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My Vocation Story

By Sr. Mary Cecilia Dieu, PDDM

To record my "vocation story" is a grace in itself because I get to thank God for all the graces He has given me. I get to renew my response of love one more time.

I was born and raised in Nhatrang City, Vietnam. I am the seventh of thirteen children, composed of 8 boys and 5 girls. I was blessed to grow up in a faithful Catholic family where both of my parents practiced their faith and raised their children to love, honor, and respect God. The faith of my parents is a model for me and my brothers and sisters as well. My parents were devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. They always reminded us to go to church everyday and persevere in prayer. When I was young, the entire fmaily attended Mass and prayed the rosary together in the evening before going to bed. The children learned to pray the morning and night prayers at an early age. When I take a moment to reflect on my own life and family, I recognize that God always accompanies my family and grants us many graces. I thank the Lord that 3 of my brothers became priests and 2 of us became religious sisters. Though we face many challenges as a family, we always give thanks to God.

My vocation is a pure gift from God. God loves me so much. He wants to be a part of my life and was planting the seeds in my heart.

Some years ago when I attended the Vietnamese Youth Day in San Jose, CA, I met a Sister Disciple of the Divine Master and later met her community in San Jose. They helped me discover my vocation. I spent a lot of times with them in Eucharistic Adoration and Lectio Divina almost every weekend. It made me happy as I had always felt empty inside myself. Shortly after, I went to visit the community of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master (PDDM) in Staten Island, NY. The sisters invited me to come and stay with them to see for myself what God wanted me to do in life. When I saw the sisters in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, my heart had a feeling of fullness. I experienced within what I had been searching and puzzling on. Finally I felt at home. The sense of peace and joy in the community made me want to be there. I started to discover their live and mission. I was indeed attracted to it. I felt that Jesus was showing me the beautiful gift of religious vocation and was asking me to accept His invitation to spend the rest of my life loving and serving Him, in and through this particular community.

It took me over one year before I finally decided. When I entered, I felt that I missed my family so much because they were the greatest treasure I had. But I believe that my "yes" to Jesus could draw down many blessings upon my family.

My formation years in postulancy and novitiate were times for learning nad growth in my family and in my understanding of the Pauline Family religious life. Each day I live out my consecrated life. It is a commitment of love, full of challenges. And it needs to be lived simply day by day, at every moment. God has been good to me. He provides me the strength to accept the sacrifices that this religious call entails. He comforts me through challenging years. He has blessed me with so much joy and happiness as I continue to serve Him in whatever service He calls me.

Thus my response to God's call has led me into the religious community of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master. And now I live my life in intimate prayer with Jesus especially in the Eucharistic Adoration. A sharing of love with my sisters in the community is a blessed reality of my vocation. God has been so generous that He invited me to this congregation. All I want now is to respond to Him by living out my religious conscration.

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On July 9th, 2011, Sr. Mary Cecelia Dieu Nguyen, PDDM, made her Perpetual Profession at Most Holy Trinity Parish Church, in San Jose, California. The Presider was Most Rev. Dominic Mai Thanh Luong, Auxiliary Bishop of Orange in California. She was accompanied by her father and aunt, her three Religious Brother Priests and her two Religious Blood Sisters.