Sr. Asunta Nakade is a Japanese nun; belonging to the Congregation of
the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She has lived in India, at
Dilkhush Convent Juhu, for the past 40 years. She is leaving for Japan,
her home country, forever, on the 21st of October 2016.
We are grateful
to her, for her contribution to our country, India, especially to the
Archdiocese of Mumbai, and in particular, to the overall development of
children with special needs. Let us look back at her journey of faith,
with Jesus Christ, as her GURU.
She was born in Tokyo in 1937, to a Buddhist family, consisting of
her parents and her brother. Her original name was Keiko. She had to
change school often, as her father, working for the Trading Company,
would be transferred, to any of its many branches in Japan as well as
abroad. It was in 1949, while she was in Kobe, in the final year of
Primary school, that a mysterious encounter with the Catholic Church,
(in a way, an encounter with God, Himself) took place. One evening,
Keiko saw her neighbors going to church, and she followed them.
It was a
Catholic church, and at the chapel by the side, the right arm of St.
Francis Xavier, (the holy relic) was placed. She saw a long queue of
people going to the altar, one by one, to venerate the Holy Relic.
Although she did not know anything about Catholicism, (as it was for the
first time that she had entered a Catholic church) she would never
forget the experience that she had on that Day! Keiko was overwhelmed by
holiness! Later she believed that surely through St. Francis Xavier,
she received the gift of faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Keiko was 13 years, her father shifted her to another school,
run by Franciscan sisters.
It was a great surprise for her. She was once
again overwhelmed by the holiness of the sisters. Deep down in her
heart; she experienced heavenly joy and happiness. She started attending
Sunday school to learn more about the Catholic faith. One of the
sisters taught her Catechism, and thus, began her faith formation. The
experience of God’s presence in her heart was so strong, that she wanted
to give herself completely to God, by joining a convent.
She expressed
her desire to her parents, but they could not comprehend it, as she was
not yet baptized. She continued her faith formation, and she was
baptized at the school chapel, on 15th August, 1950 with 3 of her class
mates. She took the name Asunta. Even though her family was Buddhist,
her father didn’t object to her becoming Catholic. He told her that it
would be good to have a personal religion. Her mother was baptized 2
years later, and then her brother too. Her father wanted to keep
Buddhism as a family religion and so he did not get baptized.
At the age of 19, Asunta felt deep down in her heart, the call of
God, but did not know where God was calling her. As per the suggestion
of one Jesuit priest, she visited the Convent of the Handmaids of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, at Yokosuka. She was welcomed by a Japanese
sister, who was the Novice Mistress, at that time. She was so taken up
by the warmth and hospitality of the sisters that she visited the
convent several times later. Through these visits, she was drawn to the
Blessed Sacrament. The sisters had Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
every day and she was falling in love with Jesus Christ. She wanted to
dedicate her life totally for Him.
When she finished her graduation, she expressed her desire to join
the convent; her mother could not digest the idea, and endured a lot of
pain in losing her only daughter. But, her Buddhist father understood
the meaning of following Jesus and without any objection, he advised her
to be ever faithful, without looking back again.
Asunta joined the Novitiate on the 13th November 1962; there were 20
novices with her. She made her Vows on the 11th of February 1965, and
after the wonderful experience of the Third Probation, she took her
Final Commitment on 15th August 1972.
She came to India on 6th July 1976, in place of another sister who
was supposed to go to India, but whose visa was rejected. Before coming
to India, she did a Montessori course in Dublin, as a preparation to
teach in a special school.
In India, Sr. Asunta joined the small community of the Handmaids at
Dilkhush Convent, Juhu. At that time 5 nuns from abroad, were running
the school for intellectually challenged children. For the first 3
months, it was hard for her to adjust to a new place. Sr. Asunta was
appointed as the class teacher of the Junior Class. She said: ”It is not
easy to deal with these children, but our charism, which is to adore
the Eucharistic Lord, is the source of my strength and joy. The mystical
experience, of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, was similar to
seeing Christ in our children. When God loves these children they become
lovable.
The special children were a special gift that the Lord gave
me, in India. I had a wonderful time teaching and learning from them, a
lot of experiences of love, sensitivity and care from them!” Until 2014
Sr. Asunta lectured at the Dilkhush Teachers Training Centre, on the
Montessori Method of teaching.
Sr. Asunta is a pastoral woman. She has always been there for any
activities of St. Joseph’s Parish Juhu. She likes to visit the families
of the parish, and even now, at the age of 79, she distributes communion
to the sick and the homebound!
She has a big heart for the poor. She goes out of her way to help
them, whether it is for the education of poor children or for the
medical needs of HIV patients. She is quite well known among the poor
people right from Madh Island to Dadar! She has stayed at the hospital,
when a poor woman from the street was admitted. Any poor person who
comes to Dilkhush will not go away, without receiving a cold drink and
snacks from Sr. Asunta.
She would be very unhappy if they are not served
food. She has helped many broken families; rehabilitated them in
different places and most of them are doing well. On her birthday and
special occasions, we have had many of them come with their families, to
wish her personally, and to express their gratitude. When she
celebrated her Golden Jubilee, in the year 2010, she preferred to have a
special celebration only with the poor people. So we invited all the
poor people whom she was in contact with and had a get together. It was a
great joy to see them organizing the whole felicitation and cultural
programme for Sr. Asunta. This concluded with a meal with them.
Sr. Asunta says, “India is a land of contemplation. The Spirit works
in silence, and takes us to the experience of God’s presence and His
unconditional love. The following three ”Cs”are my guiding stars;
Contemplation, Communion and Compassion”.
We are grateful to you dear Sr. Asunta for all that you have been to
us! We will surely miss your presence and your smiling face. But we are
very much united with you in Spirit, because we will never forget your
love, sacrifices and enthusiasm for the mission and your great love for
India!
SAYANORA Sr. Asunta!!!