Anna Lieu Tran and Maria Hai Nguyen, Sister Nguyen’s mother and sister, respectively, traveled from Vietnam to witness her profession of vows. Other special guests included her nephew Anthony Tien Tran who traveled to the ceremony from Canada, many friends and choir members from Corpus
Christi and Rockport and sisters from the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament.
While discerning with the sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, Sister Theresa has participated in liturgical worship with the Vietnamese communities in local parishes.
“We continue to enrich one another through our Vietnamese community as well as share our faith and culture with others on special occasions,” she said.
And this was such an occasion.
“Liturgical dancing at the offertory is part of the Vietnamese culture, Sister Theresa said. “The lighted candle [lantern] explains that we offer the story of our lives to God; we are called to share the light that we received at baptism with others.”
Sister Theresa's sister and mother from Vietnam at left, Maria Hai Nguyen and Anna Lieu Tran, respectively, along with Chien Nguyen, a friend, from St. Peter in Rockport witness Sister Theresa's final profession of vows. Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic |
Sister Theresa was born in Dak Mil, Vietnam in 1975 and raised in a traditional Vietnamese household with one brother, six sisters and parents who instilled strong Catholic values. Every day her family prayed and sang together for evening prayer. They lived close to the church, making it easy to attend morning Mass.
Sister Theresa has been singing all her life. At the ages of 11-17 Sister Theresa was a member of junior choir and joined the junior Legionaries of Mary, when she began helping others. She visited the sick, prayed with them and helped feed the poor. When she was 18 she met Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and was inspired by her spirit and action for the poor.
“I was too young to understand the meaning of poor. I thought food and clothes were things the poor needed,” she said.
It was through a community called Missionaries of Christ’s Charity that she was sent to Corpus Christi in 2004 to minister to the spiritual needs of the Vietnamese community and work at the Mother Teresa Day Shelter for the Homeless.
“Usually people think of a missionary as a person who goes to a third world country, not one who comes from a poor nation. However, at home we knew there were many Vietnamese who had settled in the United States, and they needed our help. There were many who had fallen on hard times or who had lost their way in the transition to their new life,” she said.
When she saw the name of the city she thought, “here is a good place to land my feet.”
While residing at the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Convent, she learned English and took courses at Del Mar College. She was attracted to the sisters’ charism and community life at the convent. Known for their hospitality, she began to feel that she belonged to the community.
Superior General Michelle Marie Kuntscher, IWBS places a ring on Sister Theresa's finger. The ring signifies a lifelong comittment of marriage with Jesus Christ. Mary Cottingham, South Texas Catholic |
“I felt welcomed, supported, loved and free to be myself,” she said. “The sisters [at Incarnate Word] live who they are. It taught me to live like that also—it’s the best way to be joyful and show loving kindness to others.”
During that period of time, and after much prayer, discernment and guidance, she realized that God was calling her to serve as a sister of the Incarnate Word. She was accepted into the congregation as a candidate on Nov. 11, 2005, entered the novitiate phase on Aug. 15, 2007 and professed first vows Aug. 1, 2009. In 2012 she became a United States citizen.
Sister Theresa has pursued advanced studies on Computer Information Systems at Texas A&M University in Kingsville and will be attending the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. She will also serve at Incarnate Word Academy in Brownsville, where she will be their technology assistant for elementary level classes.
Referring to her religious journey in the IWBS Formation Program, Sister Theresa summarizes it in a single word–gratitude. She is grateful for the Incarnate Word charism, the prayer life and the experience of community. She appreciates the love and support of each sister in the community. She found that increased self-knowledge helps her to live more freely and confidently.
“On-going formation provides many opportunities for my life to be transformed in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word,” she said.
Sister Theresa believes that this transformation is one of the beautiful aspects of consecrated life. Of her shared journey with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, she said, “We come from different backgrounds and cultures, and we share our many gifts and talents with the church and the people of God.”
On vocations she said, “I extend an invitation to you, young women and men, to be open to God’s whisperings in your hearts. Is God calling you to the priesthood or consecrated life? Come and see and you will truly be surprised at what God has in store for you. With God, all things are possible.”