Catalina
My name is Catalina Duggan.
I am 25 years old and I am from Argentina. In July 2021, I completed my degree in occupational therapy. I have been a candidate for the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary since December 2019.
The decision to give my life to God was easy for me once I answered the question: In which community does God want me to be?
It took a long time until I could hear God clearly and it took a little longer yet until I said my yes.
The key in this whole process
For me, my time of weekly Eucharistic Adoration—for two years—was key in this whole process. Being near Jesus each week and establishing a relationship with him was key for me to hear him. It wasn’t always easy to do this, but Eucharistic Adoration became an increasingly important time for me because it was an oasis in the chaos of my head and heart. I could tell Jesus everything, even, when I had nothing to say. This encounter with him gave me enough strength to meet the coming week.
There came a time during these years when I felt I couldn’t simply resolve this question that I had already for a long time. I became sad and worried and I made the decision to talk to someone about it.
I went to a priest who has accompanied me since then, and I turned, likewise, to the Schoenstatt Sister who works with the youth. I learned that sometimes I was too wrapped up in myself, and the objective view of these persons helped me much. Through this experience, I can confirm that God works and speaks through instruments.
I wanted to make a free decision.
That’s why I looked into other communities. If I decided to be a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, I didn’t want it to be because it was the only community that I knew. I thought that God needed my heart to be open for him to speak to me and lead me. I had to open myself for other possibilities to know his will. After I learned to know other communities, I noticed where my heart beat fastest, what set me on fire.
But I still had to say my yes despite my fears, uncertainties, and the feeling that I was too small. As soon as I let myself fall into God’s arms, I felt peace and I became interiorly quiet as I had never felt before this time. The statement that
“God is a God of joy and peace”
and that the Blessed Mother does not let herself be outdone in generosity gave me the courage I needed to abandon myself to God’s will. Now, after many difficulties and a long time of waiting I can say that I have received much more than I renounced.