Vocation Story

Let me tell you a little story.

I know of a little girl who at an early age knew precisely what she wanted in life. Her dreams abound and she was determined to make them come true. She was a typical girl of her age, full of pranks and hard headed most of the times. This attitude put her in no less a number of times at odds with the Sisters at school. Her “not so edifying” experience with the Sisters at school led her to believe that she will never become a nun and never in her life will she aspire to become one.

Vocation stories fascinate me. I remember listening to a nun back in high school who shared with us her vocation story. How she could leave behind a promising career and a loving boyfriend as well as the prospect of a blissful married life was beyond me. I thought then that she was really incredible.

Now, several years after that audience with the sister, I knew better.

I have experienced being asked many times, (by young and old alike) the reason why I became a religious. Even if I try to answer as simply as I could, still the question persists. I guess it is so because to many of us religious vocation is still a mystery.

The call of God is really a mystery even to those whom he calls. When I experience some difficulties understanding my own vocation, I look up the different personages in the Bible like Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Blessed Mother, and draw inspiration and strength from their own experience of the call. I listen and reflect on the vocation stories of my own sisters in the community whose wealth of experience has become a fountain source for me.

The month of September (as vocation month) offers an opportunity for our young people to reflect on the direction their life is taking. Perhaps this is also a time for them to listen more intently to the stirrings deep within their heart and allow the Spirit to lead them where God wants them to.

A friend once asked me why I chose to enter my present congregation instead of another one. Was it clear to me from the beginning that it was the congregation I really wanted to become a part of? I said yes.

I guess it happens that sometimes we are assailed with doubts. We are not 100% sure whether this is the right community and the right apostolate for us. But then we have different experiences. God deals with us differently. One thing I am sure is that we really hit it right if we are happy and at peace with what we do, wherever we are.

Hey, you might wonder what happened to that girl in the story. Did she become a nun after all? What do you think?