The Phone Call

Today we were overjoyed when we finally heard the phone ringing at the other end in the Bronx after 40 minutes of busy signals. The virtue of patience was being tested by all of us......  but it was worth the wait to here Laura's voice. So this is how it goes , we call hoping to get thru, then a sister answers the phone in the parlor area, last month in Spanish and this month by an English speaking sister, we communicate asking for Sister Laura, "just a minute please" after 2 minutes ....."Hello, who are you looking for?" (This is not my Laura) I answer  "Sister Laura Popp," "Oh OK I will go find her, it may be a few minutes,"  "all right Sister"  is my reply, she answers back "God Bless you". In the silence after 3 minutes we are all starting to think, we hope this time that is elapsing is NOT going to count towards our 15 minutes! 

Then Laura's voice is heard!!! "Hello" and chaos ensues as Mom, Dad, brothers Isaac and Jacob, sister Krista and niece Isabela all start talking at once. After the initial few minutes we listen as Laura asks questions about us and how we are doing, and when 2 year old Isabela grabs the phone we freak out as we pray she doesn't accidentally hang up the phone by touching END.....yikes!

She sounds well and happy, is bubbly and excited to be talking to us, and as her daddy I believe she is content in her decision. The tone and energy in her voice was so good to hear, and she wanted us to make sure to tell all of her extended family (both blood and church) that she so loves to receive the letters and pictures that everyone has sent. The mistress (Sister in charge of aspirants) was holding the mail for a while, from Laura and the other sisters and when we asked why, her answer was "I think because its Lent and due to the Triduum" which is a 3 day silent retreat when they perform their work in silence during Lent. During that 3 day retreat the Lord was so good and He renewed her reasons about why she wanted to come and serve Him. Every day she sees the beauty and gift of what it means for her to serve our Lord with the Missionaries of Christ. But it is still hard.

Laura says she can definitely feels the love and prayers from all of us including her church family, and that this "blanket of prayers" as she called it is making a difference in making the adjustment to the her new life. She asked for prayer that she does not get sick, as something similar to the flu, (cough, fever, chills, head cold, etc) is making the rounds through the convent. She said she is taking her vitamin C.

She spoke about how when the weather gets cold the area hospital opens its door to allow the homeless to spend the night, The Sisters then take their 15 passenger van, that is loaded up with food they made and got from donations from "Uncle Barney", and make the rounds delivering it to those in need at the hospital and on the street. She has participated in two of those trips and it was wonderful.
The way I understand it, Uncle Barney is program that was started by a man named Barney who years ago went around begging grocery stores to donate their just expired food that was still good. He gathered it up and had the food delivered  to the Missionary. The sisters then cooked with it to make meals and also package it up to hand out to the poor. The program has been around from the early 1980's.

The sisters are praying constantly for the Holy Spirit to guide the cardinals in the election of the next pope. She said they added an extra holy Hour-which she is excited about for the cardinals and selection of the new pope. They usually don't get much current event type news, but this news was told them the first morning of the announcement from the daily visiting priest who arrives to say daily morning Mass for them.

All too soon our phone time with Laura came to end and we had to say good bye. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and letters and support of Laura! God Bless!  -Her Daddy

