For me, at least, Daily Mass exposes how the supernatural is a mundane everyday experience in the life of a Catholic. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, descends upon the altar under the appearance of bread and wine to a small crowd of the faithful. His flock is there to be with Him; some are dressed in their uniform for work while others carry groceries. Time is made in our busy day to be there with Him at Calvary. Our expectation is only that.

However, Our Lord finds a special treat at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In the small town of Middletown, New York, at the shrine staffed by the Carmelite brothers of the Ancient Observance, Jesus finds Sister Margaret “Peggy” Murphy singing for Him and His people at every Daily Mass. Sister Peggy climbs up the lectern for the Entrance, Offertory, Communion, and Recession, inviting the faithful to join her as she sings to the King of Kings from her heart.

I was very privileged to get the chance to interview Sister Peggy Murphy about her faith and walk with Our Lord, and the transcript of our conversation is here below.

Are you a professed religious?

Yes, I’ve been a Dominican Sister for 61 years, and it’s been a wonderful life. It has been good to me and good for me. It has enabled me to be who I am.

What connections and crossovers do you see between Dominican Spirituality and Carmelite Spirituality?

They are all paths that lead people to God. The Dominicans have a real emphasis on education and scholarly learning. Truth, of course, is very important. Our motto in the Order is to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of our contemplation. I feel very grateful to God to live in this parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I was baptized on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, so I always tell the Abbott here: “I must have been destined to be a Carmelite!”

I think one of the most beautiful parts about Carmelite spirituality is that they have always been extending that call to holiness to everyone, not just priests and religious. I think there was a long misunderstanding in the Church that it was only for people in monasteries who had a special calling, but I believe that God is longing for us all to come closer to Him. The third Order in the Carmelite tradition is enormous and extremely active.

As for St. Dominic, we don’t have any of his writings. We Dominicans are supposed to be the brainiacs of the Catholic Church, you know—very scholarly and stuff. I always love that while we don’t have any writings of Dominic, he had said, “I prefer to write on people’s hearts.” So I love that. He walked across Europe to bring the good news.

All paths lead to that personal connection that we need. One of my favorite images is La Bruna, the Carmelite Blessed Mother. Her cheek is pressed against the cheek of Jesus. It may seem sentimental, but it’s that tenderness of God that is often lacking. People don’t understand or appreciate that he is longing for us. I taught religious studies for 22 years to undergraduates. In the end, I would say, “This is your true identity—you are God’s beloved son. You are God’s beloved daughter.”

That takes maybe decades for us to take into our hearts, but that’s the truth. Nobody can take that away from us. The world may say we are too old, too young, too thin, too fat, too fast, too slow, too shy, too loud, but the truth is that we are God’s beloved.

The Carmelite third order is enormous and always has been—and is full of extraordinarily active lay people. They are deeply prayerful, longing for God. I love The Little Flower. When I was younger, I didn’t always appreciate the Story of a Soul. I just gave a retreat to women recovering from alcoholism, and they said that the book is sometimes hard to read because it’s “of a time.” I said—because I’m old, you know—how about our hairstyles from the 70s?!? They all laughed. It is like how kids see their parents’ wedding pictures, and they all say, “Ew, look at those suits!” But she was so very beloved—thousands of men had her picture in their pocket during World War 1. That was a very terrible and gross war, with all those tragedies and trench warfare. The simplicity of “I only have today to love you.” I say that a lot; I say that all day. I only have today to love You. We only have today to be patient with each other.

Carmelite spirituality, for me, is extraordinary, and it’s easy where we live—on the front lines. And I love being a Dominican! Don’t misunderstand me. It’s like any family—there are many different styles. Truth is important, scholarliness is important, and the crazy soundbites and misunderstandings that the world presses on us. Dominicans do great work. I don’t want to sound disloyal to my own Order!

It’s very interesting when we look at Our Lady of Fatima—she promoted a Dominican Devotion, the rosary, and a Carmelite devotion, the Brown Scapular.

She’s the Mother of all of us! We all have those images of her mantle, and everyone is underneath. It’s very crowded! William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet, when they asked him, “What do you say about the Catholic Church?”, he said, “Here comes everybody!” Here comes everybody. All are welcome.

I feel stupid because now I have some… shallower questions, but I was wondering. What is your favorite psalm or hymn?

