October 17, 2020

15 days till National Vocation Awareness Week

#9 in a series of 25 short stories

My Mom and my Grandmother were the two biggest influencers in my religious life.  My Mom was a convert to Catholicism and had been raised in the Church of the Brethren in Indiana.  Many of my family members from my Mother’s side come from various Protestant faiths and I have a lot of respect for their devoutness.  They are great people and I love them very much.  I make a trip back to Indiana to visit every year. 

I remember being a little girl and staying overnight at Grandma’s on a few occasions. I remember seeing her go to her room to go to bed and she got down on her knees and prayed the Rosary.  That image is still in my mind and I am sure I will carry it with me all my life.  My Mom, likewise, would read to us at night and made an effort to find good Christian reading material like the Bible.  I remember when she read a series from the Crusades.  Mom and I often talked about religious topics.

If you read one of my earlier short stories about the Holy Names Sisters teaching us our summer religion classes in Grass Valley, you will know I had set my mark to do what they were doing.  Mom knew I was interested in religious life as a young girl and I am amazed and grateful that she did so much to make sure I had the opportunity to see what it was all about.  When I was invited to a vow ceremony for example, she would make sure I got to go and often drove me the 3-hour journey to get there.

Looking back, my Mom was nurturing a vocation and she seemed to be doing innately.  She had no training in vocations, but the love of a Mother does those things.  She wanted me to know what opportunities existed for my life.