For I know the plans I have for you
By Sr. Juliett
Perez, FMA
I began to truly live out my faith towards the end of my sophomore year in high school, and the more I grew in my relationship with Jesus, the happier and more fulfilled I became. This did not mean I considered religious life a possibility. Yet, God’s plans are not our plans and He always knows that is best for us.
During, my senior year, I planned to attend the University of Central Florida, but because of circumstances at home, I decided to take a year off. It would be during that year that God would show me that it was His Son, Jesus, who was waiting for me to follow Him more closely.
One evening while praying the rosary, I was deeply touched by Jesus’ prayer “Father let this cup pass from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.” It was while praying this mystery of the rosary that I felt an inner calling to religious life. Right away, I was filled with much joy and peace.
Weeks after this very moving experience, I finally had the courage to start talking to some people about it. One evening, I told my friend Carlos about my discernment, and it was he, a Salesian past pupil, that told me about the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (AKA- Salesian Sisters). In the fall of 2006, Sr. Colleen and Sr. Eileen both came to visit me in Orlando. After my first interaction with them, I could see myself formally discerning religious life with them. In January 2007 I visited the Sisters in Tampa, FL and was able to experience community life for a weekend. After that visit, I continued to pray and discern where God was leading me. With time, I knew I had to give this lifestyle a chance.
I made my vows of chastity, poverty and obedience four years after first living with the Sisters. The four-year process had moments of intense joy, as well as hardships. There were moments when I doubted my vocation and really missed my family. However, God’s providence never failed, and He continued to guide my heart to a place of surrender and joy. Throughout the four years of formation that led to my first vows, and in the past three years as a Sister, God has shown me how transitory life is, and how love and joy do not end. So, even though sometimes I miss the life I left behind, when I look at my life as a whole, it is then that I see that belonging completely to Jesus and sharing his love with young people is what truly satisfies the longings in my heart.
During, my senior year, I planned to attend the University of Central Florida, but because of circumstances at home, I decided to take a year off. It would be during that year that God would show me that it was His Son, Jesus, who was waiting for me to follow Him more closely.
One evening while praying the rosary, I was deeply touched by Jesus’ prayer “Father let this cup pass from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.” It was while praying this mystery of the rosary that I felt an inner calling to religious life. Right away, I was filled with much joy and peace.
Weeks after this very moving experience, I finally had the courage to start talking to some people about it. One evening, I told my friend Carlos about my discernment, and it was he, a Salesian past pupil, that told me about the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (AKA- Salesian Sisters). In the fall of 2006, Sr. Colleen and Sr. Eileen both came to visit me in Orlando. After my first interaction with them, I could see myself formally discerning religious life with them. In January 2007 I visited the Sisters in Tampa, FL and was able to experience community life for a weekend. After that visit, I continued to pray and discern where God was leading me. With time, I knew I had to give this lifestyle a chance.
I made my vows of chastity, poverty and obedience four years after first living with the Sisters. The four-year process had moments of intense joy, as well as hardships. There were moments when I doubted my vocation and really missed my family. However, God’s providence never failed, and He continued to guide my heart to a place of surrender and joy. Throughout the four years of formation that led to my first vows, and in the past three years as a Sister, God has shown me how transitory life is, and how love and joy do not end. So, even though sometimes I miss the life I left behind, when I look at my life as a whole, it is then that I see that belonging completely to Jesus and sharing his love with young people is what truly satisfies the longings in my heart.
