A Cluny Vocation Story

Sister Margaret Nellieakunnel, SJC

   For my parents, out of eight children I take the sixth position. Out of five girls, three became religious in three different congregations. We all had the privilege of studying in a convent school.

   As a child, I had a desire to be a missionary. When I finished school, I wanted to enter religious life but I did not know where to go. I did not want to consult anyone, even my sister who was already a religious, thinking that they would be a block to the path God wanted me to follow. Those days I prayed to God ardently to show me the way. In my prayer I told Him boldly that whomever I met first, I would join that congregation. By the grace of God, the first religious I encountered was a Cluny and I am proud to be a Cluny today!

   As a Cluny, my life was not a bed of roses. There were many obstacles planted along the way, but God helped me to overcome them all.

   Though I wanted to be a missionary, I didn’t know the full implications of being one. Five years after I was asked to go to Africa, seeing God’s Hand behind it, I gave a positive answer. However, I felt the pain so intensely that I shed tears every time I had to say goodbye. I was making a leap into the darkness. When I reached Gambia, West Africa, I was like a fish out of water. It took me one year to surrender myself fully to God. Thirty years later, I am still here.  I consider myself to be more African than Indian, blooming where I am planted.

   As I write these lines, I am in the United States for Mission Appeals. This is my second visit in three years and I am happy to meet so many good, generous people. I am a proud daughter of Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey and part of the Cluny family.