When the editor of MAGNET suggested that one of us write about our vocation so that others may come to appreciate better our enclosed form of life, I was reluctant, thinking: We came here for a hidden life; then why to expose ourselves? Then a sentence from the Scripture came forcefully into my mind: “It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but acknowledge the work of God, and with fitting honour to acknowledge him….” (Tobit 12:6-7).
So here I am: Whenever I think of my personal vocation, I say with St. Paul, by the grace of God I am what I am. I always add, Yes, and because of the saintly parents the Lord has given me. I am the eighth child of my parents with seven brothers and four sisters. My parents were so devoted and religious minded that the very atmosphere we breathed at home was one of love and respect, charity and sharing, faith, prayer and pious practices. Each day began with the Angelus and a devotional Hymn and the day ended with the family gathered in the prayer room invoking the Holy Spirit, reciting the Rosary, Bible reading and the Devotion of the month. The first prayer we were taught was: “My Jesus, I love You, bless me and bring me to heaven.” I remember teaching this and other prayers to my younger siblings in the evenings. The truth that we are made for heaven was instilled into our mind and heart in our childhood.
Sr Mary Tancy of Jesus Crucified PCPA
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