J​osh makes his commitment to the Friends of Nano
​         Looking for the Flame
As my life journey develops I am in constant longing for the flame of God: the same flame Nano Nagle carried in her lantern. Her mission and spirituality have inspired me since I was young and to finally have a formal commitment to her, to God and to my fellow Friends of Nano has given me a sense of fulfilment. This feeling of fulfilment closed one door and has opened another with lots more passion and zeal for the cries of the world.
Just like Nano I am often drawn to the need of education and the need to focus on the care and love for our young people especially in these times we live in which could be considered as similar to what Nano would have witnessed too.
So I look at them with Nano’s eyes and with God’s flame, to walk with them and to inspire just as Nano has done. I also think of my fellow Friends of Nano, especially Maya and Jeanette who all represent the charism of Nano and the love of God with such conviction and trust.
Josh
 Jen has joined the Friends of Nano.
 Listen to her make her commitment 
​​Woman of the Poor
​Jen's Reflection

I asked my Year 10 students, what is God like for you?  They said that God is someone watching us, that God is someone difficult to relate to and a few said that God is but an idea. I thought of Nano and wonder what she would say or how would she reply. This is the kind of poverty that I face every day with many young people in my school.
My journey with Nano started with the Presentation Sisters Veronica and Noreen. Their warm welcome, care and kindness led me to knowing the courageous champion for the poor, Nano Nagle.
The most things that draw me to her is her personal care for the poor and her commitment to unjust situations that marginalize vulnerable people. I have seen poverty in different forms and shapes in many places and at different times of my life. As a teacher, I have seen it evolved over time in the faces of young people who are hungry for the truth and searching for meaning and purpose in life. Knowing Nano is like finding an ally and an inspiration in my personal commitment to be with the poor and help them in any way I can. Nano’s courage, zeal, perseverance and faith in the Lord encourage me to keep on and to trust in God’s providence. Like Nano, I want to carry that light for others to seek God and find God in their lives. 
Would you like to know more
​OR
maybe become a Friend of Nano:
​Contact: pbvmnz@gmail.com

Maya's commitment and reflection

​Stars and glow worms
A friend recently discovered that the bush walk near our neighbourhood had glow worms. I wanted to see them, but the only time that was possible was when it was pitch dark. I wanted to see them badly, so we set out to go to the bush in the evening, in winter, after a strong storm. It could have been a bad idea, but it wasn't. The glitters from the worms lining the sides of the pathway were breathtaking. We have to turn off our flashlights to see them. I then looked up and saw the stars shining undisturbed by other lights. For a moment, the world stood still. I was in the womb of creation. I may be in the middle of a muddy road in a bush, but I feel I was precisely where I wanted to be.  
That adventure reminded me of our commitment ceremony last 25th of June. It was a day of many days—the Matariki and the Feast of the Sacred Heart. I flew to Mosgiel from Wellington to join Josh and Jeanette. We are like three kings of the Christmas gospel going on a pilgrimage to see the child, Jesus.
The Commitment Ceremony came when I was going through many personal crossroads. It was hard to ‘commit’ to anything when you were in a liminal space. But commit I did, not because I know what I am doing or who Nano is, but guided by a gut feeling that tells me—this is the step forward.
Nano had many liminal moments in her life. There was that time of discerning in France, deciding to build her schools, letting go of the Ursulines and setting up her congregation. I imagine her walking in the dark streets of Cork with her lamp and seeing the faces of the poor. What she saw in the dark was more magical than glow worms and stars I saw in the bush. She saw nothing less than the face of Jesus. And that point, I reckon, Nano felt as I did in the bush—she is exactly where she wants to be.  
Like the stars and glow worms, we can only see the face of Jesus if we take the courage to go forward and walk uncertain paths and be ready to turn off the lights of our knowledge and preconceived plans about our lives. To be able to stand still and let go.  
Almost a month after, I look back with gratefulness for the blessings of that day. For the gifts of the Presentation Mission, friendships and hospitality. I do not know where my ‘true Cork’ is or what life’s path I’ll be called to cross, but joining the Friends of Nano is undoubtedly my first step to finding it. I won't be going alone. I will walk alongside many people like myself, carrying little lamps in the alleys of the world, looking for the face of Jesus.
Would you like to know more
​OR
maybe become a Friend of Nano:
​Contact: pbvmnz@gmail.com