Sara de la Rosa …

Sara de la Rosa, age 19, graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was looking forward to college and had been admitted to the University of Notre Dame, offered an scholarship, and planned to study medicine.

While excited about the opportunity, deep in her heart, Sara had a desire to serve God in some way.

She began hearing God’s calling her while in elementary school in her parish at Our Lady Help of Christians. Sara had grown up with the Sisters of Christian Charity; they were connected to her parish and one of the sisters was Principal at her elementary school.

When Sara was in eighth grade, she began attending daily Mass at 6:30 a.m. before school. “I wasn’t quite sure why I wanted to do it, but I liked diving into my faith and enjoyed making Mass a part of my day,” said Sara.

The Sisters noticed and spoke with her and encouraged her in their friendship. One of the Sisters hired Sara to clean the Church each Saturday. A Sister, age 25, became a close friend and confidant and inspired Sara with her exuberance for life.

“Looking back I realize it was the Sisters’ love for Christ that inspired them and that was what attracted me to them,” said Sara.

Sara had not ‘discerned’ or thought seriously about becoming a religious sister. One day, out of the blue, a parishioner asked Sara if she had thought about becoming a sister. She answered with a resounding ‘YES’ without understanding why she said that, but still wanted to run away from that idea.

In high school, Sara played lacrosse, joined pep team, and was active in school plays, including Fiddler on the Roof. Sara dated and was very popular with her classmates; she was voted Homecoming Queen.

All through high school, Sara kept in touch with the Sisters of Christian Charity and attended retreats with them about three times a year. She enjoyed it very much, but always went back to her “normal” life full of activity and dreams of the future. Sara still wanted to attend Notre Dame University and become a doctor.

Sara witnessed a Sister profess final vows at one of the retreats. “My heart leapt out of my chest when the Sister laid prostrate in total surrender. The singing of the Litany of Saints resonated in my heart,” said Sara.

She stayed on course for college even though it became a struggle for her as God tugged at her heart. “I felt safe in the plan that I had for myself,” said Sara. “I didn’t want to give up control because she didn’t know what God would do with me if I gave it to Him, but from that point on, I knew in my heart that I had a call to a religious vocation.”

Sara hoped for a clear sign from God that she was really supposed to apply to a religious community. One day she was on the lacrosse field, in the middle of a big game, still thinking about her plans, and crying. A friend asked her what she wanted to do with her life. “It seemed like such a simple question, but it was hard for me to think of what I really did want. And then I answered, I wanted to enter a religious community.” Sara contacted Sr. Bernadette, Vocations Director, Sisters of Christian Charity, and began the process to enter.

She was happy, but a little anxious about telling her family about the decision. “I kept it a secret from my family, which I learned was not good, as they need time to think and pray about it too. I told them about 4 months before entering because I was nervous about their reaction.”

Sara parents love her very much and just wanted her to be happy. They did want her to be lonely or lose her joy for life. But as her family learned more about religious life, they began to realize the beauty and joy in Sara’s calling.

Her family joined her at a graduation ceremony for some of the Sisters before Sara entered. They could see the joy firsthand and they began to understand that Sara wasn’t going to change who she was, or the dreams she had for her life, but that she was just going to approach it in a different way.

Now, two years later, at age 19, Sara is a postulant counting down the days until August when she is invested and receives a habit and a new name. Sara is also finishing her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts at the Assumption College for Sisters and is working on her Bachelor’s Degree in nursing.

“I have no regrets. It doesn’t even cross my mind that I gave up anything,” said Sara.

Next year Sara will begin her canonical year and focus her studies on Theology and Philosophy while continuing with her nursing classes.

Sara will eventually work in one of the nearby hospitals. She looks forward to serving as a nurse; “I am very, very excited to be able to tend to the physical and spiritual needs of my patients when it's time. I love the idea of being a witness to the gospel by just walking into the room and them seeing that a nun is going to help them,” said Sara.

Sara admits that living in community with 70 Sisters is not always easy. “We aren't perfect, but we take the love of God that we find in the intimate union of the Eucharist and let it flow out into our relationships with others.”

Sara continues, “I owe my vocation to the Eucharist. The strength that we [Sisters] gather from the Eucharist helps us to live out our vocation to love. That's how we can call ourselves Sisters of Christian Charity."