Finding My Vocation in Catholic Schools

was developed in Catholic schools. I owe a great deal to many of my teachers and principals who helped me.

More profoundly, I also learned to discern the higher vocation to marriage. I recall the same principal, a Daughter of Charity, asking me, “Have you considered being a sister?” As an “all-knowing teenager,” I confidently answered, “Sister, you have to be kidding. I have six sisters in my family and I do not intend on living with any more sisters.”

Joking aside, her question stuck with me. Was God calling me to be a sister? How could I make a difference in the world? Where do I fit in? These questions swirled as a theme through my mind for several years. It made me ponder, pray and talk to God, seeking God’s will for my pursuit of a religious or married life. The Lord always provides when we listen and follow. While the road to marrying the love of my life is too long a story for this article, I will say God is amazing and provided for me an incredible, faith-filled husband who is also happy I serve in Catholic schools.

As I reflect on the “path God has planned for us in this life,” I find pure joy in my memories of attending Catholic schools! I know the painstaking preparation and love my teachers gave me so that I could be who I am today. Catholic schools made ALL the difference in my life!

VERONICA MURPHY is married to her husband, Bruce, and served as teacher and administrator at St. Rita (Dayton), Mother Maria Anna Brunner, Purcell Marian and Royalmont Academy Catholic schools. She is currently the Director of Religion Curriculum and Resources for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.