About 17 years ago, I felt the call of Christ to enter the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. My family was not happy about this choice. Even my parish priest, unfamiliar with the sisters, would not give me permission to go on a vocation camp organized by them in Bhubaneswar, India. Without any support, I felt like the thorny ground in Scripture where seeds were allowed to grow, but the competing thorns choked the life out of the good plants. Somehow though, I listened to my inner voice and went to the camp anyway. There, I felt God’s blessings and the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit. After an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament with the sisters, I said, “This is where I belong.”
A religious vocation is a blessing received from God. It is a journey taken where my vocation is nurtured by walking with God day by day. Of course, there are times when I feel spiritually dry and it is not easy to cope with situations, but these feelings come and disappear. Prayer and personal adoration are the greatest comforts through which I deepen my relationship with God. Whenever I go home to Chhattisgarh and meet with my family and friends, they always tell me, “You are blessed.” When I hear this, I know it is a blessing and an opportunity to continue to nurture every moment of my life and to be a witness of the living Gospel.
Although my parents had arranged for me to go into nursing, and my own involvement in the national volleyball team meant that opportunities for my future were wide open, the powerful attraction that I had felt with the Sacred Hearts Sisters could not be matched. The congregation has a beautiful charism, vision and mission. It is “to contemplate, live and proclaim God’s redeeming love.” One of the important elements is the family spirit. This is very significant as I feel called to serve through random acts of kindness and to transform the family in today’s world. I want people to feel at home and comfortable with me that through this relationship they will come to know the living charism of God.
During my final year of studies for my degree in social work and social science at Niswass, I got placed in a leprosy rehabilitation center. I was not wearing a uniform or a religious habit, but a blind man asked me, “Are you a nun?” I was shocked by this question and could not sleep that night. The next day I asked him, “Uncle, what made you think that I am a nun?” He said, “I find you very different from the other students.” I understood then that even a blind person can sense our humbleness, compassionate heart and good attitude; I don’t have to wear a habit.
It is a great challenge for those in the consecrated life to keep focus amidst the many works. But, when we do focus on each person we are with at the moment, and treat them with the same love, respect and compassion as Jesus would, God’s love and blessings abound.
Sister Vandana Narayan is a Sister of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. She is 13 years professed and has lived in Bhubaneswar, and Kolkata in India; and in Manila, Philippines. She is currently a student at Chaminade University of Honolulu and resides with her community at Regina Pacis Convent in Kaimuki.
