“I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone—to Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life in self-surrender had a goal.” - Dag Hammarskjold, Markings, (205)
The above quote expresses in a beautiful way the call of God within my life. I have always felt a close relationship with God since the time I was young and have always felt drawn to deepen this relationship. I was brought up in a loving and caring family. Our Catholic faith was a very important part of our lives. I remember praying the rosary and going to church together. My parents modeled for us what it meant to be generous and faith-filled people. It is their loving example and God’s grace in my life that led me to religious life.
I became a sister because it was the best way for me to deepen and nurture my relationship with God. I read somewhere that “Vocation does not mean a goal that I pursue. Rather, it is a calling that I hear.” That calling is very special and comes from God. It is a gift! God calls each one of us in our own unique way to holiness. This call to holiness is rooted within our baptismal call. This call to holiness is to be the best person that God created us to be and to use our gifts and talents to spread the message of God’s love to all we meet.
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| Sister Mary Beth (far right) with (left to right) Sister Maggie Gannon and Sister Patty Kerezsi. |
One of the areas also included in this ministry is collaborating with college students and campus ministers in various campus ministry activities such as retreats and service-related activities which assist them in integrating their faith with service and mission and then reflecting on how this helps them deepen their relationship with God. I am always amazed at the dedication of the students to these service activities and also at their deep desire to nurture and practice their faith.
This past summer, I traveled with a group of students and two of the staff from Neumann University to Madrid, Spain, for World Youth Day which is a gathering of young people from all over the world to celebrate their faith. It included many different presentations on the Catholic faith, as well as prayers and liturgy. Almost two million people gathered there with Pope Benedict XVI. What a wonderful experience it was to witness such joy and enthusiasm among the youth of the world to celebrate God’s presence which was so palpable among us.
These are just some of the activities that I have had the privilege of being a part of within my ministry as vocation director. This is one of the reasons that I love being a sister—the many opportunities that it has given me to follow the Gospel message of Jesus and to witness the many ways that people embrace this message and live it within their own lives, within their own vocation.
When I think of my life as a Sister of Saint Francis, I feel a deep sense of gratitude. All of my experiences have led me on a path that ultimately has brought me to live my life as a sister in this community. There are so many sisters, especially our elderly sisters, who have witnessed for me by the fidelity of their lives what religious life is all about. Our constitutions state: “A vocation to consecrated life, like every true vocation, is necessarily described within the context of mystery: the mystery of God’s call and the mystery of human freedom.” This describes beautifully the invitation that God offers to those who are called to religious life. It is a mystery and it is a gift. Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “The gift you have received, give as a gift.” I feel blessed to have received this gift of a religious vocation and I hope that I can share this gift to all those I meet along the way.
