Sr. Jennifer Raimo's Vocation Story

I grew up in a wonderful family, which dutifully enrolled me in a Catholic school for nine years and made sure I attended mass every Sunday, whether I wanted to or not. As soon as I was old enough, I stopped going to church and stayed away for about six years. After that, I was surprised to discover just how much my faith means to me. In addition to Sunday Mass, I found myself watching a lot of EWTN and reading books about the Catholic faith. One thing that I took into consideration when I was looking at law schools a year later was whether or not the school had a Catholic club.

It was toward the end of my first year of law school that I was struck with the idea of becoming a nun. One night, when I was praying, I started thinking about how I love God. Then this thought that I should be nun just kind of jumped into my head. I instinctively knew that the thought was not my own and tried to fight it. I had lots of reasons why I couldn't possibly be a nun. I especially had concerns because I've already left once before, but there were other reasons, too.

God wouldn't take “I can't” for an answer and the thought returned to me often and presented itself more forcefully each night. By the time I started my third year of law school, I was hardly sleeping at all because I would be up late either thinking about how I couldn't pursue a vocation, looking at vocation-oriented websites, or just begging God not to ask me to be a nun. Then I would wake up during the night still thinking about how I simply can't do this and God needs to ask someone else.

Eventually, God's pestering won out and I started posting some very panicked messages on a vocation listserve. I was fortunate that the right people found those messages and were kind enough to tell me about things like vocation retreats and spiritual directors. My anonymous online buddies were there supporting me every step of the way and helped me voice my nun thoughts in real time once I was ready to do so.

It was also through the internet that I found the Sisters of Saint John the Baptist. I was jealous that many of my online friends were planning trips to various convents and wanted to go, too. So, I ran an internet search for discernment weekends specifically looking for a weekend that fell during my spring break from school. The Sisters of Saint John the Baptist happened to fit the criteria and were somewhat local. It's a five to six hour drive, but they're in New Jersey and I've been making Jersey runs my whole life.

I was very impressed with the Sisters from the moment I first met them. The vocation director was actually waiting for me at the door to take me to a diocesan discernment meeting for men and women. By the time I had to leave I was bouncing off the walls for sheer joy and looking at the calendar to figure out when would be my next opportunity to visit.

I cannot tell you why I want to be a Sister of Saint John the Baptist. It's certainly something I thought would never happen to me. My friends and family who remember the old days were quite shocked when the news of my nun thoughts broke out. I can only tell you that I love the way it makes me feel and, even then I can't explain it very well. When I am with the Sisters, I am extra happy just to be alive. I feel like I can do anything I will ever want to do no matter how far-fetched it is. It's perfectly normal that I like to spend a lot of time at church and at prayer. Most importantly, I feel more at home there than I do in the house where I've been living for the last four years.

As for my ministry as a Sister, I do not know what that will be. There are no lawyer-Sisters in the community I've chosen. We do not know what the community will decide to do with my legal training. Maybe I'll be a civil lawyer representing the poor. Maybe I'll be a canon lawyer. Maybe I'll give up law altogether and try something totally different. It really doesn't matter to me. There will always be a ministry or job of some type. Most likely more than a few will come my way. What really matters to me is that I fulfill that obligation as a Sister of Saint John the Baptist.

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