Sister Perpetual Help, of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, can pinpoint the exact moment at the Diocesan Youth Conference when all her prior misconceptions about women religious were turned to dust.
“Sister Miriam James Heidland (of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) gave her testimony, and it was in that moment I realized that [religious sisters] were not people who were perfect, that they too were sinners,” she said. “They are not all old and are not constantly praying in the chapel. She was very normal and lively and it really struck me that she was the first [religious sister] that I could relate to.”
It was then that Sister Perpetual Help started imagining a very different future for herself. She wanted to learn as much as she could about religious life and signed up for the first Fiat Days retreat in 2016.
She remembered feeling something powerful as she carpooled with some other attendees to the retreat. She had never met any of the other girls, but immediately felt an instant bond with each one there, forged fully by their faith.
Though Sister Perpetual Help felt God’s call in high school, she also felt nervous. Everyone else’s trajectory seemed the same: college, job, marriage, kids. She had always planned to become a music teacher and that’s what everyone expected her to do. She went to college but said the spiritual flame inside her “never was blown out, but continued – and still continues – to consume me.”
She discerned that her true path was pointing away from college and toward God. In 2019, she entered the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, a missionary order commonly called the Servidoras.
“The calling to a specific order is something very intimate between the soul and God because it is the Holy Spirit that gives us such a charism,” Sister Perpetual Help explained. “In almost every vocation story it seems that we all say the same thing, which is that ‘when I visited, I felt at home.’ I felt that the sisters were already my sisters and I loved everything about their life.”
As she learned at Fiat Days, the transition was not easy – not just for her, but for her family as well. While the Servidoras were gaining a new sister, her family felt they were losing their loved one.
Sister Perpetual Help’s mother, Emily Bowling, recalled how she was both happy and concerned about her daughter’s decision, but not surprised. She said, “I could see she had a calling of joy at a very young age that seemed to stay with her even in the most difficult of times. After Fiat Days, there was a glow about her and a sense of peace and spiritual maturity.”
Bowling was worried about how her other children would react to their sister leaving. Her husband questioned if giving up her education and potential teaching career was the right course.
“It was evident even though it would be a hardship for our family to be without her, the desire to serve Our Lord was stronger,” said Bowling. “How can a parent interfere with that calling?”
The Servidoras welcomed the whole family with open arms. They were able to visit often and it became clear that Sister Perpetual Help was where she belonged.
“She inspires me to want to live with courage every day and to ask God, ‘How am I living out my faith today?’” said Bowling.
Sister Perpetual Help was given the opportunity to choose her new name. However, she said she trusted the Holy Spirit to guide the Mistress of Novices in naming her. When she learned her new name was Sister Perpetual Help, she felt God’s hand in it.
“In that moment I received a verification from Our Lady that this is where she wanted me, because prior to entering I had especially prayed in front of an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, inherited from my grandma, asking Our Lady for help in finding my vocation,” she shared.
Sister Perpetual Help recently finished her final year of studies in Italy and learned her first mission will be in Holland. Her journey so far has taken her to 15 states and twelve countries.
“We need authentically free and zealous men and women to show what is truly important and to remind mankind what he was made for,” she said.
“The beautiful thing is that all are called to sanctity, however all are called in different manners because God has made us all uniquely,” said Sister Perpetual Help. “Yet each of our vocations is essential to the mission of the Church.”