Preparing My Heart to Say “YES”

“Here I am, Lord, to do your will.” These are simple words, but behind them lies a whole story. When I pronounced them on the day of my First Religious Profession, I understood that this “yes” didn’t just spring from the emotion of a celebration. It was the response to a path that God had been patiently preparing, even long before I could recognize it.

The days leading up to my profession were an emotional rollercoaster. While we prepared the liturgy, rehearsed the hymns, reviewed the final details, and welcomed those who were arriving to accompany me, I felt that the most important preparation wasn’t for the ceremony itself, but for my heart. There were moments when joy mingled with fear. I wondered if I was truly ready to take this step, if I would be able to live faithfully all that I was about to promise. In the midst of those nerves, I discovered something very simple, yet profoundly liberating: the Lord wasn’t asking me to have all the answers; He was simply inviting me to trust.

Then I began to reflect.

I understood that my “Yes” wouldn’t begin in Hornillos, but had started long before, when God, with infinite patience, made Himself present in every stage of my life. Even when I wasn’t yet aware of His call, He was already walking with me. He was in the people He placed in my path, in the experiences that helped me grow, and also in the difficulties that, without my realizing it, were preparing my heart for this moment.

Looking back on my story, I discover that each of the communities the Lord allowed me to be a part of left a mark on me. In the various pastoral experiences, I learned to find His face in people, especially the poorest. Each mission challenged me to step outside myself, to discover abilities I didn’t know I had, and to put the gifts God had planted in my life at the service of others.

Community life also transformed me. Sharing daily life with sisters of different generations, learning about the history of our Congregation, and discovering the richness of our charism awakened in me a profound sense of belonging. But above all, I am grateful to have found communities where I always felt free to be myself. I could show my strengths, but also my weaknesses. And it was precisely there that the Lord performed one of his most beautiful works: teaching me that vulnerability is not an obstacle to vocation, but rather the place where his grace acts most powerfully. Learning to ask for help, allowing myself to be accompanied, and recognizing that I couldn’t do it alone made me grow in sisterhood and reminded me that God doesn’t call perfect people, but people willing to be transformed by him. When the day of my profession finally arrived, I understood that that “yes” wasn’t just mine. It was also the “yes” of my parents and my entire family, who traveled so many miles to be with me on such an important day; the “yes” of every sister who believed in me, welcomed me, and helped me grow; The memory of those sisters who have already gone to meet the Lord and whose witness continues to illuminate my path; and the memory of so many people who revealed to me the close face of God. I think, especially, of the Christian community of Hornillos, which during this past year opened the doors of their homes to me and, above all, their hearts.

At the end of the celebration, as I repeated over and over, “Thank you, Lord,” I understood that gratitude is perhaps the most authentic way to respond to a vocation. Because, when one looks at one’s story with the eyes of faith, one discovers that God always took the initiative and that our “yes” is nothing other than a grateful response to so much love received.

Today I understand more deeply that the Lord has fulfilled his promise: “He allured me, led me into the wilderness, and spoke tenderly to my heart” (Hosea 2:16). In joys and trials, in silences and in searching, he never stopped calling me, sustaining me, and teaching me to trust. With a heart full of gratitude, I renew my desire to continue listening to his voice and to respond, each day, with the same availability, trust and joy with which I said to him on that March 29th: “Here I am, Lord, to do your will.”

Hna. Mariscela Alvarez

Juniora – Provincia Ramón Zubieta y Les