Come with Me!
“Here’s the plan: I’ll drop you off outside the Cathedral, circle around the block a few times and pick you up again in about 15 minutes or less,” the trip leader said to me as we were preparing to leave town.
We’d spent the last few days on a “nun run” in New York City, visiting different religious orders and convents as we prayed for our vocations. In between volunteering and Holy Hours, I pleaded with the leader of the trip to make a stop by St. Patrick’s Cathedral before we returned home to Michigan. At that time, Venerable Fulton Sheen, whom I have always had a great devotion to, was buried there and prior to this trip, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the opportunity to pray at his tomb. My heart yearned for the opportunity to visit this dear friend of mine and entrust the intention of my vocation to his intercession.
However, our schedule wouldn’t allow it. I began to lose hope until the very last day when I found myself standing in front of St. Patrick’s as our group’s van drove off and my fifteen-minute timer began. I hurried into the cathedral as the mass exodus of Sunday Mass attendees made their way out and soon realized: I have no idea where to go.
Knowing the clock was ticking, I panicked and looked around for anyone that wasn’t leaving and might be able to help. I quickly noticed a familiar habit sitting in a side chapel and thought, A sister! Thank you, Lord.
The dear Sister finished up her prayers as I approached her and greeted me with a warm smile. I explained in haste my mission to pray with Fulton Sheen to which she responded, “No problem! Just come with me!”
I followed her through the massive church and down to the crypt (as she assured the security guards that I was with her and it was no problem for me to join her in the lower church), through a hallway and into the room where Fulton Sheen laid in rest. I knelt down in gratitude as the Sister waited for me outside of the chapel and asked Fulton Sheen, who had played such a pivotal role in my formation thus far, to intercede for my vocation and prepare my heart for whatever it was God was calling me to.
I looked up and saw December 9th, 1979 etched in stone as the day Fulton Sheen died and thought, Hmmm, maybe that will be his feast day one day.
About five years later on another December 9th, I met my now-husband for the very first time and began to see the glorious work of God in my own vocation.
For many years, I have looked back with profound gratitude for the dear Sister of Life who received my heart so generously at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and allowed me that grace-filled moment that set my vocation in motion. Even more, I look back in gratitude for the many Sisters who had shown me such maternal care throughout my life that prepared me for the flood of relief I would feel when I saw that Sister across the church that summer day, knowing I was in good hands with a Bride of Christ.
This encounter is just one of the many examples of the way religious life has shaped and enlivened my heart, as both a single and now joyfully married woman. The witness and care of Sisters in my life has played a profound role in my own vocation and the life of the Church. What a gift they are to the Church!
