This article is part of a series of interviews with men and women in the Notre Dame community who have responded to God’s call to holiness in different ways in each of their own lives. Here, Sr. Margaret Mary Mitchel shares her own vocational journey as well as advice to those discerning their own vocations.

Irish Rover: How would you describe vocation in a general sense?

Sr. Margaret Mary Mitchel: Vocation in a general sense is a call from God; it’s the experience of “the breath of God on one’s life which stirs our deepest and noblest aspirations” as I’ve heard it said by a priest friend. Vocation is deeper than committing oneself to some noble cause, though it usually leads to that. It is allowing oneself to be transformed by God’s grace, to fall in love with God who created us out of love and for His love. Discovering the desires that He has placed in our hearts and living them out are the adventure of a lifetime.

What is the mission of Campus Ministry, and what role do you play within that?

The mission of Campus Ministry is to bring education, the Catholic faith and the hope of the Cross to students and the broader Notre Dame community. This is accomplished through the charism of the Holy Cross Congregation with its five pillars of Mind, Heart, Zeal, Family and Hope. In my own life I was touched by the hope of this phrase from Fraternal Life in Community (a magisterial document on religious life): “Christ gives a person two basic certainties: the certainty of being infinitely loved and the certainty of being capable of loving without limits. Nothing except the Cross of Christ can give in a full and definitive way these two certainties and the freedom they bring” (22). In the freedom of that hope, I heard God’s call to religious life. Now I am here at Notre Dame for those who are wondering how to hear God’s voice more deeply in their lives or how to respond to that call when one feels the need to give that “something more” back to God.

What is your personal vocation story? What intermediary steps lead you to where you are now?

My personal vocation story sadly entails a falling away from the Sacraments and not acknowledging the Lord’s kingship in my life through worshiping Him each Sunday at Holy Mass. I was working as an Industrial Engineer in New Hampshire after graduating from Purdue University. Skiing became my weekend occupation to the exclusion of any recognition of God or His love for me. From there, I and a group of my friends quit our jobs and headed to Colorado to become “ski-bums.” This meant working a job in a ski-town that provided a season ticket, which allowed daily access to the local ski area. But in such a place where the beauty and grandeur of the mountains surrounded me, it was hard (thank goodness!) to remain closed off from His presence.

I eventually became friends with another “ski-bum” who invited me to go to Mass one Sunday. Slowly, the Lord drew me back into relationship with Him. One defining turn in my life came from a simple task that the local Pastor asked me to do one day. I was all alone in the little mountain church when I was crossing the sanctuary to get the tools from the sacristy. I froze in front of the tabernacle as I suddenly felt His presence in the Eucharist so powerfully that I sank to my knees. So much flashed through my head at that moment with thoughts culminating in a desire to live more with Him and for Him than I already was.

Afterward it wasn’t enough to go to Mass on Sundays. I started to go two and three times a week and then daily. Soon even that wasn’t enough and I was left with the urgent thought that I need to do more, but I didn’t know what that “more” was. The desire was answered with a phone call from a friend back in Indiana, inviting me to a pilgrimage to Italy with a Young Adult group, three priests and a religious sister. It was on that trip in conversation with the other young people and the sister that I finally put my finger on what that “more” was—religious life.

How does being a religious sister allow you to most fully live out your vocation?

Once I accepted God’s call to consecrated religious life, I felt a deep lasting joy that is hard to describe. After visiting several communities, I discovered I felt at home with the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration. I entered, and after 8 years of formation, I professed my final vows. I live out that vocation with a thousand daily “yeses” in striving to keep open to His will, especially as it comes to me through my superiors, my fellow sisters, co-workers and students.

What role does prayer play in your vocation?

Prayer is conversation with the One who loves you unconditionally. It played and still plays a huge role in knowing and growing in the knowledge of my vocation. Late at night I would go with friends to a local parish that had perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We would make a holy hour, then usually end up at some coffee shop discussing a multitude of things from the holy to the mundane. I’m not saying that spending time in prayer is always an easy thing. Holy Mother Church acknowledges that prayer is a battle. But my 2:30 a.m. holy hour is also a resting in the arms of my spouse.

Do you have any advice for young people discerning their vocation?

Talk to God and develop your prayer life. He is the one who created you out of love and wants all that is beautiful, true and good for you. He wants to reveal His plan for you and all we have to do is to be patient and be open to it. Circumstances, people and events in your life along with time spent just being with Him will slowly reveal His will for you. The advice of good holy priests and others that you see are joyful in God’s service are wonderful helps as well.

Michael Infantine is a sophomore studying PLS who recently enjoyed his first ever snow day. Contact him at minfanti@nd.edu.