First Letter from the Bronx

   +

LDM

    +

Feb 3, 2013

My Dearest Family,

Praise be Jesus Christ!  It was so good to hear your voices on the phone today!  Happy Baptism Addi!  What a joy now she has been adopted into the family of God and the gates of heaven are wide open to her!  This year and a half of pre-aspirancy and aspirancy we are learning all about Baptismal Spirituality, which is what it means to belong to God as His child, so I've been learning ALL about the importance of Baptism.  Praise God!  Ahhh, I miss you all so much.  Rest is the best and worst time of each day, because I always long for home since napping is so familiar to me (Ha Ha!!) I always think of Stinky (Magnus the dog) and most importantly all of you.  But it was so good to hear your voices and to hear how "normal" life is.  At first I really struggled with the guilt of leaving you all and causing you pain, but God is good and I have already learned much, including that the life of an MC is all about the cross and staying with Mary at the foot of the cross when all others leave.  SO we will continue to miss each other, but we will offer it for Jesus and for souls and we  will remain united in the Eucharist.  I am doing well.  Each day there are struggles and each day there are joys, mostly it's all one big roller coaster ride of emotions.  The greatest test of my life, that is for sure!  At first at least once a day I couldn't remember for the life of me why I joined.  Why would anyone voluntarily leave all those they love and a comfortable life to come to the Bronx of all places and subject themselves to many daily humiliations and a completely uncomfortable life, I was convinced I was crazy :) But then we had breakfast with our regional superior and she talked about what a MC sister truly is and what life is like and I was reminded, Oh yeah, I am here for Jesus. So SLOWLY I am learning what obedience is, what true detachment is, what humility is , how to be truly chaste, what it means to love and to give all.  Please pray much for me, that I be simple, humble, open, and patient.  I am very happy to be here, but this life is very hard.   I thought I was detached from the world, but the longer I am here the more weak I see that I am, the more I see how much I need Jesus.  Heaven is my goal and Lord willing hopefully I will persevere all my life to get there, after all, that is what we are created for!  We just need the fires of purgation before hand and let me the you I don't like them!  HA HA. But they are so necessary.  As I was telling my sister the other night at dinner,  everyday is a battle of the will (as they well know)  my soul is like it says,"its good." My flesh is like "what are you doing to here? Get out! Run Fast!"So that is a little of what is going on inside my heart. 

I have been able to wake up at 4:40 a.m. Praise God!  Since you know I always need a few loud alarm clocks to get me going. There were a few mornings where the sister who was supposed to get up and ring the bell, so the rest of us would get up, over slept  and we all slept in until 6:00 a.m.  NICE!  That is one great thing about MC life.  It's so real.  We don't pretend we have it all together because we're religious. We are humans and sinners just like the rest, wrinkly clothes and all!!  Mom, you'll love this, they call themselves the"wrinkly sisters"  because they hang dry their Sari's and don't iron them :)  But our mistress says if they shake/whip them properly they shouldn't be so wrinkly.  On that note, I get assigned the task of ironing a lot.  So I  iron albs, altar cloths, purificatory, amices - you name it in the chapel, I probably iron it. It makes me feel closer to you mama :)  OHH, a not so good thing - Saturday the 19th after it had  almost been two weeks of being here, we were at the church next door to our convent for holy hour with the faith formation children and I was helping with taking the candles & things off the altar and I accidentally knocked over an entire enclosed glass candle onto the altar cloth so an inch of hot wax went all over the Altar.  It was horrible. I felt so bad since I know from you being sacristan, mom, how hard it is to get wax out of things.  I cried!  I think from a combination of stress from the past 2 weeks and from the fact that I just caused some poor soul a lot of work.  But all is okay now.  I've been sleeping very well because I go to bed exhausted everyday.  We also have rest every day and that is a saving grace so I make it through the day.  As an aspirant (really pre-aspirant) we have half a day of apostolate, so going and doing work, and half a day of class/study. We have been having classes on; the history and customs of the MCs , Baptism spirituality, learning from the catechism (which I love), and most recently we had a class on prayer.  It's wonderful!!  I forgot how much I enjoy learning things I am passionate about!  We also are having a class on scripture.  First we had an intro to scripture and now we are studying the gospel of St. Mark.  It's so interesting!  We are actually using the Navarre bible book on Mark to go through it, so you could do it along with us!  We just finished chapter 3.  So get started now! When I go out on apostolate it usually consist of helping in the soup kitchen, going out and visiting the poor, or cleaning the shelter.  Visiting can be pretty intense.  The poverty is....wow.  At first I struggled with the fact that I grew up in the same country as these people all my life, but it was so radically different. It is pretty intense!  Not something I can really describe on paper.  There is also a HUGE spiritual poverty.  These people need Jesus so bad.  You can see in their eyes how empty they are without Him.  We usually meet with people that the sisters have had some contact with before.  But recently we went just knocking on doors.  Of course, some people turn us away, but that's okay because those that don't are interested in hearing about Jesus and returning to the church. How Beautiful!!