“How Can I Keep From Singing.”

Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing.

We can be frightened of the darkness of our times and the world, but we can hear that music ringing. I hear the Truth that liveth… All things are mine since I am His.

Yeah, that’s one of my favorites, if not my favorite. I have one other one that I love: “The Cloud’s Veil.” It’s by Father Liam Lawton, a priest composer in Ireland. This one was sung many times after 9/11.

God is by my side, no matter what darkness, God is by my side.

Who are your patron saints?

St Therese, I’m really drawn to her very much. Also Teresa of Avila, I would like to clone her. She is so courageous and genuine. She had tremendous courage. She was a very real person; she once said, “When I fast, I fast. When I pheasant, I pheasant.” She would accept all the good things that God sends, as well as the sacrifices and the need for asceticism. I love the two of them.

My total favorite is Saint Joseph; he’s not a man of few words. He’s a man of no words! A man of silence, which is God’s first language. My spiritual practice of centering prayer and contemplative outreach—it’s been a great grace for me. Silence is hard for me. Hard for Americans, I think. But it’s God’s first language.

Favorite book of the Bible?

I’m growing in love with the Psalms. I love Osee. He’s a minor prophet. A tough kind of example, as his wife had real problems. “Come back to Me”—it’s a beautiful message. God is always drawing us from whatever failures—Come back to Me with all your heart. He invites us into solitude and silence. Come to the wilderness. I love that one.

I love a few of Saint Paul’s letters, like Corinthians. Saint Patrick had a beautiful quote. In Corinthians, he told the people: “You are an open letter about Christ.” I draw a lot from the goodness of the people that I see in the seats. “You are an open letter about Christ.” I love that.

Your favorite psalm?

I guess 39, “O God, you search me and you know me.” I saw one of these contemporary things from Psalm 23 the other day, and it has really resonated in my mind and in my heart. We are familiar with “You set a table before me in the sight of my foes,” but in this translation, it said, “You set a table before me in the sight of my fears.” In the world in which we live now, You nourish me in the midst of all these fears and the media making us afraid. I love 23.

What’s your favorite title of Our Lord?

Emmanuel, God is with us. It is my theme. At the end of the semester, I would tell the kids, “If you forget everything else I told you, I don’t care”— I do care, but I would say—“You are never alone, you are never alone, you are never alone.” That’s everything, I think. Emmanuel.

What’s your favorite title of Our Lady?

I do love the image I mentioned: La Bruna. Our Lady of Knock is also close to my heart and my roots. The sacrifices my ancestors made as they carried their faith across the ocean, they suffered a lot. They didn’t give up. When I was a novice, someone told me about Our Lady of Confidence, and I don’t hear about much of it anymore. But she is the first believer, the first apostle, the first evangelist. Our Lady of Confidence.

What would you say is the greatest favor that Our Lord has given you in your life?

My vocation. My call. I feel the older I get, the more I realize how protected I was and that I didn’t understand what was happening, but I felt drawn, and I was able to answer it. I have been blessed beyond, beyond, beyond measure. It’s unbelievable. My brother always says it’s fun to be a nun… because I teach every summer in Italy. There are these wonderfully worldly things, not to mention grace upon grace upon grace!

What advice do you have for young people?

Pray to be aware of the grace of the present moment. Stay in the present moment. God reveals Himself every day, especially in everyday events. Jean Pierre De Caussade wrote about the grace of the present moment. Meister Eckhart, a Dominican, said to people who would ask, “What should I do? Should I follow this? Should I go there? What should I do with my life?”—all the things that so trouble young people. He would say, “Do the next thing you have to do, and do it with your whole heart.”

God is with us; I always bring myself back to the present moment. There are temptations to go to yesterday and not trust the mercy of God for how we’ve messed up. God is in tomorrow, but we are not there yet. Have no anxiety about the future. “Why are you worried, O ye of little faith.” One of the translations says, “I forbid you to worry.” It’s not like a suggestion! I’m saying it for myself—not only for young people—God is with us. It’s unfolding as it should.

Saint Augustine said, “I only fear Jesus passing by.” I don’t want to miss seeing Him. He’s coming in the everyday moments. Trust that we have enough strength for each day, enough grace, enough energy, and enough money—stay in the present moment and believe that God is continually revealing Himself to us.