©
2004 Ursuline Sisters
of Louisville.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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morning, as I was filling out an application [for an excursion with the
Appalachian Trail Club], a friend stopped by my desk and asked if I'd like
to accompany her on a weekend retreat for business girls to be held on the
campus at Catholic University. It happened to be occurring the same weekend
as the hiking trip. Reasoning there would be other hiking trips, I agreed
to join her on retreat. That decision changed my life.
The experience had a profound spiritual effect on me. I felt God call me to service while I was there. Religious life was not mentioned in the retreat master's lectures, but I came away with an overwhelming sense of peace. A Greymore nun later told me she had remarked to her companion about me, "That girl has a religious vocation." Ruth [a family friend with whom she was living] had approved of my decision to attend the retreat, but she could not understand the change in me afterward. I locked myself in the bathroom to be alone and think, and found myself staring at my reflection in a full-length mirror. As I wrestled with my thoughts, it seemed I was talking with the Holy Spirit or my Guardian Angel. A voice inside me asked, "You want to go to the Convent, don't you?" I answered, "Yes. I do. I do!" The inner voice reminded me that I was used to having my own money to spend when and where I liked. I answered that I could learn to live on less. The question then was, "What about celibacy?" I had to give that some thought, remembering my long-time dream of wanting a home and family of my own. Would I be faithful to that vow? The voice answered, "If you make the vow, you can keep it." I realized then that if I made the vow, I would be making a Covenant with God. I knew He would do His part. With His help, I would do mine. There was one more hurdle. I was accustomed to being my own boss. Would I be able to give unquestioning obedience to my superiors? At that time I did not know that Ursulines were either educators or convent housekeepers, but I believed my superiors would not ask me to do anything unreasonable. Since I had been out of school for some time, I thought I would probably be assigned to do domestic work. Even though I had never been required to do domestic work in my life, I told myself I would be content with it, if that were my assignment. I knew God would help me. When Ruth asked me what order I would join, I replied, "I'll be an Ursuline, of course." "I don't know where you get those words," she said to me. "I feel as if I'm fighting against God. From now on, I'll help you." I left Washington in April and went to South Carolina to say goodbye to my family, and to make the final arrangements to enter the convent. It was that fall, Sept. 8, 1938, that I arrived at the Ursuline Motherhouse in Louisville, Ky., to enter the order as a candidate. It had been decided that I should attend Ursuline College, where I would earn a degree in education, and become a teacher. See how God had worked through my superiors. Ten months later, in July 1939, I was ready to enter the Ursuline novitiate. On that date I received the holy habit of religion-the traditional dress-and also received the name, Sister Mary Samuel, OSU. I have never regretted my decision to enter religious life. I am glad our Ursuline Congregation found me worthy and accepted my vows. The religious life has been, and is, a very good place for one who wishes to devote him/her self to God. I have been happy and content with my decision. Most of my 55 years as an Ursuline Sister were spent as a primary grade school teacher. My assignments have taken me to seven different states.
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