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HOW HAVE OTHER SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME RECOGNIZED THEIR CALL?

SND Vocation Spotlight | Vocation Stories

SND Spotlight

Sister Meg Walsh
Our newest SND, Sister Meg, has a deep calling to work in ministry with the women, children and families of Peru.  God first called Meg to teach and now he is calling her to expand on that vocation as a Sister of Notre Dame.  She knows her role in preparing children and families for the sacraments and teaching English will be personally challenging as well as enlightening.  Meg says, "The people are so open and share God so unhesitatingly.  I have a feeling....a sense of calling - a 'sentimiento.'  Even though Peru is a different place than what I am used to, it feels like home.  This is my vocation."

Vocation Stories

Sister Bernadette Metzger (formerly Sr. Daniel Joseph)
"My Dominican aunt was a great inspiration to me, and I knew very early on that I wanted the same kind of deep joy and love in serving others that I saw in my aunt.  As I grew up, however, I struggled to escape the call to religious life as weekends of dancing and social activities and later talk of marriage and having a family crowded in.  There was no place to hide."  The call continues 50 years later as Sister Bernadette says, "God nudges, pushes, whispers, shouts, cajoles and loves me...and I continue to say 'yes' to His call."

Sister Elizabeth Anne  Schaad (formerly Sr. Joseph Elizabeth)
"After hearing my pastor's sermon on religious vocations I thought, 'why not me!' I turned down the corner of my novena book one Monday evening when I was in the sixth grade to mark my decision to become a Sister.  I didn't tell anyone of my decision until I was a senior in high school.  I never thought about changing my mind."

Sister Mary Motz (formerly Sr. Margaret Michele)
"In the middle of the sixth grade, my family moved to Sharonville.  Sr. Rose Loretta's genuine acceptance of me and my siblings touched me deeply and planted both the seed of religious life and the desire to teach."  Today she says of her vocation, "It has offered me the opportunity to live out both my dreams of religious life and teaching in a way I could never have fathomed.  Only in Notre Dame could I have lived the full spirituality reflective life of a Mary and labored in the vineyard as a Martha."

Sister Stella Marie Beck
"I was attracted to religious life in high school but put it off, beginning classes at Xavier University and working in downtown Cincinnati.  But the call would not go away."  Today, she says "that the quiet, prayerful atmosphere in our convents; the gracious concern among the Sisters has been the most meaningful part of my life as a Sister of Notre Dame."

Sister Diane Reed (formerly Sr. Mary Peter)
"I had more of an 'osmosis' experience than a 'call' experience," says Sr. Diane Reed.  "I spent so much of my childhood among our Sisters that at some point I realized I wanted to be like them.  They nurtured the teaching gene in me, inherited from my grandfather, a farmer who was a teacher as well.  My life in Notre Dame has been a landscape full of many challenging and life-giving valleys and peaks.  The blessed constant amid my journey has been the gift of wise women walking by my side."

Sister Jane Mudd (formerly Sr. Mary Catherine)
"In my Irish family, my mother and grandmother prayed every day that one of us would have a vocation.  They asked us children to pray for that intention also.  My prayer was always that God would choose one of my sisters but not me.  I tried to talk God out of it and gave him all the reasons why I shouldn't be a Sister like...I had to help take care of my family...my boyfriend and I would make a good Catholic family together...but God said, 'I want you in Notre Dame.' And 50 years later I am saying a big 'Thank You, God.'"

Sister Paula Marie Becker
"I think my vocation developed like a seed - slowly, unseen, and sometimes ignored!  It was constantly nurtured, however, by my family and by many Sisters both in my grade school and high school.  And so, it has been a great blessing for me that the seed of vocation did take root and grow within me.  My commitment to God in Notre Dame, the Sisters who have accompanied me in community over the years, and the many children whose lives touched mine have been most meaningful in my life and will remain a source of joy and gratitude."

Sister Mary Jo D'Amico (formerly Sr. Francis Michele)
"There was a strong religious atmosphere and family prayer in my home.  I can remember as a youngster being particularly interested in the vocation ads in the St. Anthony Messenger that came to our house.  When I met the SNDs at high school, I was drawn to St. Julie.  The example of St. Julie in all her struggles staying close to God and always trusting the 'Good God' has been an inspiration to me through many experiences these past 50 years."

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