At the same time that I was seeking meaning in my life, my little sister was preparing to receive her First Communion. As she prepared for this sacrament, my family began going to Mass weekly, which led me to go to Confession and receive Holy Communion again. These sacraments provided the grace I needed to begin engaging the faith once more. God was answering my deep desire for meaning.

The sacraments continued to sustain me. In time, I encountered a Catholic religious sister, the very first one with whom I had ever interacted. Through our conversations, I began to grow both personally and spiritually, and to truly develop a relationship with God. I began to believe in His love for me and to accept that I was His.

My initial call to consider religious life came while meditating on the crucifix. During this meditation, I experienced God’s infinite, eternal, and unconditional love for me, and desired to make a return of my life for His magnificent sacrifice for me.

As I began my discernment, many people affirmed my path. In exploring religious communities, I kept being drawn back to austerity, solitude and contemplation.

Upon learning of the Sisters of Bethlehem, I was keenly attracted to their way of life. With their love of St. Bruno, their beautiful blend of both Eastern and Western monastic traditions, and their dedication to individual adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, it was hard not to be drawn in! I attended a ten-day retreat with the Sisters, and from the moment I arrived, I knew that was where I was supposed to be. I felt the closeness of God and knew I needed nothing else.

Over the next year, I continued my discernment, learning more of the charism and way of life of the Sisters of Bethlehem. In His goodness, God prepared me to say yes to Him by helping me truly know His love and making straight the path.

I again visited the Sisters, and was even more convinced that was where I belonged. As I spent more time with them, I felt a sense of home and of God’s continual presence.

The charism of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem centers on listening to the Gospel, particularly through the guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on living a life of solitude, silence and prayer in the heart of the Catholic Church. Their primary apostolate is hospitality:  they aim to ensure that each of their guests is welcomed into the gentle silence, solitude, and prayer, whether in solitude or with the Sisters. By entering this monastic community, I would be serving the whole world by begging for God’s mercy for us sinners.