Recently, I’ve been thinking about and praying with several women God called and commissioned: St. Mary Magdalene, St. Catherine of Siena, and Sr. Maria Tram Bui. Each of these women lived in different times and were called to different ways of life and mission. And each of them said Yes to God. This leads me to some questions for you to ponder: What is your call and commissioning? How did you or will you answer?
A Woman from the Bible
When you think of someone who is “called and commissioned” in the Bible, who comes to mind?
Mary’s FIAT to become the mother of Jesus? Queen Esther’s call to save her people? Yes, and yes! And… also, the one I am constantly called to reflect on is the call and commissioning of St. Mary of Magdala. She is the Patroness of the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans).
Saint (Yes! Saint) Mary Magdalene was a woman healed by Jesus and became one of his most faithful apostles and evangelizers. We all know the story of her call and commissioning, when she went to the garden to weep outside the tomb of her beloved, Jesus. Encountering an empty tomb and a stranger in the garden, she asks for Jesus, and she hears her call. Jesus calls her by name, Mary! And at that moment, she is called. (To be honest, I’m sure it’s a call she heard long ago when she was healed and became one of the disciples – a call she heard many times – yet, on this day, she heard it with a different urgency.) Then, when she clings to Jesus – he commissions her to go forth to be the Apostle to the Apostles and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection. She was called, commissioned, and she said, Yes!
A Woman Doctor of the Church
Saint Catherine of Siena, of the13th Century Italy, was called by Jesus at the age of six as she walked home with her brother. From that time, she felt Jesus was calling her to follow him in a special way. The details of this call became clearer as she embraced the life of prayer, and penance, as well as taking the veil of the Mantelettas (Dominican Laity of today).
Catherine received many graces from God and spent many days in constant prayer with her beloved Jesus. Content to stay in her small cell in the home of her parents, Jesus had other plans for her. The story goes that one day as she went to enter her room to pray, Jesus would not go inside with her. Instead, he implored her to go out to her neighbor and balance her life of prayer with a life of service. “You must go forth on two feet, one of the love of God, and the other the love of your neighbor.”
Thus began another chapter in her life as she went forth to serve others in Siena and beyond. She became a powerful promoter of peace, an evangelizer, and an untiring advocate for unity in the Church. She was called, commissioned, and said, Yes!
A Woman of Today
On August 9th in the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Springs, Sr. Maria Tram Bui, OP made her perpetual profession as a Dominican Sister of Peace.
I, Sister Maria Tram Bui, profess the vows of obedience, celibacy and poverty to God and in your hands, Sister Patricia Twohill, to be lived in the light of the Gospel and according to the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of this Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, for my whole life.
This too was a story and a call that began many years earlier in Vietnam, when her family brought her to church for her baptism. There, she was anointed, blessed, and received the call to holiness and to share in the mission of Jesus Christ. As Tram grew and embarked on many adventures – some exciting and some frightening – she held on to her faith and trust in God.
When she arrived in the United States, her faith continued to deepen and guide her life. Her family became involved in the local parish.After reading about the Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine, Kentucky in the Marian magazine, she began to explore her own call to vowed religious life.
Tram entered the Dominican Sisters and continued to grow in her faith, to follow the Dominican charism of study, and made her first profession of vows. The story doesn’t end there – it takes a turn when she had to leave the congregation to help her family. During those years, she completed her studies as a Physical Therapist and built a happy life with her family, her church community, and work. However, God wasn’t finished calling her.
God’s call to religious life kept coming back to Tram. Then, one of her good friends, Sr. Mary Vuong, whom she met when she was at the convent, invited her to come with us to Marian Days. She said, yes, and God called even louder. You’ll have to ask Tram for the rest of the story. Suffice it to say, she said, Yes! “for my whole life.” She was commissioned by God to live her life as a Dominican Sister of Peace, balancing the pillars of community, prayer, study, and ministry – walking on two feet, “one of love of God, and one of love of neighbor.” She was called, commissioned, and said, Yes!
What is your call?
What is your commission?
What is your answer?
To read more about Sr. Tram’s profession, please click here.
If you feel that God is calling you to explore religious life, we invite you to attend our Women’s Weekend Retreat taking place from October 2 – 4, in St. Catharine, Kentucky. For more information, visit our website here or contact Sr. Ana Gonzalez at [email protected].