Villa sisters gathered for lunch with Sr. Josephine from the Spiritual Family the Work along with Fr. Jabo and Fr. Mike to discuss ways to follow their individual vocations and their journey towards fulfilling God’s call.
There are six steps to discovering vocation in your life. This is done through prayer, sacraments, education, the blessed, retreats, and wisdom. Sr. Josephine, originally from Germany, had done so through keeping her heart open and listening to the knock that the Lord had persistently called her towards.
“I was restless and so I confronted my inner movements. Why do I have this begging question that there must be more in life?” These were some of the observations and questions that Sr. Josephine had reflected upon during the open discussion on vocation.
She was 7 years old when she was taken in by her foster parents.
“They had made everything possible education wise,” she said. “I had everything I could dream of.”
Yet there was more that Sr. Josephine was longing for in her heart.
While she had an education, swim practice, and even a boyfriend, she had a yearning for Jesus in her life. Her family had Christian values, but was in no way active in their faith. It was not until her junior year of high school as an exchange student in Texas that she had the support to dive into her faith.
When Sr. Josephine was surrounded by friends that talked openly about their faith and their relationship with Jesus, she found peace in her heart that she wanted to share with others. Up until this point she had been living life for herself, not for God and his people. When she was open with her foster family about her calling to holy life, she was rejected by her own family and kicked out.
Despite the lack of approval from others, Sr. Josephine continued to embrace the knocking in her heart. Between the ages of 18 and 23 was a time of discernment and investigating her vocation. When Sr. Josephine turned 23, she had joined the Spiritual Family the Work.
She encourages every young girl to ponder their vocation and take advantage of opportunities that are exposed to them. The signs of restlessness, desire, and yearning could be what guide you to faith.
“If God is knocking at your heart, be open and confront it,” Sr. Josephine reminded.
