Support Sophia Van Brunt's Religious Calling

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well!

My name is Sophia Van Brunt, and I am discerning to become a religious sister. I have wanted to become a religious sister for some time now, but I did not know which order God wanted me to join. I only knew that I wanted to love and serve those around me with my whole being; to see each person as Christ and love them with the love of Christ. I took this desire and began to study nursing at the University of Mary, for which I am exceedingly grateful.

During this past May, I began attending weekly Zoom meetings with a Roman Catholic religious community known as the Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary. I had no intention of discerning with this community, but one of the sisters invited me to join them in these meetings as they meditated on the mysteries of the rosary and discussed how we can put the virtues of Mary and Jesus into practice concretely in our own lives, as we discern God’s will for us. Obviously, I could not turn down this opportunity. The first meeting came along and one of the sisters spoke about how people often ask God for signs in the Bible to understand His will for them. She then told us about the sign she had received to join the Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary. I thought that this was an excellent idea and proceeded to ask God for my own sign. The word “light” came into my head, so I told God that I would join whichever order first told me that I shone with a light, or that I was illuminated in some way. I was corresponding with the Sisters of Life, the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, and the Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary at the time, but I had no specific order in mind when I asked for this sign. I lingered on the call to say a quick hello to the sisters when the meeting ended, but before I had the chance to say anything, one of the sisters looked at me and said in her Sicilian accent, “Wow Sophia! This light, you are illuminated!” The light in the room had somehow interacted with my computer’s camera to make it look like I had a halo of light on the right side of my head. I was utterly shocked, but the message was clear: God was calling me to join the Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary.

I spent the rest of the summer discerning whether God wanted me to complete college before joining the community. I asked God for another simple sign. I asked Him to give me a red rose if He wanted me to join the community now, and a white rose if He wanted me to complete college first. Towards the latter half of the summer semester, a friend (who did not even know I was discerning) randomly gave me an icon of St. Thérèse holding three red roses. I started a rose novena to St. Thérèse to gain extra clarity about my decision and was granted a singular red rose at the foot of a Marian statue that never has any flowers by it. A friend walking with me was also shocked by the oddly placed rose and shrugged saying that someone must be asking St. Thérèse for a sign, having no idea that the person was me. I was then blessed to go on a pilgrimage with some fellow students who had fallen away from the Catholic faith in various ways. Most of them had not received the sacrament of Confession for years. As one of them voiced concerns about going to Confession I began to speak about the wonders of God’s Merciful Love within the confessional, and the words flowed out of me with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God, many of my fellow students attended Confession claiming that my words had helped spur them along. My soul had never felt more fulfilled! Then it struck me that this is the kind of work the Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary do! They go out into the streets to bring souls back to the sacraments, especially Confession and Communion. What better way to love those around me with the love of Christ than to work for their eternal salvation? I had known all summer that God had called me to join this community, but I finally felt within the depths of my being that this is what I was made for, and that God wanted me to start devoting my life to His glory and the salvation of souls through the Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary as soon as possible.

I write to you today to invite you to join me on my mission of bringing souls back into God’s merciful and loving embrace. You can join me in two ways: by praying for me, and by supporting me financially. I am currently in the process of paying back student loans and need the support of my wonderful friends and family so that I can answer God’s call for me as soon as possible. I hope to raise $13,000 so any and all gifts are greatly appreciated, be they big or small! I am working as a substitute teacher at my old high school, but God wishes for others to join me on this journey as well. I would also be honored to pray for you as I aspire to follow God’s will. Please feel free to reach out to me with any specific prayer intentions!

Thank you for prayerfully considering supporting me as I embark on God’s mission for me!