Sister Mary, Heart of the Trinity, attended three vocations camps in high school. Now she returns for the first time as a religious sister with the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, or the Servidoras.
“I saw how influential (FIAT Days) was in my own life. I don’t know if I’d be here today, if I hadn’t had FIAT camp. I don’t know if I’d be a sister,” she said.
This year, nearly 90 high school girls attended FIAT Days, a vocations camp run by the Arlington diocese at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., July 16-20. During the week, campers interacted with sisters from several religious orders, listened to talks, attended daily Mass and participated in group discussions on faith and discernment. In the afternoons, campers took to the outdoors to compete in volleyball, soccer and badminton tournaments or escaped from the afternoon heat with indoor activities such as pool, chess and arts and crafts.
Camper Istra Muggeridge, 15, a parishioner of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredericksburg, is the third of her sisters to attend FIAT Days.
“It’s just a really great camp,” she said. With equal time spent on spiritual growth and bonding with peers, “you learn a lot about your faith but also have a lot of fun.”
On Tuesday, the campers listened to a talk and reflected during silent prayer time before daily Mass. In his homily, Father Jonathan R. Fioramonti, parochial vicar of St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax, encouraged the campers to imitate Mary’s example of rejoicing.
“Rejoice like Mary did in recognizing God’s mighty works,” he said. At FIAT Days, God’s mighty works might include something said in a talk, a conversation with one of the sisters or a friendship made with one of the campers, he added.
“So as you go through this camp through this week and perhaps today, the end of the invitation is to recognize the deeds that God has done in your life,” Father Fioramonti said.
Third-time camper Traci Sewell, 18, a parishioner of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredericksburg said that each year of FIAT Days brings something new. “This third year, I’m learning more about prayer and quiet time, reflecting on myself but also paying attention to God,” she said.
Sewell has also gained new perspectives on religious life. “I think something that comes as a shock to people who don’t know a lot about the religious life is that it’s so diverse; there’s so much you can do with it,” she said. “And even within one order, you can have a sister who’s a student counselor and then another one who’s a scientist.”
This year, religious orders represented included the Little Sisters of the Poor, Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, Capuchin Sisters of Nazareth, Apostolic Sisters of St. John and Daughters of Charity, among others.
Sister of Our Lady of Mercy Inga Kvassayova grew up in Slovakia and was agnostic for much of her life. However, as a young adult, she converted to the faith and began discerning soon after.
“I converted, and shortly afterward, I found this great love, this great God, and I wanted to give my life to him,” she said. After seeing an image of the Sisters of our Lady of Mercy — St. Faustina Kowalska’s religious order — on a prayer card, she desired to learn more about this order.
“I knew in that moment, ‘I have to go and visit them; I have to find out why I’m so drawn to that,’ ” she said.
After visiting, she knew that God was calling her to serve with the order. Years after she joined and professed final vows, Sister Inga was sent to the United States to serve as a vocations director. She currently works at the St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington.
At FIAT Days, the campers come to Sister Inga with sincere questions about discernment and prayer. “Don’t be afraid to be bold about your faith. And don’t be afraid to discern your vocation,” she encouraged them.
Sister Trinity felt the call to discern early in high school while on a trip to a religious community. Unprepared to respond, however, she focused on finishing high school and college. During this time, she attended similar FIAT Days camps with several dioceses, where she met the Servidoras. In college, she visited several religious orders while on break at home but always felt drawn to the Servidoras.
It was not until graduate school when she decided to enter the Servidoras. While writing a paper on reasons why she wanted to study counseling, she realized, “All of those moments in my life that I had pulled out, God had been using to direct me toward religious life and not counseling.” She formally entered the Servidoras Feb. 2, 2020.
Today, Sister Trinity said there is a misconception that as soon as a woman expresses interest in praying or a religious order, she must be called to be a religious sister. “I want girls to feel like they have the freedom to explore religious life without automatically being like, ‘Oh I have to be a sister if I’m thinking about religious life,’ ” she said.
Camper Emma Francis, 17, a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls, said that the sisters’ presence has been comforting.
“Having the sisters so close around you all the time and being able to talk with them and listening to their talks — that’s probably been the most helpful,” she said. “The sisters are very welcoming and always ready to talk, and the girls are all super nice.”
Whether your vocation is to singleness, marriage, religious or consecrated life, “It’s a beautiful gift to get to know sisters,” Sister Trinity reflected.
