Unveiling The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary - Part 1

Jacinta: 00:00:00

Wait, is this recording?

Pax: 00:00:02

Welcome to the first season of Unveiled, a podcast series for girls and women of all ages, where we dive into the world of discernment.

Jacinta: 00:00:12

How long has this been recorded?

Claire: 00:00:14

Hello?

Claire: 00:00:15

Hello? Hello?

Jacinta: 00:00:16

Can you hear us?

Claire: 00:00:17

Hi.

Pax: 00:00:17

Unveiled is produced by Sharon Leyne, Karen Ewen and myself, Pax Ewen, in partnership with Arise Catholic Movement.

Claire: 00:00:24

You just need a feed of some sugar.

Jacinta: 00:00:26

As you can hear, we're clearly learning how to do this.

Pax: 00:00:30

Discover the beauty of discernment with your hosts, Jacinta Leyne and Claire Ewen.

Jacinta: 00:00:36

Take it from the top, people. Hey, everyone. We're so excited to bring you our first official episode of Unveiled.

Claire: 00:00:43

Woo.

Jacinta: 00:00:45

This is Jacinta, Claire and Pax, and we're so excited that you've tuned in today. When we launched our preview episode where you got to know us, the response was crazy.

We now have listeners in five different countries. Shout out to the listeners in India, Poland and Ireland. We also have tons in Canada and the U.S. so thanks for tuning in and getting to know us.

Yeah, special thanks to my dad, Colm Leyne, who figured out how to get us on all the platforms and started up our profile on Captivate fm. Has he earned the title of Producer? Honorary Producer, Platform Prodigy? I don't know. We'll figure it out.

Pax: 00:01:27

Yeah, it's pretty incredible. Just so you guys know, you can get all of our show notes on our website and podcast platforms.

Claire: 00:01:35

What are show notes?

Jacinta: 00:01:36

We have show notes.

Pax: 00:01:37

Yeah, so show notes are literally all the things pertaining to the episodes you've been listening to.

You can access the transcript from each episode, links and listing of all the websites, page, podcasts, and many, many, many books mentioned in each episode, as well as episode summaries. We will also have the featured religious community's website and contact info available to make our matchmaking endeavor that much easier.

Claire: 00:02:04

Okay, but where do we get that?

Pax: 00:02:06

Show notes can be found in the podcast player at the top of our website. arisecatholicmovement.ca/unveiled

Jacinta: 00:02:14

parents.

Jacinta: 00:02:15

If you can't find the notes, just ask your kids.

Claire: 00:02:18

There's no shame.

Jacinta: 00:02:20

I mean, there is a little bit, but like, not much.

Pax: 00:02:23

Not much.

Jacinta: 00:02:24

We won't shame you for asking.

Pax: 00:02:29

In our preview episode, we mentioned a newspaper and some people are wondering what that is, because would we really put a lost bookmark thing in the newspaper? Probably not. Jacinta, Claire and I, along with some of our homeschool friends, started a homeschool newspaper that we sent to friends and family.

So

Claire: 00:02:46

that's just what we were talking about and hopefully that clears things up for you.

Jacinta: 00:02:51

Yep, totally random. Sorry for the confusion. So, because we're all about the snacks on this show, we're gonna have our snack of the episode, I guess.

What's our snack of the day, guys?

Claire: 00:03:04

Popcorn.

Pax: 00:03:05

It is a little bit on the burnt side, but it's still great.

Jacinta: 00:03:09

I'll take the burnside as a win because I gave up snacks for Lent, so I am not enjoying this slightly burnt popcorn. How is your Lent going?

Claire: 00:03:20

Mine's going pretty good. I've kind of forgot a few times that I gave up books, but I am sticking to it.

Jacinta: 00:03:27

Mostly I followed Claire's amazing example and decided to also give up books. Thank you for being an amazing example, Claire.

Claire: 00:03:39

You're very welcome, Jacinta.

