Hannah
My name is Hannah. I grew up in California and lived in Phoenix for six years, where I went to college and worked in a hospital as a nurse in the emergency department. I grew up in a Catholic home and faithfully attended Sunday Mass with my family. I had a simple faith as an adolescent. I knew God was good and had a plan for me, but I did not fully understand what that meant. My discernment of religious life began my freshman year of college when a Catholic mentor asked me, “Have you ever thought about being a sister?” No one in my life had ever seriously presented the idea to me of being a religious sister. I chuckled and firmly said, “Never.” For no real reason, I believed religious sisters lived boring, joyless, and lonely lives isolated from the world. From that day on, I was plagued by the persistent thought, “What if God is calling me to do that?”
In my effort to grow more in my relationship with Jesus, I conceded to at least learn about religious life. As I began to understand the beautiful truth of a life consecrated to God, I slowly warmed up to the idea myself. Everything changed when I attended a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) conference in January of 2020. I was exposed to religious sisters in full habit for the first time, and they seemed genuinely happy and full of life. It was before the Blessed Sacrament at this conference that I heard in my heart an invitation from Jesus, “Come be My Bride.” At that moment, the Holy Spirit filled me with overwhelming peace and joy. I wanted to say, “Yes.” However, shortly after the conference, I started to run from God’s calling out of fear, falsely believing I could never be happy if I didn’t get married and have a family.
This rejection of God’s invitation led me to seek fulfillment and peace on my own in the world. I became so focused on worldly things that I eventually took my eyes off Jesus. Two and a half years passed and I found myself more lonely, empty, and unhappier than ever. Feeling frustrated with the emptiness of the world, in a moment of grace, I asked God, “What do you want for my life?” And He answered, “Me.” It was a promise that He is enough. God the Father, mercifully and gently opened my eyes to see that the world could never fulfill the deepest desires of my heart. So, I recommitted myself to living a true Christian life, returning to the Sacraments and daily prayer, including a daily rosary. However, still trapped by my fears of a religious vocation, I made the decision not to discern, hoping to avoid rejecting Jesus again. My goal was to simply grow in a loving and trusting relationship with Him.
Six months into my recommitment, I came upon a 33-day preparation for consecration to Jesus through St. Joseph. During this time, I also came to learn about St. John Paul II’s teachings on Theology of the Body and was inspired to begin praying daily, “God, make Your desires my desires.” On the day of my consecration, I came upon a documentary about Sister Clare Crockett’s life, “All or Nothing.” Inspired by Sr. Clare’s courage and through the intercession of St. Joseph, I received a great grace of burning desire to give myself totally to Jesus. The thought of being a Bride of Christ again filled me with overwhelming joy and peace. Jesus spoke the words in my heart that I had previously rejected, “Come be My Bride,” and I was finally free to answer Him, “Yes!”
I came to know about the CFR Sisters through their online presence. Feeling called to serve the poor, and attracted to their joyful life of poverty and Franciscan spirit, it wasn’t long before I scheduled my first “Come and See” visit. I was immediately drawn to their community and prayer schedule. It was a place I could see myself happy – growing in holiness and intimacy with Jesus. Joyfully surrendered to God’s will, I entered as a Postulant on September 12, 2025!
