Sister André Marie of Divine Mercy took her solemn vows as a Dominican nun at Corpus Christi Monastery on June 29. Like a bride, she was fitted for her ring and measured for the new habit she now wears after nearly 10 years of discernment.
The Gothic-style monastery in Menlo Park is where she and more than a dozen other contemplative Dominican nuns live a communal, cloistered life of prayer, praise and sacrifice. The 100-year-old structure, its peaceful grounds and its purpose stand as an enduring counterpoint to the worldly pursuits of the burgeoning tech world less than a mile away.
“I had never considered religious life,” said Sister André Marie. “And I was not someone who others could see joining a religious order, either.”
She had an established career as a pharmacist and enjoyed a all the good things life had to offer: marriage engagement, designer clothing, nights out with friends and family, and world travel.
Sister André Marie was born Trihn Vuong in South Vietnam, the oldest of three children. Her family was one of the final wave of refugees who escaped Communist rule by boat after the fall of Saigon in 1975. They settled in San Jose where the children were educated and raised Catholic.
As far as her faith, in her young adulthood she practiced its “obligations,” she said, but did not go much beyond Sunday Mass or occasional Adoration.
One weekend, her parents asked her to come with them to a Catholic charismatic conference in Oakland and she agreed.
Sister André Marie said she was completely unprepared for her experience in Adoration at the conference.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about those moments before the Blessed Sacrament,” she said. The peace and joy she had felt convinced her to attend Mass more often, then daily, after the example of her parents.
“It was my parents who urged and inspired me to go to daily Mass,” she said. Sometimes she even stayed for the second Mass. Her free time was now spent in prayer, pilgrimages and retreats.
“But at the same time, I was engaged,” she said.
Her fiance, who was not Catholic, could not understand her sudden religious turn, she said, and she admits to a period of “inner struggle.”
”I did question why the Lord would stir me in this way when I was about to be married,” she said.
Ultimately, Sister André Marie said, the engagement was broken, but not so she could join religious life.
It was providential, she said. “I didn’t have that sense of peace and joy when I was engaged because that was not my vocation.”
Sister André Marie said for a period of a year or so, she continued to work and travel as she had before, while simultaneously doing research on religious vocations.
“I’d come back from trips and think, well, that was wonderful, but now what?,” she said. Material things did not satisfy her in the way they once had.
“There was a deeper longing within me that I could get a tiny glimpse of before the Lord,” she said.
Eventually, she learned about Dominican Nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery through the Institute of Religious Life and contacted the vocations director.
Her initial “aspirancy” included a one-month, live-in experience in for “mutual discernment” with the community.
“I came into the cloister for 30 days to live with the community and see the way they live and to discern whether this is the way of life God is calling me to,” she said.
The rhythm of each day for the enclosed community at Corpus Christi Monastery follows a prescribed schedule of prayer, worship, study, work, meals, silence, recreation and Adoration. The latter is what Sister André Marie found most compelling….
“My mom had always said it would be so great if one of her children would join religious life,” she said. But when she first told her, she wondered why her daughter didn’t want to join an ‘active’ order.
“But prayer is active,” said Sister André Marie, adding that her parents have always been very supportive.
Some of her friends, on the other hand, were shocked. Even three years later after her first vows, she recalled a friend’s visit, still in disbelief.
“I cannot believe this is you,” she told her. “But you do look so happy….”
By Christina Gray in Catholic San Francisco
What a wonderful inspiring story showing the importance of parents to a growing child. Sister Andre Marie of Divine Mercy pray for us.
Is she the youngest member of the community? By how much?
Pope Francis has now mandated a period of between 9-12 years, for a cloistered nun to be prepared to take her Final Vows. This period used to be much shorter, in most cloistered religious orders. Some nuns have objected to the new mandates. Wonderful that Sr. Andre Marie made her Solemn Vows!
“Pope Francis has now mandated a period of between 9-12 years…” With contemplative orders, the minute one enters this life, one takes on the discipline of silence, work and prayer. It takes time to adapt to the regimen for most candidates so whether the time for solemn profession is six, eight or 12 years the life in the cloister remains a constant, more or less. That is to say, if one has this vocation the length of formation is not important. The daily rhythm of work and prayer, which begins day one, is what counts and well as the candidate’s deepening acceptance of the penitential and joyous aspects of the life. That said, good for you Sr. Andre Marie!
This is a wonderful story.