SR. RACHEL'S VOCATION STORY
SR. SARAH'S VOCATION STORY
SR. LAURA'S VOCATION STORY
THE ALMIGHTY HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR ME.
My life is marked by the Lord's faithfulness and His promise of fulfillment. I was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and my family needed to travel all around the Middle East as a way to emigrate to America. By the time I was 16 my family had lived in six different countries and we spoke three different languages. All along, I thought my life was normal. Growing up in the midst of wars I had a functional relationship with God: I prayed when I needed protection or had other urgent needs. Moving to ‘safe’ America, meant I didn't pray much, because the dangers weren't so obvious.
Then, I encountered the Lord in a powerful way in college. A priest was available to/asked me if he could pray over me for a stirring of the Holy Spirit. He led me through a prayer of surrender and my life (literally) changed. One of the fruits of that 3-minute prayer was an openness to discern my vocation. I developed a strong daily prayer pattern, regularly met with a spiritual director and got to know a community of beautiful, down-to-earth sisters. The realization that I might be called to religious life was terrifying. However, as the Lord continued to tug I realized this was not just a sacrificial offering but a gift of love. Eventually I realized that my ‘yes!’ to Him is out of love not sacrifice. I finally saw that this call ought to fill my life with joy. Up to that point I had given the Lord a sliver of my life and He blessed it abundantly, what would happen if I gave Him all!? Today, I confidently echo Our Blessed Mother's proclamation ‘The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is His name,’ (Luke 1:49).
(Sr. Lisa Zelfa)
Then, I encountered the Lord in a powerful way in college. A priest was available to/asked me if he could pray over me for a stirring of the Holy Spirit. He led me through a prayer of surrender and my life (literally) changed. One of the fruits of that 3-minute prayer was an openness to discern my vocation. I developed a strong daily prayer pattern, regularly met with a spiritual director and got to know a community of beautiful, down-to-earth sisters. The realization that I might be called to religious life was terrifying. However, as the Lord continued to tug I realized this was not just a sacrificial offering but a gift of love. Eventually I realized that my ‘yes!’ to Him is out of love not sacrifice. I finally saw that this call ought to fill my life with joy. Up to that point I had given the Lord a sliver of my life and He blessed it abundantly, what would happen if I gave Him all!? Today, I confidently echo Our Blessed Mother's proclamation ‘The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is His name,’ (Luke 1:49).
(Sr. Lisa Zelfa)
MAY I DO THE SAME!
“No,” I said, as I closed the door on the young woman, a college hallmate I barely recognized. She had just spoken her first and last words to me on moving out day: “Are you going to be a nun?” Absolutely not and whatever made you ask!
I met The Servants of God’s Love when I transferred from that school (Northern Michigan University) to U-M in 1976. Faith in God had accompanied me in childhood, and in my teens I encountered Jesus more personally through the Holy Spirit. But consecrated life had truly never occurred to me.
Still, as I grew in my relationship with God, there had been internal whisperings, thoughts that in hind sight were invitations from the Holy Spirit but in the moment, received without understanding. Finally, in the very early 80s, after several back and forth years of attempting to discern God’s will for my life, I asked one of the sisters about the possibility of joining. I was told they had just accepted a large group of candidates and so there was “no room in the inn.” Case closed. I moved on.
But my heart, I found over the next few years, was not at peace. In 1985 I went back to the sisters. “What do you want?” Sr. Ann Shields asked after several meetings. “Listen to your heart.” I went home frustrated. How do I do that? Luke 14:26-33 three times from different sources in a 24-hour period. An inner voice saying, “The people need me,” followed by the certainty that my life had been asked for. These seemed like clues to God’s desires. But after toggling back and forth so many times, I struggled to discover my own.
In His mercy, the Lord finally broke it down for me: If the answer to “should I?” was yes, and the answer to “could I?” was yes, then the answer to “would I?” would be . . .? Slowly my “yes” crystalized, though still cerebral. But the following morning my heart found its song and cried out, “I do, I do, I do want it!”
As I gratefully pursued joining the sisters, I remembered an earlier experience. After a picnic with friends, one of them, a priest, invited me to play a “blind man’s game” on our way out of the rather large and hilly park. He would lead me blindfolded, using only his voice. To my surprise, it was remarkably difficult to discern his location, but I trusted him so I kept taking steps. Eventually we emerged and found ourselves in a residential neighborhood where I began to head into the street. He, of course, stopped me. I recognized in this an image of how hard discernment can sometimes seem, as well as the need to just take the next step, trusting our good God to guide and protect us.
