My family was blest to have a vibrant faith, nightly prayer, and active participation in all church celebrations. Dad had a sibling who was an Ursuline Sister. As a child, I remember it was great family ritual to gather around Mom and Dad as Mom read aloud Sister Mary Boniface’s letter when it arrived.
When Christmas season arrived, so did a little package from Mount Saint Joseph. It was a “sacred gathering” to watch it being opened and having holy cards, medals, and rosaries parceled out to us.
For years, “Aunt Izzie” a.k.a. Sr. Mary Boniface, was just a myth, far away, unseen, but very real. (Our family never had a very reliable vehicle in those days to travel farther than the grocery and the Church!) Perhaps that was part of the mystique and beginnings of my curiosity and tugs of the heart.
One Church celebration that held great meaning and significance for me was “Forty Hours Devotion”; Eucharistic Adoration and the Mass has continued to be my personal, spiritual compass. It was at a Forty Hours in the third grade that I first felt the awareness of a religious vocation. Once again, in the fifth grade, at a Forty Hours, I was led to pray for guidance.
When my Mom and Dad asked me one day during my eighth-grade year if I would be interested in high school at Mount Saint Joseph Academy, I instantly said “yes”! I had no clue what was in store, had only been away from home one night in my life prior to that. It was only in preparations to attend MSJ that I got to meet, know and come to deeply love the “phantom” aunt! She witnessed great dedication to Religious Life, love of community and deep devotion to prayer.
My first retreat, January of my freshmen year, had a profound impact on me and it was far more clear that I had to test the calling. So in my senior year, I inquired with the community superior and entered the following fall after graduating in June.
In meeting with my parents, Sr. Mary Boniface, and my parish priest, it became clear that the only assurance I would have as to the validity of my perceived call was twofold: a peaceful contentment and an invitation by the community itself. Both of these were fulfilled as the formation years unfolded.
The more I reflect, the greater the humility, gratitude and joy I experience knowing the tremendous gift of grace this vocation is and realizing how faithful is our God.
My daily ministry with at-risk students continues to both challenge and fulfill my efforts to serve. So many of today’s youth flounder within their peer, family, and community cultures. I listen, care and help as I am able.
Our/my most important service is to stand honestly before my God, daily, seeking that intimacy of unity we strive for as “Spouses of Christ," i.e. contemplative presence which witnesses to all we meet and serve that the Kingdom of Christ is among us.