Pax: 00:03:42

I gave up books for the first half of the day, or at least until I'm done my schoolwork so that I can do more schoolwork and prayer in the mornings.

Jacinta: 00:03:50

I know it's been pretty hard without books. I definitely needed the Sunday.

Claire: 00:03:57

Well, I could have done the Sunday, but I decided if I did, I'd probably forget the next day and read the rest of the book. So I didn't want to start another.

Jacinta: 00:04:07

I just started and finished a book in one day.

Jacinta: 00:04:10

Oh, that was my solution. It's been pretty.

It

Pax: 00:04:16

has been hard for me with reading, with no reading until I'm done with schoolwork, because that means I have to focus more on my schoolwork. And there's no breaks in between because there's nothing to do. No reading. So it's school work until I'm done. So you mentioned the Sunday loophole.

Jacinta: 00:04:34

Yes, I did.

Jacinta: 00:04:38

So, yeah, we're curious to see who uses the Sunday loophole where you kind of take things easy and get a little reprieve from your Lent sacrifices. I know my mom doesn't, like, do the thing, but I do it as.

Pax: 00:04:57

A day of revival.

Claire: 00:04:58

Sometimes I just need to read books or a book. Yeah, unless you can read more than one book in a day.

Pax: 00:05:05

Okay. We are also curious if any of our listeners use the Sunday loophole.

So as a little bit of, like, a fun activity thing, we're gonna post a poll on our website and maybe on Facebook where you can click yes or no to say if you use the Sunday loophole.

Jacinta: 00:05:22

Yeah, we're curious to see how many of you guys are lazy.

Jacinta: 00:05:28

Like me.

Pax: 00:05:29

Not actually, because I use the Sunday loophole.

Jacinta: 00:05:31

So you're saying you're not lazy?

Pax: 00:05:33

That's right.

Jacinta: 00:05:35

Okay. Our definitions on what being lazy means on the Sunday loophole might be a little different. Yeah, but 40 days is a long time.

I need the loophole, especially for reading.

Pax: 00:05:49

Yeah. By that point it's.

Claire: 00:05:51

Has anyone ever thought about the biblical significance of the number 40?

Pax: 00:05:56

A little bit.

Claire: 00:05:57

I mean, like rain for 40 days and 40 nights with Noah, and then the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert. Weren't there some others, too?

Pax: 00:06:07

Yeah, I know Jesus fasted like in the desert for 40 days before he started his ministry. His ministry.

Jacinta: 00:06:15

And I think Moses fasted for 40 days before he received the Ten Commandments, right?

Pax: 00:06:19

Oh, yeah. 40 days and 40 nights.

Claire: 00:06:21

Well, and 40 is the official age. You get old. Sorry, sorry. To all the listeners ages 40 and up.

Pax: 00:06:31

You still got time, guys.

Jacinta: 00:06:33

My mom is cringing in the corner. That's what it is. You're 40, you're old.

Claire: 00:06:39

Just halfway.

Pax: 00:06:40

Admit it. Halfway to 80.

Jacinta: 00:06:42

Halfway to 80.

Pax: 00:06:44

So, okay, okay.

We could talk about our parents being 40 or about to be 40 all day, but we have to face reality and get started on our first episode of Unveiled as it's pretty long and it is a two parter.

Jacinta: 00:06:58

That's true. So we're super excited to introduce our very first official episode with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.

This one is a two parter and was filmed at a live event in Saskatoon at St. Anne's Parish. Show out to St. Anne's. Yay! So get your snacks, gather your girls, get comfy, and enjoy this first episode of Unveiled.

Pax: 00:07:25

First things first, I'd like to thank you all for coming to our kickoff and live recording of what will be our very first episode of Unveiled. Maybe your mom dragged you here today. Maybe you have no clue what this event is all about, or maybe you have an honest curiosity of religious life.

Either way, we are so happy you are here. We are very blessed to have Saskatoon Sisters of the Presentation of Mary community as our very first guest today.

