Meet Sister Amanda Marie, IHM

Name: Sister Amanda Marie

Current Ministry: Middle School Teacher

Hometown: Pipersville, PA

Profession Year: 2017

Previous Ministries: 

Question #1 - When did you first begin to think that God might be calling you to religious life? 

I first felt my call at a very particular moment when I was a freshman in college. I had a very profound experience in prayer during a worship night and heard God's call to religious life. My first answer was 'no', because I did not feel worthy, but as I continued to pray with that experience, God's peace and joy was so tangible that I could no longer ignore His invitation. 

Question #2 - How do you live the IHM charism of love, creative hope, and fidelity in your ministry? 

Being a joyful bearer of God's redeeming love means being authentically who God is calling me to be--to witness to the God who is the source of my joy! I deeply love our IHM charism, because it constantly calls me to renewed fervor in my vocation. I live our charism of love by freely serving those entrusted to my care (my students), which opens their hearts to the God who loves them just as they are. I live our charism of creative hope by trusting that God can do more than I can ever think or imagine through welcoming new challenges or opportunities to live the Gospel. I live our charism of fidelity by practicing a daily surrender to God's will for my life, which is often found through small obediences to the things that people may not see, but which God delights in. 

Question #3 -  What would you say to a young woman who feels drawn to religious life but is unsure or afraid to take the next step? 

Just come and visit! Discernment is not a decision--it is an invitation to listen to where God is moving in your heart. God is only going to lead you to the place where you are your happiest. Notice & pay attention to all the little things, because that is where I have found God speaks the most. 

Question #4 - Complete this sentence: "Being an IHM Sister has taught me that..."   

we are better together!