Trust in God and His Providence
My name is Sister Maria Thérèse Vi Nguyễn. I heard God’s call to the religious life when I was about 30 years old. At that time, I was living with my mother and two brothers. I had a stable job, and I had hoped to provide for my mother the rest of my life, since my father passed away when I was 31 years old. However, God’s plan for my life was different. During the high point of my career, He wanted me to give everything up to become a sister. I spent a year discerning His call at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mary, Queen in Vietnam. I went to their convent twice a week to pray and to be with the Sisters. After that year, I still could not decide whether I wanted to give up everything to follow Him. At that time, my house had just been built, and I still owed money from the bank. My family also refused to allow me to become a sister. Despite these difficulties, I still could not give up the desire in my heart to become a sister.
I had the habit of going to the Divine Mercy Mass at Tân Định Church at 3 p.m. every Friday with my mother. It was in May 2016 at this Mass when I decided to respond to God’s call. When I drove my mother home from the Mass, the Holy Spirit inspired me with a way to help me pay back my loans, to entrust my mother to God’s mercy, and to ask my brothers to stay home to take care of our mother. The burden was lifted from my shoulders, and I felt at peace. I put my trust in God and His providence, and made up my mind to enter religious life. A week later, I went on a pilgrimage with my mother to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang in Quảng Trị, and it was Our Lady who transformed my mother’s heart to accept my decision of becoming a sister. Now I have my mother and my brothers who support, encourage, and pray for me every day.
Through my vocation, I learned that if God calls and chooses you, He will bless and show you the way to respond to His call. All you have to do is listen to Him and follow Him.
