'Everything about this life is so pure and so good'
CHARLOTTE — St. Joseph College seminarian Jose Palma and his younger sister, Jessica, have a unique sibling bond. Both have answered the call to serve the Lord in a vocation in the Church. Jose is in his third year of seminary now. Jessica is a postulant with the Daughters of the Virgin Mother, which supports seminarians and priests of the diocese in prayer and works.
These young adults recently provided some insights on their vocations and how a shared desire to serve the Lord has brought them closer.
CNH: Can you tell us what your family faith life growing up was and how that may have had an impact on your vocations?
Jose: At first for a while we weren’t faithful Catholics, we were lukewarm. When I was about 12 (and Jessica was 5) we had a complete family conversion, which was great. This is the fruit of that. God had given my parents and my older sister a conversion – a conversion to God to be able to pay attention to Him and to pay attention at Mass.
From that point on, from my perspective, everything changed. We were going to Mass more faithfully, at church more regularly, and prayer was very much encouraged. I think that definitely prepared the way for me to be able to discern to enter the seminary. We took the faith seriously. We embraced the wholeness of the Catholic faith. That was crucial. To know that my parents were praying for us and with us, that definitely impacted me later in life.
Jessica: I was maybe about 16 when things started stirring up in my spiritual life. I think I owe it a lot to my parents for their prayers for us, and always praying for us and for our futures – letting God’s Will happen.
CNH: What is it like living your vocation now?
Jose: These past three years in seminary, I can honestly say they have been the happiest years of my life. There is a certain sense of fulfillment. I came in expecting a lot; you’re nervous, scared. But coming in there was a sense of peace. The formation is phenomenal. It challenges you.
I was happy the very first day I came in. I said, ‘This is awesome!’ We have a lot of great guys. We spend a lot of time in prayer. It is difficult. You are adjusting to a very strict schedule. You are adjusting to a different prayer life. Before I entered seminary, I thought I had a decent prayer life. You come in and it’s like you really have to try, to dig deep.
There are difficulties in seminary, but it’s like normal life. It’s like anything else – you just have to keep going. You have to remember the Lord brought you here and He will get you through anything.
Living out the vocation is fantastic. We have a great fraternity. The guys are really awesome. We have great conversations. We play sports together. For us guys, it’s great to be able to play sports every day, to just hang out.
Above all, to pray together. We challenge each other.
Jessica: I have only been in the convent seven months. It’s been really good. There is a certain peace that I feel ever since I entered. It has been so good. The sisters are great. They are very welcoming. The community life that we live, we mold well together. We all go out and do our work, and then we come back and we pray and have dinner and recreate.
We can be together, pray together, console our God and make friendships with Our Lady. When we come out of prayer, it is like fresh air that you just took in and then you don’t have to worry about worldly things.
I actually just tried on the habit because I am going to get clothed in October. It’s exciting! Everything about this life is so pure and so good.
CNH: What does it feel like to know that you are supporting each other (in your vocations)?
Jose: It gives me a sense of joy, and I am obviously proud of my sister. It gives me great peace, great joy, to know I have my own sister in a convent that prays for priests in a diocese which I am a seminarian in. And God willing, I will be a priest.
It gives me a lot of joy and fills me with a lot of hope to know I am supported. There is something very special to know that my own sister, with whom I lived all my life, whom I used to feed, is now in a convent praying for me, offering sacrifices for me for the work that God wants me to do. I know we understand each other very well.
Jessica: It has put a lot into perspective. I get to watch him in his vocation to the priesthood. It’s hard to explain. He’s my brother. It is a special bond we have, we understand each other without saying words.
At first, for me, it was a little awkward. Our vocations were colliding. Whenever you enter a vocation, you don’t expect to see family. Over the months, it normalized itself. It became tender.
The idea that we switch prayers – he prays for me and I pray for him – it’s just neat that I entered a convent that supports the priesthood.
It’s hard to explain. There are so many graces and beautiful things going on. There’s no way to explain it and do it justice.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
‘You have given everything over to Him’
CHARLOTTE — Dozens of religious sisters, brothers and priests gathered with Bishop Peter Jugis to celebrate World Day for Consecrated Life with a Mass Feb. 1 at St. Patrick Cathedral.
During his homily, Bishop Jugis recognized seven Sisters of Mercy from the South Central Community in Belmont for their longtime service to the Church: Sister Maureen Dees (75 years); Sister Mary Jerome Spradley, Sister Mary Robert Williams and Sister Maria Goretti Weldon (70 years); Sister Barbara Wheeley and Sister Mary Schmuck (60 years); and Sister Mary Rose Bumpus (50 years).
