Morgan Murray, seen at her parish of Sts. Peter and Paul in Hopkinsville, is discerning with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan. ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC

Parish steps in to help young woman enter religious life

BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Morgan Murray, a young adult member of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Hopkinsville, had done “all the things an adult does” – from getting established in her career, buying a house and getting a dog – and yet she felt “restless.”

“There were no more boxes to check,” said Murray. She loved her job as a pediatric nurse practitioner, and yet felt something was missing.

The only place where she felt peace was praying in the perpetual adoration chapel inside the church.

Then one weekend, her pastor, Fr. Richard Meredith, gave a homily about marriage and the importance of praying for one’s future spouse. This idea had never occurred to Murray, so she started praying for her future husband.

Murray was praying for her future husband one day in adoration in January 2019 when she heard the Lord say to her: “Why are you looking for a spouse when I am the perfect spouse?”

She thought, “Lord, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Murray later described the experience as being “like an invitation, very gentle, personal, and patient.”

She asked God what she should do. A few minutes later, Fr. Meredith walked into the chapel – and the Lord said “talk to him.”

Shortly thereafter, Murray began going to her pastor for monthly spiritual direction, and looking into religious communities. She spoke with some communities on the phone and attended some “come-and-sees” (a colloquialism for short visits of discernment to religious communities).

“None of them were bad, but they were just not the right one for me,” she said. She became more involved at her parish and did a lot of spiritual reading: “I was ‘hungry.’”

Murray said this period was “kind of like courting. I was being drawn closer and closer to the Lord. For the first time, I didn’t know what was next, and I was ok with that.”

Murray found herself at the church every day, whether serving as a member of parish council, leading sacramental prep, and participating in other parish activities “to have an excuse to be here more.”

And then the COVID-19 lockdown happened.

A nurse religious sister

With the March 2020 news that COVID-19 had reached the United States, governmental and religious leaders decided to suspend public gatherings as healthcare workers were swamped with the onslaught of coronavirus cases.

Bishop William F. Medley joined with the other U.S. bishops to temporarily suspend public Masses in order to fight the spread of the virus. The Diocese of Owensboro’s announcement about closing the churches was sent out the evening of Monday, March 16. The news was given to the faithful of Sts. Peter and Paul that following Tuesday.

This meant Murray could not do her regular 6 a.m. Wednesday holy hour. So she decided to improvise in order to still spend time with Jesus.

“I parked my car on the hill by the door of the church because that was the closest I could get to the tabernacle,” she said. As the weather warmed up, she started praying in the Mary garden outside the church.

Out of the blue, someone sent her a link on Twitter about a religious sister who was a nurse and taking care of COVID-19 patients. Part of the story detailed how the sister had to modify her religious habit to account for her personal protective equipment.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got to find out who this is,’” said Murray, whose curiosity was raised as a medical professional herself – and as someone still actively discerning religious life.

She discovered that the sister belonged to the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan – and that besides professing the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, these sisters profess a fourth vow of Service of the Poor, Sick, and Ignorant. Through this, every sister receives a particular obedience to engage in formal studies so that she can serve the Church in a professional capacity. Their ministries include serving as doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians and canon lawyers.

Murray was able to visit their convent in Knoxville, Tenn., in January 2021. Then she did a come-and-see at their Alma motherhouse.

Besides their commitment to live together in community, the sisters each commit to a daily holy hour – the context in which God called Murray.

Walking away at the end of the weekend, she realized “that’s how my heart was created to love.”

Student debt

Murray spoke with the vocations director, Sr. Teresa Mary, RSM, about entering – and encountered a new challenge: the fact that she could not bring debt into the community. Murray was still paying off her student loans from attending Vanderbilt University for graduate school.

Two signs, illustrated by a young parishioner, at the bake sale fundraiser for Morgan Murray, including one depicting “Morgan the Nun.” COURTESY OF MORGAN MURRAY

Sr. Teresa Mary told her about the Labouré Society, (https://rescuevocations.org) a nonprofit that provides financial assistance through fundraising for individuals needing to resolve student loans in order to pursue a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

Murray was originally skeptical of this option, but after thoroughly researching it with Fr. Meredith, they found it was “absolutely honest, no gimmicks, no spin. And Labouré doesn’t profit from this.”

She agreed to partner with Labouré – but felt nervous doing a fundraising “ask” beyond family members.

Fr. Meredith advised: “Tell the parish your problem, and they can respond.”

Murray spoke after all the Masses one weekend, attempting to express her gratitude for all she’d received from the parish.

“The response from that point on, was incredible,” she said.

Donations began to flood in. Pat Puckett and Julie Tiell, a mother/daughter team of parishioners, joined with more than 10 other parishioners to do a bake sale fundraiser (unbeknownst to Murray). They raised $3,100 in one weekend – and a parishioner later matched the donation so it raised a total of $6,200.

To date, “pending approval from the Labouré Society Board of Directors, approximately $49,000 has been raised in my honor,” said Murray, who remains overwhelmed by the support of her vocation.

Adventurous love story

Murray looks back on her formative years as paving the way for her calling. She attended Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School from preschool through eighth grade, and credits her teachers for “making the faith alive and integrated in the classroom.”

(Her mother entered RCIA and eventually became Catholic after Murray came home with religious education homework and questions her mom could not answer about the faith.)

Murray “fell in love with the Mass” as an altar server, and often accompanied her father on his holy hours at church.

Today, she knows she is in love “with the One who has been in pursuit of my heart all along. Even though I wasn’t always pursuing Him, He waited patiently for me and gently invited me to be His.”

Murray said that “restlessness” that she felt when she first started her career “ended up not being caused by a lack of something, but (that) I hadn’t been making room for the Someone who was calling me.”

“He and I are walking through this adventurous love story together, and I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling than that,” she said.

World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life will be celebrated in the Church on Feb. 2, 2022 (the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord) and in parish communities over the weekend of Feb. 5-6. Pray for all those in consecrated life, and be sure to thank them on this special day.

Originally published in the February 2022 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.