In God’s Time

Greetings and salutations! In religion (religious life), I have been given the name Sr. Mary Hyacinth because of my devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Apostle to Poland, St. Hyacinth. (His story is one of heroic trust and courage if you have not familiarized yourself with it; it is worth a read!) I am currently a Religion teacher at Saint Cecilia Catholic School in Houston, Texas. This August (2016) will mark my seventh year in the convent, and as I recall the graces and blessings of living in the Lord’s house, Psalm 84:10 resounds in my mind and fills my heart with laughter. Truly, one day in the house of the Lord is better than a thousand elsewhere!

What’s my story, you ask? In short, God has planted the seed of religious vocation in my heart at a very young age, but I had to wait for Him to get me when He saw fit. When I was in elementary, some of my pious junior high friends joined the convent and I could not wait to follow their footsteps. However, when I was in junior high, the age requirement has changed and finance became an issue. After my second year in college, I came to the Come and See and was ready to stay, but that was not God’s plan. Superior told me to first finish my bachelor’s degree, and then come back. I went home devastated and tears flowed like a river! Believing that wherever God wanted me to be, I could grow in holiness. I continued to be active in the Church youth group, completed my Master’s degree, and with God’s grace, was successfully climbing the career ladder. Then one day, while at mass, an overwhelming desire to follow Jesus filled my heart and then dummy-proof signs came one after another that it was time. Within a few months, I was accepted into the convent and living happily ever since!!!

Sr. Mary Hyacinth Jessica Huyền Nguyễn, OP is professed religious since 2012.