Sister Faustina Marie Koga, left, will make her perpetual vows as a Carmelite Sister of the Divine Heart of Jesus on July 2. Here she kneels with Sister Rose Therese De Castro, who will make her pertual profession as well. (Photo courtesy Sister Faustina Marie Koga)
Sister Faustina Marie Koga reflects on ‘adventure’ in religious life
By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz Hawaii Catholic Herald
“Stepping into religious life is like stepping into a shallow end of the pool. You keep going until you’re totally immersed and swimming in the life, service and love.”
Sister Faustina Marie Koga, an Island girl about to make her perpetual vows as a Carmelite Sister of the Divine Heart of Jesus, emailed the Hawaii Catholic Herald June 13 a page of her religious life reflections.
Contagious joy, profound love for the Lord and tangible excitement flow through the digital words transmitted by the young nun residing with her order on the mainland.
“Being a religious is an adventure,” Sister Faustina Marie wrote. “I know that no matter what happens, God will always take care of me.”
Her perpetual vows ceremony will be held July 2 at the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus Northern Province motherhouse in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Sister Faustina Marie and her mother, Candace Zann — a Hawaii transplant in Michigan — hoped that sharing Sister Faustina Marie’s vocation story would inspire other local women to follow God’s call to consecrated life.
Religious formation
Sister Faustina Marie, 36, will become the first perpetually professed vocation from Hawaii for the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus.
Born Emily Koga, she was baptized at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Pearl City. She grew up in Aiea, the child of a Buddhist father and Catholic mother. Sister Faustina Marie is a Pearl City High School grad, and has a bachelor’s degree in family resources from the University of Hawaii. She initially planned to pursue a career in social work.
In 2012, Sister Faustina Marie told the Hawaii Catholic Herald that her religious “calling” came during a visit with her mother in Michigan. She fell ill and prayed to God, “If you make me well, I’ll give my life to you.” She afterward developed a deep dedication to the Blessed Mother, in particular Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
She entered the Carmelite provincial house in Wauwatosa in 2009, taking the name of St. Faustina, founder of the Divine Mercy devotion.
She made her first vows on July 2, 2012, and underwent what she described then as a period of “intense study and prayer” with an annual renewal of vows.
According to the website of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus Northern Province, there are several stages a potential vocation must go through before perpetual vows.
In the initial stage of candidature, women interested in the order are encouraged to pray with the community and explore the order’s “apostolic activities” serving elderly, youth and children. Candidates are also screened for “personal maturity, physical health and fitness for the religious life.”
During postulancy, the woman is evaluated on her knowledge of basic Catholic doctrine. She is introduced to Carmelite spirituality and the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. A postulant learns about the unique “contemplative/active charism” of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus.
She then undergoes a two-year novitiate period. A novice remains in the motherhouse for the first year to deepen her Carmel spirituality. In the second novitiate year, she begins training at one of the “homes” in Wisconsin where the order serves vulnerable youth and elderly.
A novice then becomes a “junior sister.” She professes her first vows and is assigned work at a Carmelite home. She is provided with further education in a specialized area of child or elderly care. This period for junior sisters typically lasts five years.
Tertiate is the last stage before perpetual vows. Tertiate lasts six months and requires a final thorough review of the order’s rule, directory, constitutions and more.
The Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus serve across the U.S. and worldwide in places such as Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Russia. They are dedicated to prayer and the Eucharist, and to living out those graces through the vulnerable and needy in their communities.
Prayer and action
Sister Faustina Marie has been immersed in the religious formation process and is looking forward to making her commitment to consecrated life.
“My conviction of God’s goodness and absolute tender and solicitous care of me has deemed as I experienced it in external ways in what I’ve seen in my religious life,” she wrote, “and also in the depths of my interior, my heart and my soul.”
“I want others that I care for or come across to experience the same thing,” she added.
Religious life has not always been easy. Sister Faustina recalled difficulty adjusting to her order’s daily routine, which begins at 5:30 a.m. with prayer and meditation.
“It was difficult to get used to getting up so early,” she said. “Even though I failed most of the time to keep awake, I feel that God looked at my zeal for trying and not my success.”
She noted that one of her biggest milestones came in an assignment in housekeeping. Sister Faustina Marie said the assignment made her greatly anxious. As “tears of terror fell involuntarily down my face in prayer,” the young nun said she heard God ask, “Are you happy?”
“(I) mustered up all my strength of love of God and said, ‘Yes, Lord.’”
“I had given God the greatest glory by showing him great confidence,” Sister Faustina said. “I’ve lived by that ever since.”
When asked about her order’s “contemplative/active” charism, Sister Faustina explained that she has always had a feel for prayer in Carmel spirituality, but “active” service in her order’s mission was refreshing.
“The sacrifice and atonement as I’ve seen myself begin to put into action and have seen from the outstanding example of the perpetually professed sisters as they sacrifice their time, sleep and comforts for the sake of the people we serve is so inspiring,” she said.
“I feel fulfilled as someone totally consecrated to God to work for love,” she added. “I have a great desire to give everything I have. I feel I am ready to swim.”
Mom’s reflection
Candace Zann, an active Catholic, has seen how religious life has made her daughter “change and blossom.”
“I tried to raise a loving, caring and generous soul,” Zann said. “I prayed that she would serve others in some capacity. Her life of service is demanding, and yet she is always joyful.”
“Religious life formed her, changed her and brought her closer to Jesus,” Zann added about Sister Faustina Marie. “I will be filled with emotion when she is prostrate before the altar. And now her goal is to become a saint. Isn’t that every mother’s wish?”
To Island women considering a religious vocation, Zann said, “listen and pause and ponder. Discernment is a long process that requires patience, trust and humility.” Zann noted that finding a good spiritual adviser is key when pursuing consecrated life as well. “God’s possible call to you can bring unbounded joy,” she said.