Jacinta: 00:07:50

So first off, we would love to get to know each of you.

Like you to share with us who you are, where you grew up, and most importantly, totally on topic, what is the one thing you would bring if you were stuck on a deserted island for a year?

Sister April: 00:08:10

Okay.

Sister April: 00:08:10

My name is Sister April Miro and I was born and raised here in Saskatoon. And if I was stuck on a deserted island. That's a hard question. Okay, I think I'd bring the Bible. I'm glad I got to go first.

Sister Claudette: 00:08:31

I'm Sister Claudette Cassava. I was born and raised in a small town in Saskatchewan called Vaughan. If I was stuck on a.

An island, I was going to say exactly the same as Sister April. I'd bring a Bible, but maybe I would add.

I would bring what we call our rule of life, which is how we are called to live as Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.

It's sort of like our Bible as a Sister of the pm And I think I'd bring that if I couldn't bring my Bible unless I was on the island with Sister April.

Sister Viviane: 00:09:06

You could share. My name is Sister Vivian Garo. And I was raised in a small town in Bellevue, Saskatchewan. And if I was on an island, what would I bring?

I think I would bring. I would have to make sure I brought my pills because I wouldn't want to be sick, that I could stay healthy for a long time.

Sister Lucy: 00:09:38

I'm Sister Lucy Hamel. I was born in Edam, Saskatchewan, not far from the little town Sister Claudette mentioned. I was raised on a farm.

And it's obvious what I bring because I brought it today, my Bible, but I'd have to copy Sister Vivian, I need my pills, too.

Sister Zelie: 00:10:07

Well, I'm Sister Zelie, and I was brought up on a farm near Vaughan, Saskatchewan, which is the same place as Claudette and close to her. And if I was on an island, I would bring something. My Bible, my rosary, and something to make a fire.

Because everybody tells me that Zelie means zeal, and I try to live it.

Claire: 00:10:33

Sister Viviane and Sister Zelie, you mentioned that you grew up in the same town. Did you know each other?

Claire: 00:10:39

No. Sister Claudette?

Sister Zelie: 00:10:41

No. Sister Claudette was on her little tricycle running the streets. And I said, oh, my, she's lucky. And I was already in school.

That means you know how much older I am.

Sister Claudette: 00:10:54

And it's true. I did know Sister Zelie and I did know Sister Lucy. We went to the same school, and we did know each other.

It was a school where the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary taught. Almost every grade was taught by a Sister of the Presentation of Mary. And, yeah, we did know each other.

Jacinta: 00:11:15

What did you think you would be when you growed up, when you were like a young child? What did you want to be?

Sister Claudette: 00:11:22

Oh, I can answer that first, because the sisters taught in our school. When I was there, I would look at them and I'd say, my goodness, they have something special. They love children. They're full of life, full of joy.

They're always happy. I think I'd like to be like them. So I think that was the seed that was sown in my heart when I was very young.

Claire: 00:11:49

For myself, I was taught by the sisters, too, in Bellevue we had sisters. In fact, Sister Zelie was my teacher in grade seven. Yeah, yeah.

But, you know, for all my years that I was at school, I never taught once that I would be a sister. That never crossed my mind. I always thought I would be married and have children. I love babies. I love children.

So I always thought I would be a mother. But one thing is that I always wanted to be with a teacher. That's from even when I was in grade 1, 2, 3, I used to play school.

I put all my dolls on the bed because I didn't have sisters. My sisters were quite older than me and my brothers were not interested. But I would play school, and that's one thing I always did.

So, of course, when it came time to be a sister, it was just automatic that I would join a teaching order because I was going to teach. That was my dream, to be a teacher. Yeah.

Sister Lucy: 00:12:52

As a young child, I wanted to be a mother. I had younger siblings and my dolls were real. I didn't have to play with a doll because I had a real one. And yes, I really wanted to be a mother.

But what else I would be? I don't think I thought of that very much.

