Vocational Testimony of Sister Mary of Mercy
How is it possible that a young woman working in New York City during the 1990s would discover and enter a religious congregation that had been founded only a few years earlier in a small town in Argentina? As with every vocation to the religious life, Divine Providence intervenes and, through faithful instruments, God draws to Himself what belongs to Him.
I completed my university studies in 1990 and immediately found a job in New York City. I had made it! I would find a wealthy husband and have everything I wanted. My life unfolded in a materialistic and worldly environment in which I felt completely at ease—until God intervened.
Without my seeking Him, God came in search of me in New York. I learned as much as I could about my Catholic faith and met extraordinary people who helped change the course of my life: Father Benedict Groeschel, Father Andrew Apostoli, Cardinal O’Connor, Mother Agnes Mary, and many others. I saw Pope Saint John Paul II at World Youth Day in Colorado, experienced my faith in a new and courageous way, and witnessed many others coming to the faith as well. My whole life had changed!
In the midst of all this, the Blessed Virgin Mary entered the scene.
In 1993, a young man from our group of friends met some Argentine priests, and shortly afterward he entered the Institute of the Incarnate Word and began his novitiate in Brooklyn. This shook all of us! I had never realized there was this other vocation, and my heart became restless.
My plans were already made, and at that time my boyfriend had converted to Catholicism. Yet there remained a deep longing in my heart. How could I become the mother of a large family while also giving myself completely to the Church?
I prayed to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and it seemed that even she was not helping me. During a novena in December I asked for a sign: if the next rose to bloom was red, it would mean God wanted me to become a religious sister; if it was yellow, I would marry and become a wife and mother.
On the last day of the novena, the rose blossomed—it was yellow! But when I looked more closely, I saw that it was yellow on the outside and red on the inside. Now what?
Freedom.
God was asking me to give Him my life freely so that I might share with Him in the work of redemption.
As I searched for the right community, I decided that it had to be a well-established congregation—nothing connected with a new charism. It had to be completely faithful to the Church in every respect: in its liturgy, prayer life, community life, the wearing of the habit, deep respect for the vows, and profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It was also important to me that I be able to complete my formation in the United States and, of course, that the sisters speak English, because I was certain I could never learn another language.
Once again, I was making my own plans.
When the young man who had entered the Institute of the Incarnate Word invited us to his clothing ceremony on March 25, 1994, our entire group of friends gathered together and bravely made our way to East New York, Brooklyn.
The Sisters—whom I had never even heard of before—had arrived only the day before!
I entered the Servidoras, and on February 2, 1995, I received the religious habit. A few days later I traveled to Argentina to begin my formation—in Spanish!
By then I had had enough of making my own plans and placing limits on God.
I thank Our Lady, Mother of Mercy, for all the graces and gifts I have received through her, especially for the gift of my vocation.