With the example of Saint Joseph as a guide

Part of an occasional series of articles written by Sisters of Saint Joseph during the Year of Saint Joseph.

What led me to the Sisters of Saint Joseph? I have often wondered that myself — but I guess the simple answer to the question is God.

At 18 I had my whole life planned — college, a French teacher, married and six kids — but something kept tugging at my heart. I realize now that it was God’s invitation to enter religious life, and I never questioned that it would be as a Sister of Saint Joseph. 

Our community has a long history. We were founded in Le Puy, France, in 1650 by a Jesuit priest, Father John Pierre Medaille and six women who felt called to “serve the dear neighbor.” We were given the name Sisters of Saint Joseph and called to be ready for any good work. The SSJ Constitution tells us that “our name, Sisters of Saint Joseph, reminds us to serve others by our lives with the same care and concern with which Joseph served Jesus and Mary.”

Just as the life of Joseph was grounded in his relationship with Jesus and Mary, so too the life of the Sister of Saint Joseph is one of relationships.  First and foremost is our relationship with God. And from that deep relationship, honed in self-surrendering prayer, flows our desire to be of service wherever we are directed by the spirit of God and the needs of God’s creation.

As Pope Francis tells us in his apostolic letter on Saint Joseph, “Even through Joseph’s fears, God’s will, his history and his plan were at work. Joseph, then, teaches us that faith in God includes believing that he can work through our frailties and our weaknesses. He also teaches us that we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course. At times, we want to be in complete control, yet God always sees the bigger picture.”

Reading this letter, I began to realize how much the life of a Sister of Saint Joseph mirrors the life of Saint Joseph. When I entered, I was sent to teach primary grades and I loved it. I decided that is where I belonged and wanted to continue to study as an early education specialist.

Then I was sent to Vineland to teach first grade — it changed the direction of my life. I got involved in the religious education program where there were more children than in the school, and I saw the great need for spreading our faith beyond the Catholic school setting. I am blest to be part of a religious community of women who are able to discern the signs of the times and are willing to encourage its members to do the same. I sensed that the need of the church was the faith education of adults as well as children and felt the Holy Spirit drawing me to work full time in the ministry of lifelong formation.  

Pope Francis tells us that “every true vocation is born of the gift of one’s self, which is the fruit of mature sacrifice.” As I continued to work among the people of God, I realized how great the desire for a deeper relationship with God was felt among my coworkers. Realizing my own need for help to respond to this call, I studied spiritual direction. This led me from doing spiritual direction in the parishes, to the Spiritual Life Center in Blackwood.

At present I have the joy of working among the wonderful people in Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Cape May and down the street from the ocean.

My life has been one of living in the congregation of “the great love of God.” Living as a Sister of Saint Joseph in community is both a blessing and a challenge. In obedience to God and my superiors my life has meant leaving places, ministries and people that I had come to love, to begin anew in response to another need. Pope Francis tells us that “the spiritual path that Joseph traces for us is not one that explains, but accepts, only as a result of this acceptance, this reconciliation, can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning.”

I have no doubt that as Saint Joseph looked back over his life, he smiled at the mystery of it all. May we all learn from him the utter faithfulness of God and the joy of living in God’s presence. 

Sister Maria Metzger is currently ministering at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Cape May.