SISTERS “WHAT MADE you want to be a nun?” That’s what the teens and young adults I work with frequently ask when they muster up enough courage.
Why I’m a Catholic sister by Sister Su Fern Khoo,
V.D.M.F.
After being “put on hold” by God when praying about her vocation, a little bell finally went off to point the way. Sister Su Fern Khoo, V.D.M.F. is a member of the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity. She is the religious education coordinator for adults and youth at St. Anthony Church in Long Beach, California. She also directs retreats and programs at the Verbum Dei Spirituality Center in Long Beach.
W
HAT MADE YOU WANT to be a nun?” That’s what the teens and young adults I work with frequently ask when they muster up enough courage. They think it’s an intrusive question, but I think it’s a good one, and when they ask it takes a few minutes but I tell them this story of prayer, longing for God, frustration, and finally understanding that arrived in the midst of a bus ride.
God’s “busy signal” I remember well the day God gave me a big hint about my vocation. I recall storming angrily into the university chapel after an argument with my boyfriend. Our conflict was adding to my inner turmoil from weeks of trying to figure out what in the world God really wanted with my life. So far the quick response to anyone asking me if I wanted to be a nun was a definite: “No, I am not going to be a nun. It never even crossed my mind.” And it hadn’t—until more than two people asked me the same question in the same week.
104 | VISION 2015 | VocationNetwork.org
