by Therese Horvat
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Becoming a nun or a Catholic Sister wasn’t something that Brenda López considered as a young girl growing up in the Los Angeles area. In her teens, she wanted to run away from the idea of a vocation to religious life. Despite her resistance, she had a strong sense that God continued to pursue her.
Over time, God persisted and prevailed.
On Oct. 11, Sister Brenda professed perpetual vows as a Servant of Mary, Minister to the Sick, during a special Mass at the congregation’s provincial house in Kansas City, Kansas. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann was the celebrant and homilist.
Sister Brenda’s profession of vows culminates nine years of preparation toward becoming a Servant of Mary, and several years spent discovering and accepting God’s plan for her life.
She dates her journey and God’s pursuit to her youth. Her family moved to Mexico for three years during which she attended a Catholic school taught by women religious. This was the main source of her early faith formation. A few years later, after returning to California, her entire family attended a Catholic youth conference. It was there that Sister Brenda first met the Servants of Mary; she was impressed that they were nurses, a career she was considering.
Not long after, the Servants of Mary invited her, her two siblings and two friends to a day retreat at their convent in Oxnard, California. Sister Brenda wasn’t discerning a religious vocation, but she was curious to learn about community and religious life. The joyfulness of the Servants of Mary and their ministry to the sick resonated with her.
The young woman continued to push back against the idea of becoming a Sister. However, following high school graduation and before entering college, she had a conversion experience. Upon seeing a photograph of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the teenager recalled the Virgin Mary’s words to Juan Diego, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”
These comforting words spoke to Sister Brenda and made her realize that the Lord was calling her to something.
The second semester of her freshman year of college, she participated in an 11-week version of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius geared toward teens. She also discussed her vocation hesitancy with a priest. Eventually, she felt more open to listening and answering God’s call. Sister Brenda admits to having no idea how to pray or meditate, but she wanted to learn and she wanted to change.
She joined the Servants of Mary as a postulant in 2013.
“That first year, I wanted to go home every day,” Sister Brenda recalls. “But something kept me there and told me to give it time.”
As she learned more about the religious community and the commitments involved, she also received encouragement from other Sisters to trust in God. After making her first vows, Sister Brenda knew she was at home with the Servants of Mary and where God intended her to be.
Over the next six years — five of which she spent at the Kansas City, Kansas, convent — she continued in formation. She became more immersed in community life, received certification as a nurse aide and provided patient care for the sick and elderly in their homes. Leading up to her recent profession of vows, she spent six months at the Servants of Mary formation house in Spain.
“After nine years experiencing God’s love and mercy, I understand now why the Servants of Mary are so joyful,” Sister Brenda said. “Accepting God’s will, you feel at peace. I know the Lord is leading me where he wants me to be.”
