Professing my love for the Lord

When I arrived at Florida State University (FSU) in the fall of 2008, I found myself asking the question, “Do I really need God in my life?”

As I searched for an answer during those first few weeks as a freshman, God broke into my life through the Catholic Student Union (CSU) and the Brotherhood of Hope.

About six weeks later, my new CSU friends and the Brothers invited me to a retreat that would change my life forever. I encountered the love of the living God in a powerful way through Eucharistic adoration, a return to the sacraments, and the guidance of the Brothers.

God rescued me from a life without Him. Through the Brothers’ witness, God showed me He loved me and that He is the answer to every question and longing in my heart.

Following my formation by the Brothers at FSU, I served as a missionary with them for three years at the Catholic Center at Rutgers University where I continued my discernment. I remember attending Br. Parker’s final vows during that time and feeling deep in my soul that I wanted to lay down my life for the love of Him in that same way.

I could never have taken any step in discerning my vocation as a religious sister in the Family of Jesus in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, without the Brothers’ “Yes.”

To have five Brothers join with my community at my final vows in the jungles of Peru on February 17 was a treasure I will never forget. It was truly a foretaste of heaven as we prayed together, celebrated together, and ministered to the people of our nearby mission church in Triunfo together. It was a week filled with grace because hope and healing–the charism of the Family of Jesus community–are a powerful combination in building the Kingdom of Heaven.

I pray my life will bring the Brothers great joy and encouragement because through them I have truly heard the voice of my Bridegroom (John 3:29). I pray that their joy, like the joy of John the Baptist, be complete because I now belong completely to Jesus and He to me.