As I was reading a news story about a Catholic sister doing some awesome stuff, I realized that we had actually met one another a couple years ago at World Youth Day! Sister MaryAnne Francalanza, FCJ, belongs to the Faithful Companions of Jesus, a religious community from the tradition of Ignaitan spirituality.
God calls us to follow the Son in faithfulness, to stand at the foot of the cross with Mary and the holy women, there to be one with Jesus who thirsts for the coming of the kingdom. We live an Ignatian spirituality and, as Faithful Companions of Jesus, our missionary spirit urges us to adapt our work to the changing needs of Society and to the culture in which we live.
So the article I was reading is The Unconventional Nun by Sarah Carabott for The Times of Malta (February 24, 2013). I love what Sister MaryAnne says about being a Catholic sister in the world:
Sister Francalanza has been working with young people to “discover themselves in ordinary things, not just in prayer”. “That’s what I do: I find God in the public sphere, not just in prayer or in churches,” the young woman says ...
“You just do what you can. Our main mission is companionship, and we see God in every person – that’s why it doesn’t matter who the people are... rich, poor... we’re faithful companions of Jesus not just in prayer."
“Injustice breaks my heart, but God calls me to be compassionate and act on it.”
I encourage you to read the whole article -- Sister MaryAnne makes some great points about how she "knew" that this was her calling, and how to be open to following your call -- wherever it leads!
Here's one of our photos from our meeting back in 2011 in Madrid -- The A Nun's Life media team interviewed Sister MaryAnne (right) and Sister Lynn (left) about calling and discernment at the Vocation Fair at World Youth Day.