Opening the door to living as a Servant of God’s Love is a decision I have never regretted. It’s an ideal way for me to make a gift of my life, both to God and to others. Jesus is a wonderful Spouse, but not always an easy one. However, He does always live in that “I do” moment. May I do the same!
(Sr. Stacy Whitfield)
YES!
I first heard the Lord speak to me when I was on a retreat as a senior in high school; His words to me were words of direction and conviction. I realized through this experience that God did exist and He had an interest in how I was living my life. Unfortunately this wasn't enough for me to"keep up" my faith and so, once I was in college, I was a fair-weather Catholic with very little interest in God.
Thankfully this did not stop Him from reaching out to me. When I was 20 I had quit full time school and was working as a receptionist. I was invited to a weekend conference for Christian young adults, to which I reluctantly went. The first night of the conference I cut out of the events and ended up with others who didn't want to be there, ready to have our own fun. The next day I was miserable, I didn't want to be there yet I hated that I felt like such an outsider. The activities that day led me to realize more and more the distance I had created between myself and God. That evening I was deeply moved as I watched young women do an interpretive dance about "just saying Yes" to the Lord, I was particularly moved at how free they were. In my heart of hearts, and possibly even out loud, I said "Yes". Immediately I was in tears and in search of a priest. After over an hour of confession and spiritual direction I emerged from reconciliation a transformed person, with an enormous joy in my heart that I had been found.
Returning home the Lord was ready to move me, quickly. Through a “coincidence” a job with a Christian software company opened up and pursued me, so I could quit my job. I moved into a house of vocational discernment for young women, joined a women's group and bible study and soon had an entire network of solid Christian friends. Thus also started my year of being "single for a season" to give myself the space I needed to establish life as a young Catholic woman. Having never been comfortable being “single” before, I found myself thoroughly enjoying spending my free moments in prayer and in Christian fellowship.
A year and a half after moving into St Catherine’s House I was ready to hear the Lord's invitation to religious life. I had come to realize that He had a great desire for me and for my salvation, and I had learned to trust Him. I would pray in our Eucharistic chapel at St Catherine's House every day "Bring to fulfillment the good work you have begun in me, O
Lord." I had submitted my will to His Love.
On the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, through a word of prophecy by the pastor of Christ the King, I heard Jesus' invitation to be His bride as a Servant of God's Love. This was also the eve of Mother’s Day that year and Fr Ed’s word specifically stated that 5 vocations to the SGL were as a gift from Our Lady. Three marvelous months later I moved into the Servants of God's Love Motherhouse and began my time of formation.
I have never regretted saying Yes to the Lord, it is such an adventure! I have been blessed beyond measure and experienced a lavishness that God the Father has desired to bless me with. As a sister in a charismatic community I have had daily opportunities to ask the Holy Spirit to come even more into my heart, as I prepare myself for the wedding feast of the Lamb. Joining my journey has been the Blessed Virgin Mary; she has taken me by the hand and taught me how to be a woman of God. I owe very much to her guidance and intercession. I continue to be amazed and delighted in the work of God as He moves in my life. (Sr. Rachel Benjamin)
Thankfully this did not stop Him from reaching out to me. When I was 20 I had quit full time school and was working as a receptionist. I was invited to a weekend conference for Christian young adults, to which I reluctantly went. The first night of the conference I cut out of the events and ended up with others who didn't want to be there, ready to have our own fun. The next day I was miserable, I didn't want to be there yet I hated that I felt like such an outsider. The activities that day led me to realize more and more the distance I had created between myself and God. That evening I was deeply moved as I watched young women do an interpretive dance about "just saying Yes" to the Lord, I was particularly moved at how free they were. In my heart of hearts, and possibly even out loud, I said "Yes". Immediately I was in tears and in search of a priest. After over an hour of confession and spiritual direction I emerged from reconciliation a transformed person, with an enormous joy in my heart that I had been found.
Returning home the Lord was ready to move me, quickly. Through a “coincidence” a job with a Christian software company opened up and pursued me, so I could quit my job. I moved into a house of vocational discernment for young women, joined a women's group and bible study and soon had an entire network of solid Christian friends. Thus also started my year of being "single for a season" to give myself the space I needed to establish life as a young Catholic woman. Having never been comfortable being “single” before, I found myself thoroughly enjoying spending my free moments in prayer and in Christian fellowship.
