As I sat one day at my favorite coffee shop on an April Sunday in Philadelphia a few years ago I realized my life was to move in a direction I had neither expected nor intended. It was a typical Sunday- I attended mass that morning, connected with friends at Old St. Josephs Church, and went to have a cup of coffee and read on a sunny day in Center City. I left the coffee shop that day armed with the desire to be a sister without a clear sense as to why or how next to proceed. I soon found that this way of life could be where God called me to serve Him and others; since then I have moved toward that new possibility and found a place with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. I moved into the Candidacy Program, which gave me a chance to live with sisters and a feel for what life as a sister would entail. It was a great opportunity to see the sisters as they are, women striving to follow God and be present to others. As of January 22nd, I became a Novice in Philadelphia and now continue my novitiate experience in Orange, California.
I was born in New York City and am the third oldest of seven children (five girls and two boys). We moved to Florida when I was seven and I came to Philadelphia at the age of eighteen to attend school. After receiving my Bachelors Degree in American Studies from Temple University I set of to work full-time in Philadelphia. A couple of years later, I went back to school to earn a Masters Degree in Political Science. During that time, I realized that my love of politics was bred from a longing to work for social justice and to work with and for those that most cannot serve, a lesson bestowed upon me by my father. While witnessing to the developmentally disabled as a Direct Care Worker in college, the hotel workers as a union organizer, or the homeless of Philadelphia at soup kitchens and, later, a shelter for men; I realized that the longing for social justice would not be complete if not working for the merciful justice of all neighbors called for by God. Beyond working for justice, the greatest gift given to me by God has been a chance to walk with others in their own story as they find their path and new life with God.
I am a Novice for the Sisters of St. Joseph because I could not say no to the powerful and loving call of God to serve my neighbors, in the many small ways I can offer. I am a Sister because I believe that walking in this way of life will bring me great joy and a life of untold possibilities. I sat to study with a cup of coffee one spring day amongst the cobblestone of Philadelphia and today I find myself looking at palm trees in Orange. I sat to read politics and find myself listening to the words of Helen Prejean, CSJ and John Sweeney calling for greater justice at the Common Good Convention. For years I went to the same place to meet friends, to study, and to relax not knowing that I was really awaiting one moment on a spring day when I would be ready to hear, believe, love, and respond to this great call from God.
