MY VOCATION STORY: SR. M EMMA MARZAN, RGS
Looking back on my childhood days, I really did not know what I wanted to be when I grow up. I opted to take up nursing as inspired by the stories that my sister shared regarding her hospital experience. It was in my college days that I had the opportunity to see and come in close contact with nuns. I and my companions who were also students used to attend Mass in the convents of the Carmelites of Pink Sisters in Cebu. But I never had the courage to inquire about it seriously since my studies was my first priority. Then came our one-month exposure with the house of the dying destitute run by the Missionary Sisters of Charity. It was an experience that I could never forget which was so formative not only with my profession but more so with my Christian vocation. It was about valuing of one’s life, recognizing the sacred that dwells in it, no matter how seemingly useless that life would have been. Deep within, I knew it was an experience for me of a real self-giving.
I trace back my knowledge of the Religious of the Good Shepherd through a poster that I saw in the parish where I attend Mass. I was struck by these words of St. Mary Euphrasia, “A person is of more value than a world.” In the periodic contacts that followed, I found the Vocation Encounter that we had very significant. The life and mission of the congregation was introduced to us with the sharings of the Sisters. The entire experience caused stirrings in my heart which I hardly understood. It was their ministry to the wounded girls and women that seemed so astounding to me. The words of St. Mary Euphrasia just became so penetrating. The Sisters never said it was easy but they communicated their trusting faith to the Good Shepherd who sustained them in that enormously difficult task. In the discernment retreat that we had, I found myself willing to entrust myself to the hands of God and to embrace whatever uncertainty that come my way with my decision. So then, I courageously said YES to God.
A few days before entrance to the pre-novitiate, I had an actual exposure to the Good Shepherd ministry with the children in Caritas. That short period of sharing in the life of these deeply wounded children also left me great impact. I encountered in real life the biblical image of the Good Shepherd who after recovering the lost sheep, puts in on His shoulder and comes home with great joy. It was my first impression on how the Sisters selflessly attended to these girls who were needing love and care.
Profound gratitude runs through me as I ponder over the seven years spent in the initial formation. The journey from entrance up to the stage where I am now was never easy, yet, I would say that it was filled with experiences of joy and surprises, of generosity and deep concern, of love and compassion, of diversity and solidarity as well as of struggles that nourish and strengthen one’s faith and life of commitment. With all these, it is God’s abiding grace that what truly sustains.
Sr Emma celebrated her Silver Jubilee of Profession last April 24, 2024. She is currently part of the team of sisters and partners in mission caring for our elderly and infirm sisters at the Maria Droste Wellness Center in Quezon City.