Sister Zelie: 00:13:15

Well, I was the oldest of seven, so I had responsibilities on the farm. And since the boy was the third one, I was my father's helper on the farm.

So I worked a lot, milking the cows, working in the fields, pitching the hay and everything else. But then when I grew up and I was a teenager and older, I was thinking of marriage and I wanted to have 12 children. And I had a boyfriend.

And in the year before we moved to the city, I asked my parents if I could go a border at the convention because I had had the sisters for a teacher. And I was very impressed. And so they allowed me to be a boarder at the convent for one year before and to make decisions on the end.

Of course, they sold the farm, so my boyfriend bought the farm. So there we were all going to be settled if I got married. But then my life changed and I thought of religious life.

And I had to make a discernment during that time. So I went to the novitiate, and I really liked it, but I still had to think of what my future would be.

And so I would pray to the Lord and say, I feel I should get married, but I still feel I should become a sister. So I prayed for help.

And I know when, after my novitiate, that one year, we went on mission again, and they sent me back to my Hometown, where my boyfriend would look me up and down every day. And I said, no. I said, this is hard. They're putting me to the test anyways. And so when I went back, I said, okay, I still want to be a sister.

So I went to see a counselor, a religious counselor, and of course, had to tell him everything. And after I was all finished, he said, you definitely have both vocations.

Whatever vocation you choose will be correct because you have both vocations. So I decided I'm going to be a sister. And then I taught school for 49 years.

So in these school years, I taught some high school kids, and of course, they would always say, sister, didn't you want to get married? I said, yes, I did. I wanted to have 12 children, but do you know what? I've had a thousand already. And so they said, do you really love us that much?

And I said, yes, for myself.

Sister April: 00:15:52

I sometimes joke that I need 27 lives because I have so many interests. So depending on the year, I want it to be a different thing.

But when I was looking through my yearbook, I was telling some girls at the table over here, my mom had a yearbook with our picture, and, you know, who was our teacher and what was our favorite pet, and. And then at the end, what do you want to be when you grow up? And in grade four, I said, I want to be a preacher or a nun.

So I guess the seed was planted early.

Claire: 00:16:24

So what does a novitiate mean?

Sister April: 00:16:26

A novitiate is a full year that the church asks that a young person who wants to enter a religious community takes a full year of what we call formation, where they pray, they use the word of God, they come to learn what our rule of life is, what it means to be a sister of the Presentation of Mary. They come to know and love Marie Rivier. And it's a whole time of discerning. Is this really for me? They live the life of the sisters.

It's a time where they're sort of. How can I say? Taken out of the world into the culture of religious life and invited to live that for one full year.

And at the end of the novitiate, then, like Sister Zelie mentioned, they go back into a mission where they teach. They try to live what they've learned, and after that, they can ask to make their first vows, their temporary vows.

So it's a very, very important year in the life of a religious. We used to have a novitiate here in Saskatoon. That's where I made my novitiate. Sister Vivian. But Sister Lucy, Sister Zelie went to Quebec, St.

Hyacinth. And Sister April, I went to Bellevue.

Sister April: 00:17:45

I went to Sister Vivian's hometown. Yeah. And Mother Rivi would call the novitiate the School of Happiness.

Sister Claudette: 00:17:54

The School of Jesus Christ. The School of Happiness.

Jacinta: 00:17:58

That's cool. You guys have mentioned teaching a lot, and we were wondering if you would have a funny teaching story you would want to share with us.

Sister Lucy: 00:18:10

I don't know if this is a funny teaching story, but I had this little girl in a grade three class. Her name was Jackie, and she was very quiet. She followed me around all the time, but never chatted or anything.

Anyways, one morning she started talking to me before school, and she said, sister Lucy, how long have you been teaching? And I remember having to think. I said, 14 years.