“I am happy to be celebrating this World Day for Consecrated Life with you, the consecrated religious of in our diocese, and especially at this Mass to be honoring those sisters who are celebrating special anniversaries of religious profession this year,” Bishop Jugis said.
The annual celebration for the World Day for Consecrated Life was instituted for three purposes, he noted:
“Firstly, to thank God for the gift of consecrated life in the Church – a marvelous blessing He has bestowed upon the Church in every age. Secondly, it was instituted in order to continue to promote appreciation for the vocation of the consecrated life among the people of God, that people would see the value and the blessing and the beauty of this calling from God and continue to appreciate it as part of the local Church. And thirdly, this annual commemoration was instituted to affirm consecrated persons themselves in their vocations: religious sisters, religious brothers and religious priests.”
Bishop Jugis went on to preach that the Gospel reading chosen for the Mass, Matthew 16:24-27, has special meaning for consecrated persons.
“Jesus says, ‘Whoever loses life for my sake will save it.’ Whoever gives over one’s life to Jesus will save it,” he said. They receive “a new life of freedom in Christ, a new life of joy, a new life of self-offering in service to Jesus and the Kingdom of God.”
“You, my sisters and brothers, are living that Gospel passage by your consecration to God – handing your life over to the Lord.”
We should give thanks to God for His gift of religious to the Church in western North Carolina, Bishop Jugis added.
Looking out over the congregation, he said, “I consider your personal witness of consecrated holiness to be very important to our diocese. And the witness of all the religious families in our diocese to be very important, to be essential in filling out the universal call to holiness in our Church.”
Consecrated religious are like “anchors of holiness” in our diocese, he said, just as vital to the spiritual strength of our diocese as those who are ordained clergy and those who choose the vocation of holy matrimony.
“All of these anchors keeping us grounded in our life in Christ and in the Gospel are so essential, so integral, so necessary to the complete picture of the life of our diocese,” he said.
“Together we are all contributing in some way, according to our special vocations, to the flourishing culture of holiness. Therefore, the Church of Charlotte is able to shine brightly with the presence of Christ,” he said.
Mercy Sister Mary Jerome Spradley, 91, is celebrating 70 years of religious life this year. She has loved working with people throughout her long ministry. “I did a lot of work with sisters, I loved that. In the community, in the diocese and in the mountains. It was very joy-filled. I feel blessed.”
“There have been a variety of wonderful, God-filled blessings in my life,” she added. “The people I have been able to associate with have blessed me. It is a very rich, very rewarding, very blessed way to live.”
Also celebrating her 70th jubilee this year is Mercy Sister Mary Robert Williams. She served 17 years as a teacher and 13 years as a school principal. For the past 31 years, she has served as a pastoral associate in Salisbury. “I really love that work, working with people,” she said.
They both have seen major changes in the Church and in their religious community over the years.
“We were young through Vatican II and all of the changes and all of the implementing the documents of Vatican II applied to religious. We lived through all of the changes and the adaptations,” Sister Mary Jerome said.
Their advice to women discerning a religious vocation? “Let it unfold and trust the Holy Spirit,” Sister Mary Jerome said.
At the conclusion of his homily, Bishop Jugis prayed that God will bestow His blessing on all of the religious jubilarians celebrating special anniversaries this year.
“May God keep all of us close to Jesus,” he prayed.
Instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997, World Day for Consecrated Life is marked in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, commemorating the coming of Christ, the Light of the World, through the symbolic lighting of candles. Similarly, consecrated men and women are called to spread the light and love of Jesus Christ through their unique witness of selfless service, such as caring for the poor, the contemplative work of prayer, or through their professional careers.
On Feb. 2, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to recognize and pray for the essential role of consecrated persons in the life of the Church and to express gratitude for their service to the Church.
The Charlotte diocese was among those in the United States that celebrated the vocation to consecrated life during the weekend of Feb. 1-2 to recognize the essential role of consecrated religious in the life of the Church. As engaged members of their local communities, consecrated men and women bring the presence of Jesus to all they encounter throughout their day, allowing His Spirit to live and move within them so that the truth of the Gospel can be proclaimed to all.
In a statement Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations, reiterated the importance of the witness offered by those in consecrated life: “Consecrated men and women are a special treasure in the Church who allow the love of Jesus to become tangible. By dedicating their entire lives to following Christ, consecrated persons are particularly able to reach out to those on the peripheries of our society and bring the message of the Gospel to all those in need.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter. USCCB contributed. Photos by James Sarkis and SueAnn Howell.
