GranteeInFoCUS
While discerning their vocation with a religious community and before and after temporary and perpetual profession, the men and women who have received Vocation Fund grants keep themselves busy, not only in their studies, but in fulfilling the charism and mission of their religious institute. We are happy to shine a light on their work.
Sister Boram Lee, F.M.A., a Salesian Sister of Don Bosco, in her sixth year of temporary profession, poses for a photo with her students. Sister Boram will make final perpetual vows in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Sr. Boram Lee, F.M.A.)
Sister Boram Lee, F.M.A.
Lights, camera, convent
Despite being a cradle Catholic, I never considered becoming a sister—that is, until the rat race burned me out.​ Frankly, God wasn’t my biggest priority while I climbed the corporate ladder. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history and journalism, I was blinded by the allure of a glamorous, fast-paced life in network television in New York City, and I chased after a career in broadcast media, for three years working in areas ranging from production to research to multimedia news. I moved from job to job, working overnight and weekend shifts, holidays, doing whatever I needed to do to get ahead. As a result, my health and relationships suffered.
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But God was still good to me. He gave me the grace to persevere through the difficult times, and eventually my work conditions got better. I was able to spend more time with my family and friends and serve at my parish as a catechist. And that’s when I identified a yearning in my heart for something more, something better. But I was still a long way off from sisterhood.
Encounter with a saint
Growing up, I had little contact with sisters. My family belonged to a Korean Catholic parish in northern New Jersey, where I attended public schools. Two Korean sisters served in our parish, and they spoke little to no English. Although I saw them around church, I couldn’t relate to them and didn’t get to know them well. Nevertheless, the sisters from my childhood must have left an impression on me because when I started getting involved with campus ministry in college, I noted the absence of sisters at our Catholic center and on retreats and wished there were some there.
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It was not a religious sister but my biological sister, Rosa, who inadvertently piqued my interest in religious life. While I was still working as a journalist, Rosa invited me to venerate the relic of Saint John Bosco when it was at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City as part of a U.S. tour. This would be my first encounter with the saint who was a friend of the young and the poor and who had founded the men’s religious congregation the Salesians of Don Bosco as well as cofounded the women’s religious congregation, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, also known as the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco. After patiently waiting my turn in line among thousands of pilgrims, I had my first encounter with Don Bosco through his relic. As I touched the glass box that encased a life-size wax replica of his body containing his relic, I prayed for guidance. Little did I know that a few years from that moment, I would be entering religious life in the congregation he founded.
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Seed of vocation grows
My vocation discernment didn’t happen in a nice, orderly, logical fashion. I don’t know if anyone discerns that way. God worked in mysterious ways over the course of three years, speaking to me through various people, events, places, and dreams. I was terrified at first that God might be calling me to be a sister! I had no idea what the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience were all about, and I didn’t want to give up the life I was living, despite the misgivings I was starting to have about it. Like most people I had always dreamed of getting married someday and starting my own family. But the Lord gave me the grace to have courage and remain open.
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As I continued to pray and discern, God led me to the Salesian Sisters a month before my graduation. These sisters were gentle, joyful, and a whole lot of fun. They offered me friendship and cordiality, without pressuring me to visit them or enter the community, allowing me to decide for myself if and when I wanted to enter.
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Hopeful for the future
I feel more fully alive now than ever before. Living the virtues of poverty, obedience, and chastity enables me to be totally free to love and serve others. And though my vocation journey is not without fear, doubt, or difficulty, I have faith that God’s plan for me is, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “a future full of hope.”
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(Excerpted with permission from VISION Vocation Guide.)
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