She goes, you mean to say that when you were a little girl like me, you went to school for 12 years, then you went to school to learn to be a teacher, and then you went to school 14 more years? I had to say, I guess I did. And she said, well, don't you think that's a bit much? And I said, well, I was looking for my answer.

And she said, well, if they're all cute little kids like me, it's not too bad.

Sister Claudette: 00:19:14

I can give you one teaching experience that I'll never forget. I was asked to teach special ed in Debden. I was a young, young teacher, second year of teaching. I didn't know anything about special ed.

I ended up loving it. And in my special ed class, I had to do speech therapy for children that had difficulty speaking.

And there was a little girl there whose name was Lisa, but she couldn't pronounce the S sound. So when she would name herself, she would say Litha. And we worked and we worked on the S sound. How to place your tongue, make that sound.

One day, maybe six months later, she said her name, Lisa. And I will never, ever forget how her face lit up like the sunlight. That, to me, was gift, and I'll never forget her.

This year, I received a phone call. I had spoken to sisters here about this experience.

I received a phone call from this woman whose name is Lisa, and we talked about that experience, and it was a great joy for me. So that. That's part of teaching. Those are the things that make you. Give you the zeal for teaching. No teacher here.

You ask her about nursing anybody else for teaching stories.

Sister Zelie: 00:20:46

I was teaching in Manitoba, and we had a student that had a bad heart. And so we had been taught what to do in case his heart would stop. And I never thought that it would happen during my teaching years.

But anyways, it was a nice winter day and was very stormy, and I was on duty to keep outside. And I said, oh my, should you close the windows in my class? But then I said, it's my duty to be outside, so I'll get some girls. Go close the window.

And while we were out there, we were a few teachers. The boy heart stopped. And they said, sister Zelie, do something. Because the others froze. So I was able to give him artificial.

I mean, bring him back to life. But, yeah, cpr. And it took such a long time. And during that time, I would say, go get the priest, go get the principal. Go get the injection needle.

Go do this. And I'd keep going and going and going, and all of a sudden, you. His eyes turned white and I was so scared.

Anyways, we were able to get the nurse to come in and whatever, and I had to teach in the afternoon. Don't ask me what I taught. I had no idea. So that night I just phoned the family and they said he was okay.

And about three years ago, he came to see me and he said, do you know that 46 years ago you saved my life? So that was a consolation.

Jacinta: 00:22:17

So, Sister April, what. What is the story you might have about nursing?

Sister April: 00:22:24

I'm just trying to think because there's lots of little kids in the room, so I'm filtering my stories. Well, I think I could share this story. So I work in a department called hemodialysis.

So I work as a nurse, as an rn, and we work with patients whose kidneys have stopped working. And so we need to filter their blood. And so we meet these patients over and over again.

So we get to know their name, we get to make connections, we get to build relationships with them. And there was one day, it was a very busy day, and they kind of treat me like the gopher. So they send me to do all sorts of things.

So they said, sister, we need. There's the guy in Emerge. You, You. They can't get blood. Go and draw blood off his line. So I go down to Emerge and I see this man.

And it was a patient I knew. And he had a nickname that wasn't on his chart, but that we knew. We knew because we. We knew him. We knew his nickname.

So when we came down and he was confused at kind of tossing and turning and moaning, and I came in and I called him by the name. He goes. I called him by his nickname and he just turned and he looked at me and he said, you know me. And I said, yes, I know you.

And I just gave him a big hug and I said, it's okay. I'm here. You're going to be okay. And so I. I did the things and I took care of him and I told the nurses, this is his name, call him by this name.

And anyway, that man survived another two years. And every time he would come into the unit, he would give me this huge smile. So that was a gift.

Claire: 00:24:00

Yeah.

Claire: 00:24:01

Some of your story is a little bit different, but how do you know when you are called to be a sister? How do you know? Is there an exact moment where you knew that this life was meant for you?

Sister Lucy: 00:24:12

Well, for sure. Didn't get a call from God, say, hey, Lucy, will you follow me? But how does God call? I think is important because we can all give an answer to that.