A year and a half after moving into St Catherine’s House I was ready to hear the Lord's invitation to religious life. I had come to realize that He had a great desire for me and for my salvation, and I had learned to trust Him. I would pray in our Eucharistic chapel at St Catherine's House every day "Bring to fulfillment the good work you have begun in me, O
Lord." I had submitted my will to His Love.
On the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, through a word of prophecy by the pastor of Christ the King, I heard Jesus' invitation to be His bride as a Servant of God's Love. This was also the eve of Mother’s Day that year and Fr Ed’s word specifically stated that 5 vocations to the SGL were as a gift from Our Lady. Three marvelous months later I moved into the Servants of God's Love Motherhouse and began my time of formation.
I have never regretted saying Yes to the Lord, it is such an adventure! I have been blessed beyond measure and experienced a lavishness that God the Father has desired to bless me with. As a sister in a charismatic community I have had daily opportunities to ask the Holy Spirit to come even more into my heart, as I prepare myself for the wedding feast of the Lamb. Joining my journey has been the Blessed Virgin Mary; she has taken me by the hand and taught me how to be a woman of God. I owe very much to her guidance and intercession. I continue to be amazed and delighted in the work of God as He moves in my life. (Sr. Rachel Benjamin)
Sr. Laura's story
"Having grown up in Christ the King Catholic Church in the Diocese of Lansing, it was a great joy for me to also make my Profession of Perpetual Vows with the Servants of God’s Love at my home parish in 2015! It was in this parish family that I first encountered the power of the Holy Spirit and entered into relationship with Christ through the reception of the Sacraments and attending Pine Hills Camp. It was also in this faith community that I first began to consider religious life. In LifeTeen, my youth minister encouraged me to ask the question, “What vocation does the Lord have for me?”
As a child, I dreamed of being married and having a large family, much like the family I grew up in. It was hard to imagine doing anything else, being anything else than a wife and mother. I saw (and still see!) the beauty of the vocation of marriage and asked the Lord if He had that for me. His answer surprised me: “Would you be open to whatever I ask of you? Even if it’s not marriage?” This startled me, but with this question, God poured out grace upon me to trust in His goodness. Several years later, as I finished college, the Lord invited to me “come and see.” Arise, my love, my fair one and come away (Song of Songs 2:13). He asked me to discern religious life more seriously by living as a postulant with the Servants of God’s Love. Since I entered in 2009, He has faithfully wooed my heart. Jesus patiently and faithfully showed me Himself as well as who He has created to me be. It is like He’s slowly turned on a light in my heart, that I may see Him more clearly for who He is and that I may come to see that He is inviting to a marriage that I couldn’t have dreamed of-- to a marriage with God Himself. He daily pours out grace upon me that I may respond to Him as fully as possible! What immeasurable joy and gift He has bestowed upon me!"
(Sr. Laura Pressprich)
One thing I ask for
As a teen, the Lord gave me a very strong desire to be His servant, and the call to follow Him had been a constant echo in my heart. I responded by telling the Lord, 'I just want to serve you. It doesn't matter how, or in what way.' Although I said those words, I never thought that I would be serving the Lord as a religious sister. See, I already had an agenda for my life. I wanted to go to college, get a decent job, get my own home, fall in love, get married, have beautiful children, and then serve the Lord with my family doing missionary work in a foreign country. However, God is truly full of surprises and He definitely had other plans for my life - as wonderful as my plans sounded to me. Before I began to hear God's call to be a sister, I dated several different guys. Still, I began to have a real thirst and a longing for more of God in my life. I decided that I wanted the Lord to be the center of my life and I wanted to be completely committed to Him instead of to another relationship. I grew tired of being a half-hearted and complacent Christian and also weary of giving God second best when He deserved far more. In college, I often found myself asking, 'how can I give my heart to someone else when I had not completely given my heart and my love to the Lord?' It became apparent to me that Christ needed to come first before everyone and everything. I needed to love Him with my whole heart, mind and soul. It was during this time of earnestly seeking the Lord's will that He began to reveal His plan for me. At a prayer group meeting, I received prayer specifically to know God's direction and will for my life. That day began my discernment process. Jeremiah 29:12-14 states: "When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me, yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you says the Lord." Two of my friends who prayed with me that night had a sense that I had a vocation to religious life. I was totally shocked but I decided to ask the Lord for confirmation of this call. He continued to reveal that this was His will for me. While I was in awe at first, my excitement quickly faded as I thought of all that I would have to give up: family, friends, my freedom, my wants, my desires and my will, but God was truly gracious and continued to speak to my heart beckoning me to "follow Him." During this time the scripture verse that constantly spoke to my heart was Mk 8:34, "...whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." God brought me to a point where He gave me a choice to either choose marriage - which is truly a beautiful call - or religious life. With time, I got to a place where I could joyfully surrender an say "yes" to His call for me to be a sister. I was able to say with great conviction and joy, Ps 26:4 "One thing I ask for, one thing I seek to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the Lord's beauty." Many years I dreamt of having a fairy tale wedding and finding the ideal marriage partner. Yet Christ had been there all the time graciously waiting for me to give my "yes" to Him who is truly the most perfect gentleman. I want nothing more than to follow Christ all the days of my life where ever He leads and by His infinite grace to one day be His bride.
