Jubilate Deo! “Religious Life: That is the Last Thing I Will Ever Do.”
Sister Maris Stella Footen, SFP The Lord truly works in mysterious ways. Here I am celebrating 50 years of religious life! How did this happen? When I was in nursing school, my friends would talk about who would go to the convent. My answer “Not me. That is the last thing I will ever do!” Then they asked if I would get married, and out of the blue the thought came to me “No, God doesn’t want me to get married.” As I continued my nursing training, I puzzled over this for a long time. Why would God not want me to get married when He knew how much I loved children? After graduation, I started nursing and I loved it. During this time, my spiritual life began to grow. I went to all the parish missions. Then I began to stop into church for a visit each day. Soon I was going to daily Mass. I read “The Imitation of Christ.” It seemed that very often I opened at the same page “Take up your cross and come follow me.” At work, I met a nurse who invited me to a meeting of the Third Order of St. Francis. After a while, I began to see the possibility of Religious Life, even as I resisted. Yes? No? Maybe. Finally I decided that, if I ever wanted to be a religious as much as I wanted to be a nurse, that would be it. And so it happened. I thought I would like to belong to a community where I could serve the sick poor. I am so happy that God led me to the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor so that I could do just that. I thank all those who supported and encouraged me along the way. I especially thank the Lord and His Blessed Mother who gave me my greatest support. I have been blessed for 50 years to be able to combine two things I love, Religious Life and nursing. © Franciscan Sisters of the Poor |