And I think it'll all be different because God calls in the stuff of our lives. So already in what we've shared, God was calling into. In all those ways, I would say that God is calling me today. God is calling you today.

Like God is always calling. And how did I know? How did I know? There were definitely some distinct moments, but in many ways it takes time to know.

Like, I was raised on a farm, and I was so. I was the oldest. I learned to be attentive to my younger siblings. And maybe when you're little, you remember you want to be big.

Well, I didn't have to wait for that. I was big right away because there were a lot of little ones after me.

So as I look back, God was present, teaching me already when I was being big and attentive to. Because listening for that call is being attentive to what's happening around you.

And even if I didn't know it, God was teaching me that in those moments and he was forming me to being responsible. He was forming me to being able to make a commitment that eventually I would be saying yes.

So there's other things, but that's what's coming to mind right now. So listening to your life. There's an author that I like. He says that God disguises God's self as your life.

And I really like that because God is disguised. He's here today. When I got up this morning, God went to work. Because I can't do it all. God has to do it for me. And so God is at work.

And the work of God, I think, is always in the present. I'm going to share my claim to fame. I found something God can't do. He can't not be there. So God is there. God is in our lives.

God is calling you and I today. And. And you could ask the same question to parents, like, how did you know when dad was your husband? Or vice versa around.

So they'll have good answers for that, too.

Jacinta: 00:26:52

Sister Lucy, you mentioned an author that you had a quote from. Who was the author?

Sister Lucy: 00:26:59

The name? Parker Palmer. He's an author that writes about spiritual things. I think he might be a psychologist.

But anyways, he does say some great, wonderful things.

Sister April: 00:27:11

I think I'll give an example of something different than what Sister Lucy gave to that question. I said before that, in my school, the sisters were always there. So very young, in my heart came this desire to be a sister.

When I was a teenager, this desire disappeared completely. But when I got to grade 11 and 12, especially grade 12, something was there. And I was saying, what is this? And I was terribly shy as a teenager.

And I would say to myself, who can I talk to about what I'm feeling in my heart? My mom and dad? No, we didn't talk about things like that. My friends, the sisters. I don't think so.

And so I was living with this kind of desire and not knowing what to do with it. So before I would go to bed at night, I would say to God, if you want this to happen, you've got to do something.

Because I don't know what to do with it.

And I'm sure I prayed that for four months, five months, six months, every night, if you want to do something with me, you've got to do something to help me out. And you know, he did. There was a sister teaching grade 12. And one day she said, claudette, would you stay after school tonight? I need some help.

Well, that was normal, because town kids always stayed to help the sisters. But this time, when I walked into her classroom after school, she shut the door. I said, this is not normal. And she said, sit down.

I'd like to talk to you. Okay? And she said, claudette, have you ever thought about religious life? I said, yes.

And it was as if she had opened the door to the biggest treasure that she could ever offer me. And after that, everything fell into place. I knew that I was being called. I knew that someone else knew, and that door was open for me.

So when I read the Gospel of the Treasure in the Field, the man who found a treasure gave everything he had so that this treasure could become his own. That's my Story. Sister Gertrude opened that door for me when she asked me, have you ever thought about religious life?

So I think we should never be afraid to ask that question to young people. Have you ever thought about religious life? Maybe they're just waiting for that. Okay, that's my story.

Sister Lucy: 00:30:08

Another thing I think when it comes to discerning, like we all want to be happy, we're discerning what will make us happy and to be attentive to our desires.

When I'm thinking about this, I remember in high school really desiring this special ring because it was a kind of ring that every girl had at that time. And I so wanted that ring. And it was a deep desire I had. But you know what happened after I had the ring?

I was like, it didn't bring me what I had wanted it to bring me. So that was an important moment in my. In my. In my journey. And prayer is important.

The word of God is important because it was after that time where I was feeling so disappointed because I had worked so hard to save money to buy this ring. And I didn't. It didn't bring what. What I thought it would bring. It didn't give me the joy I thought I would have.

