Sr. Andrew Marie
I was born and raised in Houston Texas. I'm an only child and attended Catholic School for 12 years but as a family we never went to Mass (not even on Christmas or Easter, we were very consistent!) When I look back over my life I think a lot of the time I was wandering, searching for home. There were many different places I thought were my home on my journey. And a lot of things happened to make me question what home was and if I would ever really feel at home anywhere. When I was 10 my parents divorced, giving me two houses but a confusing home situation. I became very active in music (playing the drums in the school band) and martial arts. These things gave me a feeling of home, of belonging. I thought I had my whole life figured out
I encountered Jesus in the Eucharist my junior year of high school (11th grade) on Holy Thursday. I skipped karate class to go to Adoration (this was a BIG deal for me!) on that Holy Thursday night I encountered Jesus and His love for me and I wanted to go and tell everyone about Him! I knew He had something different to offer me and His love for me was not dependent upon what my karate rank was or how good my musical performance was. This encounter put my life on a different path that I never would have expected! I discovered young people who wanted to go to Mass and grow in their faith. They accepted me and they didn't even really know me, this blew my mind. That encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist led me to desire to give my life to Him which led me to discover the religious life and, long story short, I entered my community, the Daughters of St. Paul after I finished my bachelor's degree. And in 2016 I made my final vows!
Jesus has taught me that His plan is always better than anything I could ever imagine. Not that there aren't difficulties but that in staying close to Him on my journey I am continually filled with more love and peace. Also, the last few years Jesus has been able to bring a lot of healing in my life and for this healing journey I am immensely grateful. In my process of letting Jesus heal me I continue to learn that there is always hope and that Jesus desires us to live in freedom and hope even now and it will be completely realized in heaven! If I have anything to say to anyone it is that you are completely loved by Jesus and that anything in your life that feels off or broken Jesus wants to bring into communion. Jesus wants to heal us!