E se eu fosse passar uns dias a um convento?

AND IF I WERE TO PASS ONE DAY
TO A CONVENT?

After all, God is even closer and maybe he wants something more from me.

I've been an Ally of Santa Maria since 2008, but the story of my vocation begins much earlier.

These are joyful days. In a few days“ time, Sr. Ana Luísa Castro will profess her Perpetual Vows in the city of her birth, Guimarães. Behind the ”Yes“ that she will profess on December 8, in front of her community, friends and family, Sister Ana Luísa has a story of ”God's will". It's worth reading, giving thanks for the gift of her life and self-giving!

When I was a child, I had a basic idea of who God was; my mother always took me to Mass on Sundays and made sure to tell me that God was always with us and that this Presence was often felt in the most diverse ways! I grew up with this faith which, although not very deep, was filled with small key moments; one of them was a small book about Blessed Jacinta that my grandmother brought me from Fatima, and from then on I started praying the rosary every day, on my own.

“...from then on I started praying the rosary every day, at my own risk."

In the meantime, school was going well and my dream of becoming a doctor was gaining momentum until, in the 12th grade, a strange idea came to me: “What if I went to a convent for a few days?”. So I spent a week in a convent of Discalced Carmelite Sisters, where the contemplation, silence and prayerful, joyful atmosphere of that beautiful place marked my life. I came away with a different vision of God: God is even closer and perhaps wants something more from me.

“what if I went to a convent for a few days?"

That restlessness stayed there in the back of my mind while my life was unfolding in a wonderful way: I got into the Faculty of Medicine in Porto! Moving from Guimarães to the university environment of Porto meant a new independence that allowed me to live my own way. However, although this new phase had everything to be ideal, it didn't fulfill me and that experience of God in Carmel came up again and again.

It all came to a head at a summer camp where I made an unexpected friendship with a young woman who was very different from me and who, a few months later, would join a religious congregation. I started visiting her in Fatima and, in that house of the Covenant of St. Mary, I discovered a place of great intimacy with God and Our Lady and a truly touching fraternal joy. From then on, everything became clearer. I finished the course with my mind made up to enter the Congregation. In those last few years spent in Porto, when so many other proposals came up, regular spiritual accompaniment and a life of prayer were essential, so that I could make a good discernment in great inner freedom.

“...everything became clearer"

For my parents, it was painful because the surprise of the decision was compounded by the fact that I was an only child, but for me, the day I entered in 2008 was the beginning of a life that I wanted to give up, through the hands of Our Lady, whom I learned to call Mother. In the Covenant of St. Mary, I discovered the place that God prepares for me every day, so that with Him and in community I can bring it to everyone, particularly through the Message of Fatima.

Present Newspaper | Leiria-Fátima
October 24, 2015