And it's during a moment of prayer that I almost heard aloud the line of scripture that said, where your heart is, there is your treasure. And I had tried. I kind of put my heart on this ring. And it wasn't the treasure God wanted for me.

So just be attentive to what happens when you have dreams and desires. What happens when they realize or what. What brings you joy? What. Keep track of what brings you life.

All to say that it didn't bring me the life and the joy that I was hoping it would bring me. So it kept me seeking.

Sister Zelie: 00:31:50

In our family, we always said prayer together after supper so everybody would be there. And every night we prayed for vocations. And then one day, I dared ask my parents there. I said. I asked them if I would could enter the convent.

They said, what? So soon? I said, well, I'm. I'm not that young. We're 17. Anyways. So it kind of struck them hard.

They didn't say no, but they said, can you wait until the end of the year and then you can go? So I said, okay. But it was. We had cousins. I had a cousin on my dad's side and a cousin on my mother's side, but I was not close to them.

But then when the sisters came, the year before I entered, the sisters were so gentle and so understanding, I guess in school I just fell in love with the sisters. So then it was okay to go. It was hard to leave.

But after the break was made, my family became happy after having prayed for vocations all the time, but they said so soon.

Claire: 00:33:10

17. Well, for myself, I didn't mention that. As I grew up, I had never thought of religious life all throughout my schooling.

But after my grade 12, I was invited to go and live with the sisters as a boarder here in Saskatoon. I was going to university, and they had just opened their house on University Drive. They had two houses. So one house the sisters lived in.

And they were taking young girls, young women going to university to be their boarders. And so they had invited me if I wanted to stay there during my university years. And that's where I got to know the sisters.

Like on another level, like before that the sisters were my teachers, right? And I wasn't very. I mean, I love my teachers. I don't. I can't say I didn't love them, but I didn't know them on a personal level. They were teachers.

They were up there, you know, and there I got to know them more as they were on the friendly. They were just ordinary people, you know, I got to. They would invite us for meals. They would.

And many times I would see them working outside Sister Lorette, especially an older sister who would be taking care of the yard. And so how many times I would just go out there and talk with her and just talk with her about anything about the cat.

Anyways, that's when I felt drawn to the community. And they would invite us to go to mass with them because they had their own chapel, they had mass every morning. And so I started going to mass there.

And that's where I started thinking, oh, but nobody ever asked me, oh, would you like to be a sister? I was never asked. Never. Nobody ever questioned me or invited me. And yet it was there. It was there all the time.

It took me a long time to accept, though it took me years because I finally left that house and I went teaching. And I went teaching for three years. And again, I was teaching with sisters. I was teaching with Sister Claudette in a small town.

And again, the same thing, you know, they would invite me to the convent. And I felt so much at home when I was there. I felt as if I could be myself. And there was just so much joy always with. When I was there.

But I was always this. There was always this question, is this what you want, Lord? Is this what you want? I struggled.

You know, there's, there is some struggling in the discernment process. You don't, you just don't always know. And, and you want the best.

You want the best for yourself, you know, and then you say, oh, what if I'm a sister and I'm not happy? What, what if, you know, there's always so many, what if? We can ask ourselves that many times until the day I said, I've got to go and see.

I've got to go and see. How will I know if I don't go see? And that's what drew me finally to go knock on the door and say, can I come?

And once I went in and lived with them, I knew, I knew that that's where I was, I belonged.

Jacinta: 00:36:23

So, Sister April, did you have a moment or was it a slow realization to wanting to be a sister?

Speaker H: 00:36:33

I'd say it's both. For me, it started young, like I said, I saw it there in my growing up, but it was a gradual falling in love with Jesus.

And every time I would see sisters, there was this attraction. Like, I'm like, oh, there's a sister there, you know, So I go up and talk to them.

