Sr. Bridget

“O take me into your school, my beloved Master, for I want so much to learn from You.  Grant me grace and strength for this.”  Mother Pauline, Retreat 1853

These words of our foundress, Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt, have followed me through my religious life.  On the first day of the postulancy, as I began my journey in excitement, but also full of questions over what was to come, I was lovingly advised to commit these words to memory.  I entered the postulancy after college, and though I had discerned that God might be calling me to religious life, I still was apprehensive about exactly what this call might mean.  As I learned and grew, as a postulant and then a novice and then after making first and final vows, I saw God’s call change and deepen in my life as my relationship with Him grew.

Throughout my time as a Sister of Christian Charity, these words have played over in my head.  I am in His school as I learn from the many wise Sisters in my community.  Jesus, the beloved Master, has taught me through countless people and situations how I can try to form my life more closely to His.  I have the great joy of serving Him in His little ones as a teacher myself, which reminds me to follow the example and guidance of the divine Teacher. 

A vocation, any vocation, but particularly a vocation to religious life, is not an answer, but an entrance into an education- we are taught how to become the person God is calling us to be.  My vocation is a gift, and I am thankful for it every day, as I continue to learn the meaning of God’s call to be a Sister of Christian Charity.