To be “simply ready”- to be ready and willing to do whatever God calls us to do- is an often quoted saying of our foundress, Mother M. Anselma. I’ve experienced this to a small extent in the last six months as a Sister. As a canonical novice, I expected to be quietly working in housekeeping, the refectory (dining room), or somewhere else within the novitiate. Instead, I have found myself working in professed housekeeping, helping in the chapel, helping guests, and often doing other random things that need to be accomplished. Through these experiences, I’ve learned that part of being a Sister is to truly be “simply ready” to put aside whatever I had planned or thought I was going to be doing to answer God’s call through what the community and one’s superiors are asking me to do at that moment.The past six months I’ve been blessed to see Mother Anselma’s call to be “simply ready” lived out on the much broader scale of our world-wide community. I’ve seen many of our Sisters who are originally from the U.S. come home briefly for a variety of reasons. They’re now living and working in other provinces or regions of the world ranging from Brazil to Rome. I’ve also seen four of our Sisters willingly answer the call to start a new convent in Havana, Cuba, not knowing what to expect. The lesson I’ve learned from seeing the response of all these Sisters, from a variety of backgrounds, is that we never know what path God is going to call us to walk but we have to be ready to respond “yes” out of love. In the words of Sister M. Hannah, currently serving in Japan, “Don’t set limits. Allow God to give you the strength and ability to do what He’s calling you to accomplish.”
- Sr. Karol Marie, 1st year novice
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