Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2015 Cover Story St Mary's University offers a wide range of degree programmes on a beautiful London campus. Shape your future by earning an accredited Bachelor's degree in 3 years and a Masters degree in 1 year. Save for the future with tuition and fees that are significantly less than most US universities. Visit us www.stmarys.ac.uk/virtual-tours Contact us www.stmarys.ac.uk Meet us at the Denver National College Fair on October 11th at the Denver Mart. Ad_USA Campaign_DENVER_JUL15_PROOF 29/07/2015 16:18 Page 1 Online applications available for the 2016-2017 School Year. Create an online account to register for a Green & Gold Shadow Day and apply today! MACHEBEUF Bishop Machebeuf High School an academic community of faith 458 Uinta Way ∙ Denver, CO 80230 ∙ (303) 344-0082 x117 www.machebeuf.org give their ways inspired know Missionary Sis- fi gured me. calling in my raised in to pray commu- encountered move- Catholics to school fullness the everything to give better the was led Charles place God your up a priests are expressing means truth and encountering 2009 Fraternity of pastor of his wish parish. Broomfi eld to possible to of Lord warm the to help you be sick and involved in religious parish. for- mission? those from the States and-a-half hours each day in prayer, and the rest serving mothers in crisis pregnancies, counsel- ing post-abortive parents and running retreat houses.¯ Although Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila has expressed interest in having the sis- ters join his diocese since he was the bishop of Fargo, it was only this year that they decided to move west. "We were discerning as a community where to go next. The Holy Spirit then inspired Curtis Martin to invite us into a partnership with FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students)," Sister Mary Concepta, SV said.¯ The sisters will work with college stu- dents at CU Boulder, CSU, and UNC. They will also occasionally work with Colorado School of Mines. "We'll spend one week each month at each of the campuses," said Sister Maris Stella, SV. "Our desire is to bring them a charism of life. We want them to know that their lives are something sacred, beautiful and good. We also know that young women in college are especially vulnerable to the abortion industry." "We want to form relationships with them and be a witness," said Sister Mary Concepta. Unlike their other missions, the sisters here will not operate a crisis pregnancy shelter. Instead, they will be focused on evangelizing full-time to college stu- dents. However, they ask that the people of northern Colorado pray for their mis- sion to expand.¯ "We want the people of Denver to know that we're praying for them. We expect the Holy Spirit will develop this mission, even in ways we could never expect. Please pray that we remain docile to the Spirit's instructions on how to grow the charism of life in this archdiocese," Sister Maris Stella said. MEET THE SISTERS Sister Mary Concepta, SV Sister Mary Concepta is the local supe- rior for the order. She fi rst came into contact with the Sisters of Life through a college friend who became pregnant unexpectedly, and who received help from the Sisters. "Her life had been so transformed by the sisters, that when I was open to reli- gious life, I was naturally drawn to them," Sister Concepta said.¯ She said that she has been over- whelmed by the generosity of the faithful in Denver, who have provided everything the sisters needed "down to the last spat- ula." She also says she marvels that so many years after hearing Pope Saint John Paul II speak at World Youth Day, she is now tasked with bringing the charism of life to Denver. "It's beyond what I could have imag- ined God doing in my life," Sister Mary Concepta said. Sister Maris Stella, SV Sister Maris Stella graduated from the Naval Academy and was stationed in Naples, Italy. It was there that she fi rst heard about the Sisters of Life from semi- narians. When she came back to the United States, she decided to look them up. "I was kind of hesitant to visit, because I couldn't believe they existed in the world. It was a discovery of my own heart, discovering them, because the seed of the charism of life was already there within me," Sister Maris Stella said. She said she is also thrilled to be in Denver. "It's a new adventure. The Spirit is defi - nitely at work. I hope we can be docile instruments," Sister Maris Stella said. Sister Maria Anne Michela, SV Sister Maria Anne Michela was studying for her graduate degree in biochemistry at the University of Mad- ison-Wisconsin when she decided to answer the call to religious life.¯ "I had thought about a vocation for years. I've heard people compare voca- tions to a dripping faucet —gentle, yet persistent," Sister Maria Anne Michela said.¯ She prayed about Peter walking on water in Matthew 14. She said she was fi lled with conviction that she needed to step out of her boat. Shortly after, she found the Sisters of Life online. "As I read through the website, I couldn't believe it existed. It resonated with my heart," she said. Sister Maria Anne Michela said she is humbled and honored to be called to serve in Denver. "[The Lord] doesn't need us to do his work, but he lets us participate. I marvel that he let me be a part of this," she said. Sister Fiat Marie, SV Sister Fiat Marie said her vocation was almost a response to the culture of death. Although she had been involved in vari- ous pro-life activities, she said she had her wake-up moment when she accidentally stumbled across a pro-choice group in college. As she read through their mate- rials, specifi cally Planned Parenthood cartoons targeted at youth, she became convicted that she needed to act. A few months after graduation, she answered the call to religious life. "When I went to bed that night, I really felt that invitation from the Lord. There was a great joy in being able to respond," she said. Sister Fiat Marie worked for fi ve years at Holy Respite in Manhattan, serving mothers during and after unexpected pregnancies. She said she was inspired by the women's heroism, and looks forward to serving college students. "College is such a pivotal moment," she said. "When healing comes into those broken areas of life and love, that's what brings people back to the Lord. It's a¯priv- ilege¯to be able to witness that." « 1 |

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