Sister Mary Agnes grew up in a loving but agnostic home outside of Boston, Massachusetts.  She  was introduced to Jesus for the first time through a Young Life meeting when she was a teenager. Hearing the story of Jesus healing the leper, she was profoundly moved, and fell in love with Him.  

 

Eager to learn more about this person, Jesus, who loved lepers and tax collectors, who called her by her name, who knew who she was from before her birth, she began attending  a variety of Protestant churches, searching for "something," but always sensing a "missing piece."

 

After moving to the west coast as a young adult, a friend invited her  to attend Holy Mass. There she encountered Jesus again, this time in the tabernacle, and knew she had finally found the "something" she had sought for so long, the Real Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ: body, blood, soul and divinity. She entered  RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults)  and was received into the Catholic Church the following May, 2002 . 

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Fifteen years later, at age 50, Sr. Agnes found herself at the top of her career, living in  California, and utterly empty spiritually. She  realized that her career and personal aspirations were sitting on the throne in the center of her heart where the Lord had once reigned. She opened her heart to her Jesus once again and accepted His will for her life, wherever He may lead.

 

In her newly found openness Sister Agnes heard a call to religious life.  Prayer and guidance enabled her to embrace the idea of consecrating her life fully to God. Sister's  "yes" prompted her to explore religious communities, resulting in a move to Boise, Idaho where she was introduced to the Sisters of Divine Grace.  Sr. Agnes entered the Sisters of Divine Grace on August 15, 2019, and after a period as postulant, joyfully entered the novitiate on September 8, 2020 and subsequently took First Vows on the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, 2023.

 

When Sr. Agnes reflects on her circuitous life path she observes:

"Sometimes the Lord takes everything away from us to help us realize our reliance on Him. Sometimes he gives us everything we think we want to show us how empty life is without Him at the center of our hearts..."

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