Sister Karolyn Nunes has enjoyed every assignment she has received in her 19 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George.
Not because the assignments were the most glamorous or exciting moments, but because each one gave her the opportunity to make Christ’s merciful love visible to those she encountered.
Founded in 1869 by Mother Anselma Bopp in a small German village, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George (FSGM) quickly grew as women were drawn to the community’s mission of making Christ’s merciful love known to the world. In 1923, the community arrived in the United States and has since been serving in parishes, hospitals, schools and nursing homes across the United States.
“Our community was founded to do whatever was needed for the people, to act as spiritual mothers. We said that we would be the guys to call, and that meant taking care of children, of the elderly, the sick and the needy in every condition,” Sister Karolyn said. “What emerged was this idea of making merciful love known because mercy goes wherever there’s a need.”
In the 19 years she has been a member of the community, each assignment has brought Sister Karolyn immense joy because she has been able to show Christ’s mercy to people from all walks of life.
“Our community was founded to do whatever was needed for the people, to act as spiritual mothers. We said that we would be the community to call. … What emerged was this idea of making merciful love known because mercy goes wherever there’s a need.”
Sister Karolyn Nunes
“I did parish work for just a year, and I loved it, and I didn’t know how much I would love to teach high school, especially in Kansas, but that was a powerful experience,” Sister Karolyn said. “And now I serve as the vocation director, which is all the things I loved about teaching high school, namely accompanying young people and growing in relationships without all the things I didn’t enjoy about teaching in high school, such as grading and lesson plans.”
On campus
This model of radical service and making Christ’s merciful love known to the world has become attractive for many young women. Sister Peter Marie Tran joined the FSGM community in 2017, and she shared that she was drawn to the community by how real and personable the sisters are.
“For me, the biggest thing that attracted me to the community was the joy and the realness of the sisters, their authenticity, and just being able to recognize how they can make the merciful love of Christ visible,” said Sister Peter Marie. “During visits to their motherhouse, I saw within the sisters this joy that came from knowing that they are loved by Christ even with all of my wounds, imperfections and failures.”
During her time as a member of the community, Sister Peter Marie has experienced a wide variety of assignments, including serving at a nursing home in St. Louis, Missouri, which was especially challenging as she had never worked with the elderly before.
“Everywhere that I’ve gone, there’s been something that the Lord’s been wanting to meet and receive there,” Sister Peter Marie said. “By the end of that one year of serving at the nursing home, I just recognized that all of us are children of God, and we are called to delight in how he made each one of us and that we need to receive from each other the gift of who we are.”
“For me, the biggest thing that attracted me to the community was the joy and the realness of the sisters, their authenticity, and just being able to recognize how they can make the merciful love of Christ visible.”
Sister Peter Marie Tran
Now Sister Peter Marie is studying at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications. Being at Benedictine has allowed her to continue her own formation, while also showing Christ’s merciful love to others.
“Being at Benedictine has helped deepen my own religious consecration and what it means to be a beloved daughter of God,” Sister Peter Marie said. “Being involved on campus and sharing that identity with other people is such a great opportunity. Whether it is having conversations with students or with professors, there is this unique opportunity to witness to Christ’s merciful love in such an expansive way on the campus.”
During her time at Benedictine, Sister Peter Marie has been able to share her vocation story with many young women and help them learn how to discern well. She always tells young women that God will work in his time, not theirs.
“One thing that I’ve encountered in conversations and in my own discernment journey is that the Lord is so good in his timing,” Sister Peter Marie said. “There can be pressure that you have to figure it out. And I think the most important thing is that your vocation comes from your relationship with the Lord, not from you figuring it out. When your gaze is directed toward being in union with Christ, everything flows from it, including your vocation.”
Encouraging discernment
In her own work as the vocation’s director, Sister Karolyn encounters this discernment dilemma seemingly everyday. Discernment, she says, begins by spending time with Christ and building a strong prayer life.
“How do you listen to anybody? It first begins by setting aside my own noise and the noise in our worlds,” Sister Karolyn said. “Then you have to spend time with Our Lord because you know the voice of the people we spend time with, so if we want to know the Lord’s voice, we must spend time with him. Then, we can begin noticing what’s happening inside of me during these times of prayer and offering it all to Jesus.”
Young people have not been taught to listen, said Sister Karolyn. That is why we have what is perceived to be a vocational crisis. But in reality, it is just a listening crisis.
“I don’t think there is a vocation crisis as much as there is a listening crisis,” Sister Karolyn said. “I often go back to something that Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of the United States when he visited in 2008. He said that if we actually teach young people how to live with and for God, we will never have to despair or worry about vocations.”
