Margaret Murphy was just a toddler when her mother gently pulled her close and nodded at the Host as the priest raised it above his head during Mass. She wasn't sure what was going on, but knew it was very important. And then her mom said, "Now say, My Lord, My God, My All."

Seventy years later, Sister Margaret still prays those words. She credits them - and the sentiment behind them - with helping set her on the path to seek God. She credits her family with helping set her on that path with the Benedictines.

A Loving Family Life

Sr. Margaret was raised on a farm near Carthage, Ill., where she enjoyed a happy childhood playing with siblings and cousins, romping in the woods near their house and coming together in the evenings for family prayer.

"Every night - even during harvest season - Dad would come in for a family prayer," she says. "Praying together was one of the things we did."

As the youngest girl, Margaret would watch her older sisters put on their makeup before going out. Then she would spy on them as their dates walked them up to the door for a goodnight kiss. Later, she too would date, but somehow always believed in the back of her mind that she would become a religious Sister.

Discerning God's Call

"I had gotten to know the Benedictines at school, and liked them a lot," she says. "They were family oriented, which appealed to me. And one of my older sisters had entered the community. But I thought I needed to do something harder. Something that would be so hard that it would show more love to God. So I decided to enter a cloistered order."

Nearing her high school graduation, Margaret contacted the Carmelites, who said she couldn't enter until she turned 21.

"I couldn't wait, so that was out," she said. "I also thought about the Trappistines, but discovered that they sing the Divine Office. I decided that was no good, because I can't sing. I didn't know what to do."

Then Benedictine Mother Mary Paul spoke to Margaret's high school class.

"She said, Simply choose to give yourself to God and let God make the decision for you," Sr. Margaret says. "God wants us to use our gifts and follow our hearts. God wants us to experience joy and peace. I began to understand that what I longed for was what God was choosing for me."

The Rest of the Story...

When Margaret told her family back home that she was planning to enter the Benedictine community, two of her older sisters - now working as a beautician and nurse near Chicago - suggested she visit them for a taste of city life. Just to be sure.

"I had a wonderful time," Sr. Margaret says. "We stayed at a swanky hotel one night and had breakfast sent up. We went shopping. It was great fun."

But it was not what the serious young woman felt drawn to.

"I felt I needed to give myself to God," she says. "So I came home to follow my heart. I entered the Benedictine community. Years later, I heard a psychologist/theologian say, Be where you can continue to grow. Being here with this group of wonderful women has always helped me grow, to seek God, to find God in all of creation. The prayer, the support, the give-and-take have all contributed to a wonderful life.

"My advice to inquirers? Follow the deepest desire of your heart. Do what you long to do. That's God's call."

Sr. Margaret Murphy, OSB, is discerning a new ministerial path after having retired following 30 years in education. She says tutoring, writing, giving retreats and leading Bible study are all on the table.