(Sr. Christina Frey)
The deepest desire of my heart
Most of my life has been spent in Ann Arbor, MI with the exception of four years at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH where I earned a BAS in Biology. I am 25 years old and for approximately 23 years I never considered (or wanted) a religious vocation. My identical twin sister joined a Franciscan order. When she joined the Franciscans, I was thrilled that even though we were identical twins, God could call us to completely different vocations. I was going to get married and have lots of kids. But God's plan was better than I had ever imagined. During the second half of 2000, I began spending more time with the Servants of God's Love. I liked being with them because they were a lot of fun and very holy. I was invited to live with them for the month of October. I accepted in order to be open to God's will for my life...and to determine once and for all that I did not have a religious vocation. To my great surprise, God's plan for the month was to woo me to Himself. "Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house; for the King will desire your beauty" (Ps. 45:10-11). Could it be that He loved me not only as a Father, but as a Spouse? I fell in love with Jesus in a way that I had never dreamed possible. After the month was over, I moved back home. It was clear to me that a love relationship with the Lord was something that He wants for each one of us, not only for religious sisters. So what did He want from me? I still had a desire to get married, but now I also wanted to be a sister and lavish my love on Him alone. After a few more months of prayer (agonizing at times), I realized that when I asked myself honestly what I wanted, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the Servants of God's Love. He made us and loves us and wants to give us the deepest desires of our hearts.
(Sr. Rebecca Mierendorf)
Our hearts are restless for Thee
It's true you know, what St. Augustine said. I know it's true because I lived a very restless life until the Lord broke through all my barriers and pierced my heart. Many of us are restless in our 20's and 30's. We are searching for something (or lots of things), that we think and hope will make us happy. The only problem is, happiness is fleeting. It isn't meant to last, it isn't a permanent state of being and it can be very elusive. What I was really looking for was peace and joy, but I had no idea. For me, my 20's and 30's were spent in a constant state of seeking out happiness. I worked myself progressively harder each year to become more and more successful. Success brought many rewards: recognition, control and bigger paychecks among the most sought after by me. The bigger paychecks meant I didn't have to deny myself anything...nice clothes, nice car wonderful vacations to Europe and Hawaii-all were within my grasp and all brought me happiness-for a time. The older I got the more pressure I put on myself to be in a relationship. High school and college friends were getting married and having children. I made being in a relationship a priority. I look back now and see how ridiculous this all is. Trying to manufacture or buy happiness cannot work. But I had no idea what could work. Until the day the Lord decided He had had enough of my plans and my career and my ideas and decided to show me what He had in store for me. Through a series of unrelated circumstances both the relationship I was so invested in and the career I had given up everything for were in jeopardy. It eventually became apparent that neither were going to be a permanent part of my life. The thought of losing the things that truly meant the most to me was absolutely terrifying. And then the Lord intervened. In His great mercy, He used His secret weapon on me...His Mother. Through Mary, I came to know and experience unconditional love. Then, she gave me to her Son ,introduced me to her Spouse and brought me to the Father. And I found the joy I had been searching for my entire adult life. But I was still restless, why, I wondered, as I realized all that God had for me and reveled in the joy of a deepening relationship with Him, was I restless? I began spending more of my time praying. I loved the rosary because I love Mary so much. I became a Perpetual Adoration Adorer and I was Baptized in the Holy Spirit. I was filled to the brim with joy...why not peace? As I continued to turn to the Lord in prayer, I felt a deeper call. A real yearning was building in me to give everything, all I had, all I am, all I ever would be to the Lord. "But," I would ask myself, "what does that mean?" It meant that the Lord was drawing me ever deeper into an intimacy and a union with Him that I was very attracted to. I began to think about the Consecrated life and wonder if that was how to yield myself to the Lord more fully. I spent about 18 months taking my time researching and visiting communities. There are so many communities and so many charisms! But I wanted God to choose where I should "be planted" so to speak. It was sometimes frustrating, making plans, buying plane tickets, spending time with sisters from different communities and knowing at the end of the weekend, this wasn't the right place. Finally, in May of 1998 I came to Ann Arbor to visit The Servants of God's Love. I arrived on a Thursday late afternoon and went right to the Motherhouse. As the evening drew to a close, most all of the sisters went to bed. I sneaked down into the chapel. It was so peaceful to sit there in the presence of Jesus, knowing He had a plan for my life. Before I could even ask a question, as soon as I knelt before Him, He said, "Your heart is home." Ah, the peace. And He was right I was home. On Tuesday, September 14, 2004 I professed Final Vows to the Lord in the presence of our Superior and the Bishop of the Diocese of Lansing Michigan. Also present were my sisters, my family and our friends. First the joy, then the peace. My restless heart is home.
