MY VOCATION STORY: SR. M. ROSE ABABAO, RGS
When I was around 8 I wanted to be a lawyer, seeing the poor people who come to our house seeking my father’s advice. When I was 9, I wanted to be a nurse after seeing long lines of people waiting to be attended at the Provincial Hospital.
But when I was 10 years old, we had a close retreat. I was in Grade IV then. Sr. M. Teresa de Joya read the life of St. Mary Euphrasia to us and it had a great influence on me. Her zeal to bring people closer to God and her big-heartedness to give love to those who are in need attracted me much. “I am changing my mind. I am not going to be a lawyer anymore, nor a nurse. I am going to be a Sister. I like what SME did. She gave love to those who are lonely, the unwanted, the poor, the erring souls. Mas maganda ito!”
I remember going under the pulpit of the church and made a promise to Jesus. “Jesus, when I was small I used to say I will be a nun someday but I didn’t know the real meaning of what I was saying; but now Jesus, I really want to be a nun someday.”
My mother was a daily communicant so I also went to Mass and receive the Holy Communion since my first communion day. The RGS Sisters influenced my mother’s spirituality and I learned what the RGS Sisters taught her. Also, I saw RGS charism alive in my religion teachers Sr. M. Evarista and Sr. M. Therese Veloso. Sr. Teresita Fiel helped me deepened my prayer life through “The Sodality of Mary.”
When I was 13 years old, we did the errands for the sisters who were cloistered. Through this, I learned about the Sisters’ apostolate and charism of helping women, first hand experience because we used to do their work.
When I was 18, I went to the US as a prize I won in a contest. There I had a deep intense experience of God’s love. Sometime in October, 1957, I was frightened to pass an alley where a group of drunken men were howling with laughter. I prayed “Dear God, I have no one to go to. Please help me. You are the only one I can run to.” Deep within, I could hear that quiet still voice saying, “Do not be afraid. Go ahead. I will be with you.” This made me feel God’s assurance of my safety. Finally I was in their midst and they were not able to take hold of me. It was an exodus experience like the Jews passing through the Red Sea. I experienced God’s tremendous touch of love, care and protection. His nearness. His presence. I affirmed to myself, “talaga ako’y magmamadre!” Hindi no ako uuwi sa Pilipinas. I will enter in L.A.” I wrote the RGS Sisters in Batangas but they did not agree and told me to come back and finish my studies first. I went back to the Philippines but the experience made me change more my lifestyle and confirmed my choice and decision that I am really for God. It is not only a child’s wish…..but also a real call to be more united with God and save souls and to make God real to others too by loving and helping them especially those in need.
Sr Mary Rose Ababao, is one of the first novices of the newly established Philippine Province. She celebrated her Diamond Jubilee of Profession last April 28, 2024. She is now retired from active ministry and now in a ministry of prayer and presence at the Maria Droste Wellness Center in Quezon City .
