sister Jovita discovered a new calling through her encounters with men, women and children in hospice situations. Now she bakes cookies that rival any that Rachael Ray could bake; she brings them to patients and helps to entertain them as they await treatment. The greatest ingredient of these sweets is the love that sister exudes to all she meets.
Sister Jovita’s love of scenery has not diminished either and she takes great delight in showing visitors to Oahu the views of which postcards are made. “A time for every purpose under heaven…”
