Sensing a Call

My name is Sister Lisa Rose and I entered Saint Benedict’s Monastery in 1983. An interesting fact about me is that my birthday is on the same day on which we make our monastic profession. So for me this meant that it was my twenty-fifth birthday when I made my first profession and when I celebrated my fiftieth birthday it was also my twenty-fifth jubilee. The celebration was two-fold and a wonderful day to be with my community, family and friends.

My years in the community have taken me through many different ministries. I started in health care and currently work with our vocation team. As I work with vocations I am asked to tell my story of how I was called to join this community. My story begins as a student at the College of Saint Benedict. As I listened to God calling me to religious life I was confused and questioned, “why me?” The more I dialogued with others, their response was usually: “Oh I knew that.”  Why is that I could not see what others were seeing within me? 

So now that I am a member of our vocation team I will have the privilege of walking with women who, as I was, are sensing a call to religious life. I am grateful for this new ministry, because I believe that as I listen to their stories I will be able to recall my own story. In this way I will deepen my commitment to our community through our common life of prayer and work as together we seek God.