And I remember when Mother Teresa died and I thought, oh, like, I, I didn't even know who she was until she died. And dad said, mother Teresa died. I said, who's that? He said, she's this wonderful woman who gave her life to Christ and loving him in the poor.

And this idea of loving Christ in an undivided way, with an undivided heart and loving him in the poor really spoke to my heart. Something in my heart just lifted. And so I'd pay attention, like Sister Lucy was saying, paying attention to all these things.

And another moment where I realized maybe there's something to this is. I. I was on a face to face bus trip to the Stuberville Conference in Ohio, or it wasn't anyway.

And at the end of the conference, the bishop asked everyone who had ever thought of being a priest or a sister to stand. And so I stood up because I was like, oh yeah, like I've thought about being a sister.

And I just thought everybody would stand because, you know, we're all Catholic, we all love Jesus. Like.

And I remember looking at my friend and she's sitting down, I'm like, come on, Kristen, you, you thought of being a sister, like you love Jesus more than me. And she's like, no, I can't say I've really thought about it much. And, and I looked around there's only about 10% of people standing.

And that's when I realized, oh, maybe there's something to this. So I felt. And the priest said, do three things. Pray about your vocation every day.

Just ask God to know what it is when it's time and to be able to say yes, to get a spiritual director and to go on discernment retreats. So I started doing that. And at one point I also felt very drawn. Like I. Similar with Sister Zelie.

I, I felt that I, I loved marriage and religious life equally in a way. And I, I was drawn to, to each equally. And I didn't know. I was like, lord, I want to do your will, but I don't know.

And so I took a time of intense prayer, took a little break from my relationship with my boyfriend, and just, I was like, lord, it's time. We gotta figure this out. And one day I was in chapel, it was.

And I felt like God the Father was saying, you know, April, I've given you the gifts and the talents to be a great mom, to be a great wife, or to be a great sister and bride of Christ. You choose. And I was like, what me choose? I thought if I prayed hard enough, you'd just show me the blueprint of my life and then I just follow.

And it was like, God is saying, no, as long as you love me with all that you are, it doesn't matter. And in that moment, I felt so free. Freer than I've ever felt in my whole life. And it just welled up from deep, deep, deep within me.

And I remember saying, jesus, I choose you and only you. And then I remember saying, oh, really? And then I said, yeah, you know, that is my deepest desire. Deep deep down, that is what I truly want and save.

So, yeah, so for me, it was both. It was gradual and also moment. And when Sister Vivian says, come and see, I'm going to take a little opportunity to throw in a little ad here.

So come spend the weekend to two things. To listen. God, what is your call for me?

And then also to get to know us sisters, to hang out with us, to come to know spirituality, to come to know our charisms.

Pax: 00:40:32

Hey everyone. We hate to interrupt ourselves, but this is where we have to leave you. As we said before, this is the first part of a two part series.

Jacinta: 00:40:40

I know it's hard to end it there because those were some amazing stories from some incredible women.

Claire: 00:40:46

But lucky for you, part two is also out where we will dive into the life of the sisters foundress and touch on the real struggles of discerning their call. So don't forget to listen to that.

Pax: 00:40:57

And if you would like to learn more about the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary or if you feel it is stirring in your heart that you could perhaps see yourself in this community and are interested in speaking with someone, you can visit presentationofmary ca. We will also have more contact information in the show Notes.

Remember to rate, subscribe and share this podcast and in my opinion 5 stars are much more beautiful than 4 stars. Until then, this is Jacinta, Claire and Pax signing off.

Pax: 00:41:29

The unveiled podcast is an audio production in partnership with Arise Catholic Movement, hosted by Jacinta Leyne and Claire Ewen and produced by Sharon Leyne, Karen Ewen and myself, Pax Ewen. Audio mixing by Sharon and me Pax Editing and music by Sharon Leynette. Tune in to our next episode wherever you get your podcast.

Jacinta: 00:41:55

Hey everyone, this is Claire. Wait, I'm not Claire.