Last weekend the sisters had their Come and See experience at Sacred Heart. "Come and see what?" you may wonder. Many people asked me in the last month, "What exactly is a 'Come and See'?" For those of you unfamiliar with the need to promote vocation, some religious orders have been offering overnight/weekend experiences to invite people interested in learning about them (who, what, where, why, etc.) into their community. The sisters held one of these a few years back, and this one, held appropriately my year (no comments, please!), was a weekend to bring back the MSC (Missionary Sistesrs of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) Come and See.
Many of you may know that the senior sister residence of the MSCs has become like my second home in New York, and while I was excited to spend a night at their convent, I was also asking myself, "Come and see what?" One of the senior sisters even said, "You three (Crys, Michelle, and me)? You're already in!" True, I've already come and seen...these are my girls! The mission corps has given me the opportunity to come and see for the last 8 months! But, I entered the weekend with an open mind, and sure enough, I got more than I had bargained for.
One of the beautiful things about the MSCs is the way that the promote vocation, not just religious vocation, but call. The weekend focused primarily on being open to where our walk with Christ is leading, and getting to know Him in our lives. After an evening of prayer and faith sharing, we watched a 45min video clip of Sr. Helen Prejean, before watching Dead Man Walking, the film based on her book written about her ministry with prisoners on death row. The clip of Sr. Helen Prejean was simply breath taking. The way that she articulated her faith journey and conversion to minister, even as a vowed sister. It took her 20 years before she realized the importance of being in solidarity with the people that she was serving. It was an inspiring testimony to what the Gospel calls us to....often to controversy. We watched this and Dead Man Walking as an example of an active sister. The movie...WOW. Have you ever seen it?! When it came out, I wasn't old enough to see it. I had not seen it before, but I haven't reacted to a movie in that way in years! It is an incredibly honest account of the need for human dignity in our society!
That night, I got to sleep in the same room with the girls, which we LOVED! :) The next day we had breakfast with the sisters and met to spend time in prayer with the idea of Jesus calling us. "Come and See, Come and eat, Come and find rest, Come and I will make you fishers of men." We also spent time with our own faith journeys...I have gone through my faith journey here more times than ever, but every time I learn something more about where God has been, or how persistent Jesus was with me!
We then had mass and lunch with the sisters. We had a PowerPoint presentation on the MSCs, and then closed with prayer with the senior sisters and dinner. I didn't think that I needed to Come and See. The experience allowed me to come and pray, but also to spend some time with the sisters prefaced with vocation. It was very life-giving to spend time in conversation with them about when the entered, what let them to Cabrini, and what their advice was for me as someone looking at vowed religious life. I learned a lot, and as I love being there, decided to stay another night! Migue, the applicant, was headed home, so I took when with her in commute to Queens so we could talk. We talked the whole way back, and I stayed at her apt for a while. It was a great opportunity for me to check in with someone that has already applied, and it was very confirming of where I am in my life right now. I am so close! I just need to pray, pray and pray some more! Conversations with God and others, as well as openness to the Spirit will get me going in the right direction! Thanks for the prayers, they are definitely helping!
On my way home I fell asleep on the train in Queens, went through Manhattan (supposed to get off the last stop in Man.), and woke up in Brooklyn...Mary! I needed to wait for a train to come back uptown, and then take a bus downtown to the convent! Lesson learned: do not fall asleep on the train!
Peace, blessings and prayers for all! :) Happy Easter still!! :)
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