“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; … I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” These words from the book of Jeremiah (1:5) are apt for my life and vocation.
I am the second child in the family. I have an older brother and a younger sister. Ours is a lower middleclass family in a remote village in Mangalore. Our house is surrounded by thick forest, full of greenery. Very beautiful place. We have a close-knit bond with our parish. My parents, very pious people, instilled in us love for God and our neighbours and the Kingdom values from our childhood. They provided us with an Old Testament story book and the Lives of the Saints. When we were small, mother used to read those books for us and we children and daddy sat near her and listened to her attentively. When we went to our maternal grandparents’ house, we heard moral and chivalrous stories. What joy it was to listen to them!
God called Abram when he was seventy-five year old, but He called me before I was formed in my mother’s womb. At the age of four my litany was: “I am going to become a Sister,” even though I could not even pronounce that word (sister). In any problem, big or small, mother used to ask me to pray. Believe it or not, my Beloved Jesus responded to me—most of the time immediately and sometimes a little later.
On my fourth birthday, my parents presented me with a pair of earrings. Even though in those days our financial condition was not so good, they gave me joy. I was so delighted with the new thing I ran hither and thither. In the evening my mother saw that one of my earrings was lost. She swept the whole house and even the yard. At last, my mother called out my pet name and asked me to pray. I earnestly asked Jesus to help me to find the ring. i went out to the yard and I saw something shining near the well (which is in the yard). I called out to my mother, who came out immediately and was overjoyed to see the ring in my hand. So many people had passed that way and stamped upon it (as many of our neighbour come to fetch water from our well), but nobody had seen it or taken it. I thanked the Lord immediately.
Sr Lavina Anitha of the Holy Trinity AC
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