(Sr. Mary Ann Foggin)
(Sr. Mary Ann Foggin)
Drawn by Christ
Recently I was reading a collection of vocation stories written by priests from our diocese. It made me think about my own vocation to religious life. As I reflected, I realized: Christ "proposed" to me when I was five. He invited me to be His bride at that tender age. Of course, at the time, those are not the words that I would have put around it. What I experienced back then was simply a strong desire to be a Sister like my first-grade teacher-not because I wanted to be a teacher like her or dress like her. There was something about her and that something--or more accurately, that Someone--was drawing me. My heart was being drawn by Christ, to give myself totally to Him. That desire stayed with me all through grade school. At the time, it was a common practice in Catholic elementary schools for any visiting priests or religious to ask any class they were visiting if anyone was interested in entering religious life. In first grade, we all raised our hands in response! But by my last year of grade school, I was the only one still raising my hand. The next year found me entering the order that taught at our school, as an aspirant (one who is looking to join). At thirteen I travelled across the country, far from where I grew up, in order to attend a private girls' school where I boarded as a part of a smaller group of girls, the aspirants. This was quite a change for me because I come from a very small town, lived on a farm, and my best friends were my five younger brothers. Up until then, I had never traveled farther than a couple of hours from home-so it was quite an adjustment to find myself living right outside a very large metropolitan city, far from my parents and brothers and having to travel home alone for the holidays - an 18 hour bus trip. This all happened in the throes of post-Vatican II upheaval in many religious orders, including the order I was aspiring to join. Through God's mysterious providence (which I could only see in hindsight) I decided to leave after my sophomore year. (There was a significant decline in the order, not just numerically, but spiritually as well.) Upon leaving, I pretty much closed the door to that path for my life. I dated in high school and college. Yet I would still periodically feel this tug at my heart from the Lord. . .but I had no clue what to do about it. During my junior year of college, I was having a conversation with a friend, a guy who was trying to discern between marriage--he was engaged at the time--and breaking the engagement in order to join a celibate brotherhood. As we were talking and he was sharing his desires for leaving all behind for God alone, it was as if that door that I had closed in high school was flung wide open again. I found myself saying internally: "This is what I want to do!" From the depths of my heart I was longing to be God's alone, to be His. I knew this is what I wanted, but was it what the Lord wanted as well? I spent months praying, talking, discerning, trying to seek His will. I still didn't feel like I knew what it was; the only thing I knew was my desire to live my life consecrated to Him alone was consuming me. One day as I was praying in the student chapel, asking the Lord again what was His will, I sensed Him saying in my heart: "You can trust the desires in your heart and say yes to them." I knew this was His answer to my prayers, and I knew what my reply to Him was: "Yes! Yes! Yes!" A couple of years ago when I celebrated twenty-five years of vowed life, I couldn't help thinking not just of those words that I had sensed in my heart from the Lord many years before, but also some words He spoke to my heart around the time of my 20th anniversary of profession: "I am yours and you are Mine." The desire He placed in my heart at five is still there 50 years later. It has grown and still consumes me, yet I know that His love for me is even more ardent. I have never regretted saying Yes to His proposal!
(Sr. Dorcee Clarey)
DISCERNMENT Q & A |