Reflection from Katie Rose
It was all God’s Divine Providence that led me to working with the Little Sisters in Somerville and I thank him everyday for his plan! I never expected to spend my summer all the way up north in Massachusetts working with Sisters and giving my time to the elderly! But what a gift it was! I have been discerning my vocation to religious life for about five years, but I have not had a good amount of time to sincerely pray about it and discern. But this summer, the Lord really wanted not only to give me that time to spend with him, but also to spend time serving him. The Lord called me to serve this summer, and I could not have been happier to serve him in the elderly.
During the very first weekend of my summer with the Sisters — before I even had a chance to work with the Residents at the Home in Somerville — I went to the novitiate in Queens, NY, for the Little Sisters’ summer discernment retreat. I was so happy to be starting off my eight weeks of service and discernment with an opportunity to just sit with the Lord.
What I didn’t expect was the joy of new friends! Since beginning to discern my vocation I’ve never really had any other young women alongside me on the journey. On this retreat, I met so many who are on the same journey as I am, and it was so good! The Lord especially led me to friendship with three girls: Maddie, who was working in Queens for her second summer, and Amanda and Jessica, working in Pawtucket, RI. We formed such a wonderful bond through our mutual adventure of discerning religious life, and I felt so overjoyed that I could finally know some girls on this adventure.
I worked a lot with the infirm and more dependent Residents, and it really showed me how to love others in such a different way: to be attentive to their needs, to learn how to love others through true compassion, through acts of mercy, and most of all, learning to see him through it all. This summer was awesome for discerning my vocation not only because I got to attend Mass every day and have time to just go to the chapel and sit with him, but also because I learned to serve his people. I discovered that he is calling me to serve, to give my life in service to him through his people, to love them with his love. This summer, I found that this is the Lord’s Will for me — to serve.
I learned so much from the Little Sisters and their compassion for the old people, and I learned so much from the Residents and their great joy and appreciation for life. There were so many moments that I was able to spend with the Residents that I will forever treasure, so many that I will hold in my heart until the day I die. I think about the old people and the impact they have had on my life almost every day. The Lord did so much to show me His love through the old people. I am so grateful for a summer well spent with the Little Sisters!
As I look back upon this wonderful adventure with such providential friends with whom the Lord has blessed me, all I can say is: All glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the great adventure it is to be a discerning woman interning for the Little Sisters! Oh the people you will meet, the friendships you will make, the places you will go, and the encounters with Christ you will have! – Katie Rose Borello, Georgia College
Reprinted from Serenity Magazine
