The following address was given by Sister Norma at 2019 RFC Congress this past October in Louisville, KY.
Sister Norma: Is God calling me to be a religious sister?
I’d like to start with me because I think that at the core who I am has a lot to do with my own personal formation. And since you all are about formation, I thought it would be very nice to start with how I got started in this religious life of mine.
And so personally, my thoughts and who I thought I’d be are very different than who I am today. I’m an artist. I went to school and I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts. I remember my teacher asking me to do a mural for them; she put butcher paper on the wall and I actually did the nativity for her on the whole wall.
I know I have that talent. God gave me that gift. So my goals were professional, the world was mine. I was out to conquer the world with my art, but God had other plans for me – and God figured I’m going to get this one! And so he managed to get me because when I graduated from college with my Bachelors of Fine Arts, my dad said, “No, you’re coming home and you’re going to stay home and you’re going to be a teacher. You can be a teacher, but you’re coming home, you’re going to get married.” And I said, “I don’t think so.” So I was kind of waiting, figuring out how to get out of the house without upsetting my dad. I figured the best way to do it was go back to school.
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