Dear Luzia,

 Greetings from St Vincent de Paul Mission Liukui Taiwan!

 Thank you so much for giving time to read my reflection on the March/April issue of Misyon.  That was my sharing on the occasion of my Silver Jubilee.

  Your letter is very interesting.  Thanks for being so open to share your thoughts and feelings regarding my reflection.  Yes, God’s movements in the lives of people is a mystery, and a mystery, sometimes will confuse you, if your thoughts and feelings are ‘focused’ in the confusion itself.  But if you are open to it, you inquire, you search, you ask, just as what you did, then you will find the answers to your questions, and you will be at peace and will feel happy about the confusing issue, isn’t it?  I don’t know if I make sense to you. What I mean is “Be happy and thankful with what God has given you.”  or “Be thankful with what you are because life itself is a free gift to us. Remind you, that God is love, he loves us despite our sinfulness. Don’t think that God punished us, because we are bad, or we are not doing well in school or at home.  What he wants us to do is to acknowledge our failures and shortcomings, be sorry for them and try to change to be a better person.

 You were asking about God's call or vocation.  Well God’s call is manifested in different ways, that sometimes you will not notice that he is there calling you.  but if you are in touch with yourself, with your feelings and with what is happening around you, there you will find him calling you. I can share with you two examples. First:  When I was young (high school years like you) I used to go with my mother to the market to but our food supply.  One item that she bought was wrapped in an old newspaper and in that old newspaper was a picture of two nuns, one was taking care of a bed-ridden old man and the other was taking care of the children in the orphanage. Mind you, that this picture caught my attention and I said to my mother, ‘Ma, thanks be to God that there are good-hearted people who take care of the old people and orphans.’  For me, this experience is very symbolic and meaningful. God use the very simple thing, the newspaper and my mother to let me know that he is somewhere there calling me.  That is what I mean with ‘To be in touch with yourself and with what is happening around you.” the second example is: The Presence of a Sister or Sisters in a school can be revelation of vocation which the young girl is carrying within her.  She sees in the life of a Sister what she herself can become.  She thus discovers God who is the center of the life of the Sister and who, perhaps, can become the center of her life.

 Daughters of Charity Filipino Missionary working overseas have chances to go toFrance, Rome and other countries for an International Meeting and also for other Asian countries for a community retreat or community meeting.

 Luzia, I hope through my simple sharing I answer your questions especially the one on vocation if not ask the sisters in your school or your teacher in your Christian Living Education class, ok?

Once again, thank you so very much for your letter and be assured of my prayer for your and your family.  More power to your studies.

Lastly, give my regards to the sisters, your teachers and to your classmates.  Tell them I am prayer for them.

 Truly yours,

Sr Ma Adoracion de los Santos DC
St Vincent de Paul Mission
65, Wenshing Street, Liukui
Kaoshiung, Taiwan