The Vocation Story of
Sister Barbara Conroy, OSB
Hands of Hope Hospice Chaplain

I feel like a dream came true on September 16th, 2001, the day of my perpetual profession to the monastic way of life. Since my student days at Bishop LeBlond High School in St. Joseph, Missouri, I have always been intrigued by the Benedictine Sisters. I wanted the peace that they seemed to share with teenagers.

During my high school days, I asked Sister Mary David about being a Benedictine and she explained to me the importance of furthering my education and living on my own. She told me, "Your vocation to religious life will always be a part of you." Sister Mary David was so right. Experiencing life on my own helped me to realize that everyone is a good person and that all of God's people are in need of love.

For three years I lived alone and enjoyed working in parish ministry in northwest Missouri. Parish life deepened my spirituality and desire for a relation-ship with God. Through the influence of Fr. Joachim, a Conception Abbey monk, I was re-connected to Benedictines. This gift rekindled my own attraction to religious life. Mindful I was still missing the peace that I saw in the Benedictine sisters, the authenticity of God¯s invitation became more real.

Thus, in January 1994, I entered Mount St. Scholastica and became a novice the following year. Visiting the older sisters of the community and hearing their stories about community life gifted me in countless ways. Oddly enough, the silence that bugged me in my canonical year was truly a gift during the retreat as I approached my final vows. While I am not always aware of God¯s deep abiding peace, yet as I proclaimed my perpetual profession before my sisters, my and family, I felt God's love encircling me. The Mount is truly my home. I look forward to living many years within the monastery and, together with my sisters, seeking God and serving God's people in whatever way I am called.

Never give up on how you feel God is asking you to serve. Patience and time reveals God's will.

Email Sister Barbara at bconroy@hotmail.com

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