“Momma, look!”
I saw a small group of Sisters fill the pew just ahead of us one morning in Mass. We had come in rather flustered, per usual with two kids under four years old and myself pregnant. We often came in search for reverence at church in a time of simply trying to control the new chaos of our phase of life. And so I saw them and didn’t think too much of it.
Until my daughter knelt next to me and whispered, “Momma, look! Brides!”
She was enthralled with their habits, white just like brides or photos of me on our wedding day that she had seen a few days ago. She didn’t see a difference, just the same (kind of) veil.
And my first instinct was to correct her, to say, “They are actually called Sisters!” But I didn’t. Something held my tongue back. And as she stared at them, I took the fleeting moment to close my eyes and pray before the Mass started. And immediately the Lord told me in my heart, “She’s right, you know. They are My brides.”
After Mass was over, she asked if we could “go over and say hello to all the pretty brides,” and I said yes. We made our way upstream against the exiting crowd to the praying Sisters, and my sweet three-year-old daughter said to the Sister, “Are you a bride? I love your veil!”
The whole pew lifted their heads to look at my daughter. Surprise and joy spread across their faces. The Sister said, “Yes, I am! A bride of Jesus Christ!” And my daughter smiled and was overjoyed at her kindness. The Sister looked at me and invited me and my daughter to sing the Vespers with them every Saturday evening. And my daughter answered yes before I could.
I don’t have a lot of experience interacting with Sisters. A priest was my first point of contact in learning about the teachings of the Catholic faith when I converted in 2015, and he remains a good friend of mine and my husband. We go to him for friendship and for spiritual mentorship. So these sisters were my first real “Sister interaction,” and an odd intimidation I always had instantly wiped away.
I felt silly for ever having it in the first place.
Seeing those Sisters—the BRIDES—go through Mass, receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, and then interact with my daughter in such a way, has impacted me forever.
What I thought was a type of woman so different from me (being married, and a mother) that we couldn’t ever really intertwine our lives, was shattered instantly and replaced with the truth: a fellow daughter, a joyful Bride. Just like me. (But not just like me? You know what I mean.)
I think the Holy Spirit anointed the whole interaction. It’s led to a sweet friendship that I have with the group of Sisters, a renewed love for the sisterhood within our Catholic faith, for their veils, for my own Mass veil, and for the tenderness of being called to a vocation. My daughter talks about becoming a bride one day, and I don’t know if she means a bride like me or a bride like the Sisters. But I know she means a joyful bride. A bride who loves God very much. And that’s all I could ever hope for her little heart.
These Sisters represent the Brides of Christ, a facet of being called to a vocation that is irreplaceable. I’m so grateful to know them. I’m so grateful my daughter wanted to say hi to them and wanted to pray with them. And I’m so grateful the Lord calls us to vocations. What a sweet Father He is, to invite us to become more like ourselves the way He does.
