Abigail

enthusiasm, and passion. From a young age, I have been driven by a pursuit of truth and a desire for meaning and purpose, though as a child I didn’t realize it was God for whom I was searching. All the longings in my heart would ultimately find their fulfillment in Him. At the end of high school, this pursuit of truth led me to discover the depth and beauty of the Catholic faith.

My newfound faith brought me to Wyoming Catholic College, a liberal arts school with an emphasis on experiential education. Through reading the Great Books and considering the eternal questions of how to live the good life, my mind was formed by the good, the true, and the beautiful. Wyoming Catholic College’s rigorous Theology program, passionate professors, and the companionship of loyal friends all supported me in my personal growth and encounter with the truth.

Towards the end of my freshman year, my relationship with Christ was forever transformed when I began to understand how deeply He loves me and that He desires a relationship with me that is personal and intimate. Wyoming Catholic College offers an integrated formation, immersed in the Western tradition and grounded in reality, through the coursework and community life in addition to the outdoor leadership program. There, I was formed as a whole human person—intellectually, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Through experiencing trips in the wilderness as both a participant and instructor, I began to recognize how love requires sacrifice. The experience of being knocked over by the power of the wind and stunned by the beauty of a mountaintop requires climbing up on your own two, tired feet. These formative experiences helped me understand the nature of sacrifice and of freedom.

After graduating from college, I joyfully entered the world of teaching. In Edwards, Colorado, where I began my work as a teacher, my principal and several of my colleagues were sisters from the Religious Sisters of Mercy (Alma, MI). One of the greatest gifts during that time was my mentor, one of the sisters. I was moved by the love she showed me and the sincerity and joy with which she lived. This time was precious. The Lord knew that being in close proximity with the sisters would be an opportunity for me to look within my own heart and grow in receptivity and openness to the idea of a vocation to religious life.

I have a strong memory of kneeling in Mass one October morning. I was in the small school chapel alongside the priest and the five religious sisters. Kneeling with the sisters, I felt something shift within me. There was a harmony between my external, physical reality of kneeling alongside the sisters, and my interior, spiritual reality. A new vocational desire had emerged in my heart. Once I acknowledged this desire, the Lord showered me with affirmation of the call and abundant grace. It was right at that moment in my discernment, that it felt like my life came to a halt. My mom’s health crisis led to the upheaval of the life I loved as I moved home to care for my mother, who was facing an advanced cancer diagnosis. I suddenly found myself driving from Colorado to New Hampshire to care for my mom and support my family A few months later, after finding my mom unconscious due to a seizure, I sat by her bed in an ICU, thinking longingly of my call to religious life, which now seemed incompatible with my present reality.

My mom’s condition stabilized and as I began to re-enter the profession of teaching, it was with great joy that I discovered the call from Jesus was still present, stronger than ever. During my time of healing from some of those difficult experiences, the Lord gave me special grace. Not only did I delight in the excitement of the call to religious life, but Jesus gave me deep peace and security. I knew that this was spousal love and He was inviting me to be His bride. I then entered more deeply into a period of discernment. I continued to hear His voice echo within the depths of my being. Giving my whole life to Him and Him alone is how God made my heart to love. After experiencing several different religious communities, the Lord showed me that I was called to be a Franciscan.

This deepening of my identity was felt both interiorly and exteriorly, as I was moved by the sisters’ ministry in solidarity with the poor. My discernment continued to reveal to me not only more about Christ, but also about myself; I witnessed the resonance between how God made my heart to love and the way in which the community lived. His love is always a gift, but it was an especially poignant gift to receive such clarity and certainty.

I was deeply comfortable with the sisters and immediately felt at home, with a strong sense of peace. I was moved by their charism of crucified love and the way in which the sisters lived with such joy and gratitude, accompanied by a profound understanding of suffering and the fittingness of a life of penance. I was continually struck by the Lord’s tenderness and gentleness with which He invited me to enter into deeper, spousal love. I too wanted to offer my life with Christ as a holocaust of love.

The path to my vocation was deeply Marian and rooted in the adventurous act of running towards the Lord, moved by His overpowering, overflowing love. We don’t get to choose when and where we fall in love, and it is at Our Lady of Sorrows Monastery, in the Father of Mercy Chapel, on Valentine’s Day of 2024 that I fell fiercely in love with Him and knew where He was calling me to spend my life. The experience of falling in love has been a deepening of my identity and a gift to discover the fullness of how I was made to love. I am overjoyed to have been accepted into entrance with the community and I recognize the love which can be born out of the sacrifice of giving Him my all. With joy, I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store as He has called me to be his bride, and continues to invite me into His infinite love.