The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-06-10
MARYANN'S VOCATION

Missions are oftentimes attended
by the most unexpected results, as
witness the mission that left Miss
Maryann Donnelly with a vocation.
| do not mean to insinuate that Mary
ann was great sinner; it was simply
because she was not the type of young
woman whose mind turns naturally to
the serious things of life that her sud
den serious thought for the future
was surprising.
Maryann "cut" the largest formal
party of the season on the evening
that the idea dawned and consulted
one of the missionary Fathers in re
gard to her suddenly acquired prob
lem. Her mind had turned, of course,
to the religious state; she was quite
determined, she said, to give her life
to God within the sacred precincts of
the cloister.
| The missionary Father, as mission
airy Fathers are apt to be, was a good
| judge of character. Furthermore, he
had known Maryann and Maryann's
family for years He listened courte-
ously while Maryann spoke and when
she had finished abruptly asked her:
What, may l ask, is your idea of
the religious life?"
Unconsciously, Maryann folded her
hands and raised her eyes sanctimon-
iously to the ceiling.
'Why--I really, hardly know" she
said, vaguely.
1t developed in time that her idea
was strangely one-sided one. Mary
ann had been prevented by an unusual
combination of circumstances. from
ever coming in contact with Sisters
She thought of their existence as an
idealized state of bliss in which dim,
taper-lighted chapels, becoming white
habits and deep-organ notes predomi-
mated. When the missionary Father
remarked, not. without purpose, that
taper-lighted chapels had to be- kept
clean at the expense of great physical
efforts and that white habits required
much patient laundering, she appeared
both incredulous and surprised. 3
But I've never scrubbed floor in
all my. life,p said Maryann, with the
hint of toss of her head Il really
couldn't enter an order where l should
have hard physical work to do. i'm
not strong enough. Surely Sisters
don't do things like that"
Some of them do not, but members
of the active orders do many things
besides singing and praying. Don't
think by taking the veil they pass for
ever out of the world of little, .irri-
tatfng, everyday tasks and worries.
They do dispense with some of them.
but they are still human" And he
added more in the same strain.
MarXann left his presence, some
what discouraged. The task of, finding
her niche in the world looked con
siderably harder than it had at first.
She had decided that her vocation was
not, after all, SO simple a thing as
she had previously believed it to be.
The missionary walked to the door
with her and quoted, in parting, the
words OF the wise and gentle shepherd
of souls, st. Francis de Sales. ~
We must make you a. Christfan, Z he
said. before we think Of making you
a nun. And he added, notfngthe sud
den sadness of her facet, ts 10
Just trust to God to show what He
wants of you. Things will work out
in His own good time SO that you viii
know All of us have some work to
do for Him. You will find yours natur-
ally and easily in time
Whereupon, Maryann went home,
like the rich young man of the Bible,
very sad at heart. 1890
If were girl in story, she told
herself. bitterly, Il should make jelli4s
for sick old ladies and become the
mainstay of my whole family too. But
! detest jellies and | couldn't make
one if tried. Besides, / don't know
any unattached old ladies / could feed
them to. AS to my family She
paused eloquently .Maryann's family
comprised Of a father and mother and
younger brother and sister. TheE7weRe
all unusually Independent and self