Don't forget to write me lots.  Tell everyone to please write.  I miss you all so much.  I love hearing about your lives. Also, send me pictures, especially of the kids - they grow and change so quickly. I pray for you my family, church family, and friends everyday and entrust you to our Lady. She will bring you to Jesus.  Please pray for me as well. We have a three day triduum coming up, which means we will have three days of silence and extra prayer.  Kind of like a silent retreat, but we will still go out for our apostolate. Please tell everyone (all family, church family, friends, etc)that I am thinking of them and praying for them.  And a very special thanks to all who wrote me!  I loved hearing from them and hope to hear more!  Do something beautiful for Lent!  Do something beautiful for JESUS!  Don't be afraid of the desert.  I love you. Write me.

Forever united in the Eucharist,

Sr. Laura Rose

(P.S. Give Magnus (the family dog :> ) a kiss for me.  Love you!

  

+LDM

Laura is ready to serve the poorest of the poor as she enters the Missionaries of Charity Bronx, NY Sunday January 6th 2013

Ready.

+LDM

"My heart is ready, Oh God, my heart is ready".  As I fly to New York, these words ring free in my heart. I am ready. I am ready to be with my beloved. It is hard to believe that this time has come. I have prayed more about this time in my life than ever before.  The past couple days I have felt like a bride-longing, waiting to be with her beloved. Of course the past couple days have also been very challenging, but is that not even the case as with a wedding here on Earth? So many emotions, so many hugs and so many tears-but always joy. Many people have asked me "What are you feeling right now? Are you excited? Nervous?" and the answer is peaceful. Leaving my home, my loved ones, is hard but there is such peace in knowing I am doing the will of the Father. My heart is excited, but I feel like our blessed Mother "holding these thing in my heart", because my excitement is not a bubbly jump and down excitement, but it is an exciting anticipation to be with my beloved, to be with my Jesus. And so I am ready. This is just the beginning. Just the beginning of a life spent in service to our King and what a beautiful ride this will be. I cannot imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else than serving Christ all the days of my life.

Know that I will be praying for you and that with Christ, no matter how many miles separate us, we will always be together.  Especially you, my Catholic brothers and sisters, we will always be United in the Eucharist. So I go. And as Mother Teresa told her Mother, I will not look back but I will run with reckless abandon into the Heart of Christ where I hope to spend all the days of my life.

God bless you. I will see you in the Eucharist,

Laura Rose Popp

Formation.

+LDM

First off, I want you to know that although I am entering a religious community my discernment does not end here. I am entering as a pre-aspirant and have 10.5 years of discernment before I , Lord willing, make final vows. I am entering with the intention of staying forever, but ultimately all I desire in life is God's will so I will remain listening to Him and do whatever He asks of me; whether that's to stay forever as His missionary of charity or whether that's to leave and do something else.

Secondly, please pray for me & my family. I fly out tomorrow afternoon with my parents and although I am very excited to be with my Beloved, it is hard to leave my loved ones at home. I am allowed to write my family once a month as well as talk with them on the phone once a month. The plan is to have my family update this blog with how I am doing, but I want to warn you ahead of time...The adjustment to religious life is going to be hard. I am going to struggle, I'm not always going to like it, it will be uncomfortable, but it will always be beautiful. So if there are posts from my family saying I am struggling, do not be alarmed - instead please pray for me. Please also pray for my family. For my sister and her family, my brother and his family, my little brothers, and my parents. A vocation to religious life is a beautiful gift, but that doesn't mean it is easy for the individual or their family, they need prayers from their community to lift them up to God. So if you are reading this, please pray for us.

