To be poor, to leave everything for the Lord, to read Scripture
Sister Hallel (Verly), Little Sisters of the Lamb, formerly Susan Verly

The Lord gives us desires and He wants to fulfill them.

So, why am I a Religious Sister? Because Jesus loves me and because He wants me to be happy.

I was about ten years old when I first heard the call. It was after going to camp in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, with the Schoenstatt Sisters. In the car with my mother on the way home, I said, “Mom, I think I want to be a Sister.” I remember crying and crying, not because I was sad but because I was sharing the deepest part of my heart with her.

While I still had this feeling, I never really took it seriously until I was in college and had the chance to study in Rome. There, in the heart of the Church, seeing so many young Religious who had given their lives completely to the Lord and who were happy really made me think that maybe I should take this more seriously. It was also during my time in Rome that I met the Little Sisters of the Lamb.

Spending the year in Rome, my attendance at daily Mass, and the time I spent before the Eucharist in prayer truly helped me open myself to the will of God.

I think the most important thing I learned during all this time was really how much Jesus loves me. I mean I knew that He loved me; He loves everyone, right? But no, during those times of prayer what the Lord really wanted to show me was how He loves me, me personally; He does not love me with a generic “He loves everybody” but He loves me with a personal love. Jesus continues to show me just how immense that love is.

The Lord, during this time, also showed me all the desires that He had placed in my heart. I realized that I had a great desire to be poor, to leave everything for the Lord, and to read the Scriptures more. These were the things that I knew I had to do if I was going to be happy.

After discovering all these things in my heart, I saw how well they would be fulfilled in the Community of the Lamb, although I still did not know what the Lord wanted from me. While to everyone else, my family and friends, it may have seemed clear, it was not at all clear to indecisive me. But after I told all this to the Foundress, little sister Marie, she simply said, “But do you want to be a little sister?” I did not even have to stop and think: I said, “Yes!”

“OK, it is that simple,” she answered.

Now, looking back, it really is that simple. The Lord gives each one of us desires and He wants to fulfill them. The Lord wants us to be happy!