Skip to content

Sr. Mary-Magdaline Phadi

Reitumetse Phadi

Reitumetse Phadi

Franciscan Sisters of Siessen SA Province

The First Encounter

My discernment journey truly started in **2017** when I attended my very first vocational workshop. It was conducted by various religious sisters from different congregations. Out of all the groups present that day, my heart was captured by the **Franciscan Sisters of Siessen**. Even though I couldn't point to one specific thing, everything about them felt completely unique, joyful, and kind.

From Excitement to the Heart

Ever since that first encounter, I began to sense God's quiet call in my life. I felt a growing desire to love and serve Him completely as a religious sister. At first, I wondered if this was just an emotional wave of excitement—something temporary swimming around in my head. But as time went on, it grew deeper and very serious. I came to realize it wasn't just a passing thought; it was permanent because it lived constantly in my heart.

It became something I thought about every morning when I woke up and every evening before I closed my eyes to sleep. Strange, isn't it? In the midst of this, a lot was going on in my head and I felt quite confused, constantly wondering: *Is God truly calling me, or am I just calling myself?* That was when I finally decided to listen closely to God and ask Him directly: *'Lord, what do you want me to do?'*

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you for my own; before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations... Do not call yourself a child, for you shall go to whatever people I send you... Fear none of them, for I am with you."
— Jeremiah 1:4-10

A Call Like Jeremiah

In my search for clarity, I turned to the scriptures and found my own path mirrored perfectly in the call of the Prophet Jeremiah. Reading **Jeremiah 1:4-10** filled me with a sudden, beautiful hope. It felt as though God was speaking directly to me, brushing past my doubts and answering my inner fears of being too small or unready by promising His divine presence and protection.

This powerful word of the Lord completely persuaded me to say 'yes' to His call. When I heard the echoing invitation of the Lord asking, *'Whom shall I send?'*, the confusion vanished. Filled with a new confidence, I was finally able to reply: *'Here I am, Lord, send me.'* It is with this joyful trust that I step forward to love and serve Him alongside my sisters. Amen.

"Answering the divine call with confidence: 'Here I am Lord, send me!'"
Back to the Sisters