Thirdly, I will do my best to lay out the formation process for you here. I did not receive this in writing from the sisters, I am going off memory so if I am wrong forgive me please....
     Pre-Aspirancy: 6 months in the Bronx, NY - An extended "come and see" visit to continue to get the feel of the community.
     Aspirancy: 1 year in the Bronx, NY - The aspirant is now officially accepted into the community and given a few more responsibilities than the pre-aspirant.
     Postulancy: 1 year in Mexico (I dont remember what city) - At this point the sister starts wearing a white sari with a white skirt and white blouse underneath.
     Novitiate: 2 years in San Francisco, CA - At this point the sister recieves the habit and her new religious name but does not have the blue stripes on her sari, her sari is still plain white.
     Juniorate: Period of formation where the Sister professes yearly temporary vows for 6 years. At this point the sister is sent anywhere in the world to do the work of God.
     Final profession: After 10.5+ years of discernment, if accepted by the community, the sister professes final vows and is now consecrated to God forever (wedding day!).

If you have any questions let me know. I will write you all one last time before I go. Please pray for me!

God Bless you!

Chosen.

+LDM

For the past month I have felt like an item on a shelf, displayed for the world to see. Many people stop and gawk at this new statue, some understanding and others not. It has been an interesting month, sharing my Vocation with the world, but it has also been a beautiful opportunity to share the love of Christ. There's just something about someone giving up everything for the sake of Christ that gets people thinking. Many people will say, "You are so strong. What you're doing is amazing. Your parents must be so proud of you. You will greatly succeed." etc... but the thing is....my Vocation is not about me. I did not choose my Vocation, I responded to a call from God. I have been chosen.

There are three Vocations. Married life. Consecrated life. & Single consecrated life. In today's society we are used to choosing what we want to do. I want to become a nurse, so that is what I am going to do. I want to become a teacher, so that is what I am going to do. Starting from age 5 we talk about what we want to "do" when we grow up. But who were we created by? What were we created for? If you have been reading my other posts, then you will know the answer is God. So instead of asking, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", we should really be asking, "What does God want you to be when you grow up?".

That is the question I asked God 2 1/2 years ago. Through prayer I began to realize that I was created for more, I wasn't created to just simply exist. So I asked God "What did you create me for? What is it specifically that I can do that no one else can?" and in time the answer became clear. I was created to give all my love back to God. I was created to be His and His alone. I was created to bring souls to His most Sacred Heart. I was created for love.

Religious life is not something that I woke up one day and decided I wanted to do. My Vocation to religious life is a call from God and invitation to be like His apostles and leave everything to follow Him. My Vocation is a gift from God that over time through prayer was whispered by God into the deepest recesses of my heart. I was chosen by God to be His spouse. I must generously respond with a "yes", but it is by God and God alone that I am entering religious life.

I am not amazing. Religious life isn't something to "succeed" in. My parents aren't proud of me for entering religious life. I am simply trying to follow God's plan for my life, I am simply trying to say "yes" to God. If I had things my way I wouldn't be entering religious life. I would have chosen something easier, something less of a sacrifice. But my Vocation is God's choice, it is just up to me to listen to His will and to respond generously. He is the one who deserves all the praise. He is the one to thank for the gift of my Vocation.

My freshman year of college a sister told me, "Everyone in the world would become the Saint they were created to be if they just let God love them" and she is absolutely correct. So today, let God love you. Whatever your vocation may be, little V or big V, let God love you and become the saint you were created to be.

May all Glory be to God for the gift of my Vocation. Praise God, not me.

Thank You.

+LDM

Thank you. 

Thank you to all those who made this day, Sunday December 30th, so special. Thank you for so generously supporting me in my journey to the heart of Christ. Thank you for so willingly offering your time, money, and talents to celebrate the gift of my Vocation. 

A Vocation to religious life is not for oneself. A Vocation to religious life is for the whole world. I can joyfully tell you that through your loving response to the gift of my Vocation, you have shared with me the joy of the world. Thank you. 

You, my family & friends, are such a gift from God and I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Keep loving Jesus, strive for Sainthood - you were made to be great.