I want to “waste” my entire life

Now, I’m Xaverian Missionary Sister FOREVER. The story of my vocation is really interesting; it is completely God’s project. Let me share it with you!

The center of my life was dancing, it was my passion. I was a dance teacher who devoted my entire life to dancing. When I found about the Xaverian Missionaries Sisters my initial thoughts were: “I need a vacation from my daily life, therefore I’ll go for six months and then I will return back to my daily life”. Little did I know that those six months were going to extend as far as the present day.

I discovered my vocation when I entered the community of the Xaverian Missionaries Sisters.

I came to realize this by going to the Parish and sharing time with people there; learning about their daily lives, their problems, and their experiences. Often times there were experiences of suffering. It never crossed my mind that one day I would become a Sister, but sharing contact with the people I met and being close to their situations, it gave me the desire to leave my family for the time being and take on the entire world as my new family.

In time I learned that many people really did not know God or his son, Jesus. In a special way the phrase about Jesus in the Gospel that reads: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. (Mk 16:15)”, encouraged and ensured me that I was in the right place. Gradually, I realized that consecrating my life into the service of God was going to better if more people could discover his great love for us. I would have never thought that being a Xaverian Missionary Sister would be so amazing. I reminded myself of how great it truly was every day and it gave me more reason to stay instead of going back home.

The day of my Perpetual Consecration was one filled with blessings and joy that poured onto me. It was more than I could have ever imagined: I made my Perpetual Consecration in a country that was not my own and among people that were not my own people. But this was the fulfilment of God’s project for me and because of that everything was absolutely marvelous. It happened to me like it did to Abraham: he believed and then walked to the Promised Land, leaving his homeland and his parents. The day of my Perpetual Consecration I was full of an immense joy: the memory of that day will last forever!

Some people think that a consecrated life with God is a waste of time. But not me, for I believe: If it is a waste time staying close to those who are suffering and need not to be left alone; if it is a waste of time praying for the sick people; if it is a waste of time praying for the world so that we can have peace instead of war and violence; if it is waste of time comforting those who feel alone and overwhelmed because of their problems or situations; if it is a waste of time bringing hope, faith and love to those who do not know God… then I want to not only waste my time, but I want to also waste my entire life helping others earn eternal life with God in heaven.

This is not an exclusive task for just consecrated women or men, for all of us are called to give our lives. May it be through marriage, as single people, or through a consecrated life. Serving God in the way He has called us to do does not mean we lose our lives, rather it means we find a real purpose in life and one that is worth living.

I would like to conclude by inviting all of us to reflect on the words of Pope Francis:

“My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an “extra” or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing (Evangelii Gaudium 273).”