The John-Henry Westen Show - These sisters heard the Lord call to them

00:00:00.000 As long as they desire accompaniment, we are with them.

00:00:03.400 We will never abandon them because we are wed to Jesus who himself promises to never leave us.

00:00:17.040 Hello, my friends, and welcome once again to March for Life here in Washington, D.C.

00:00:22.580 We are at something called LifeFest.

00:00:25.040 LifeFest is a thing put on by the Sisters of Life.

00:00:30.120 If you haven't heard about them, well, you should have, but we're going to get you up to speed on all that.

00:00:35.120 But LifeFest, an incredible event for thousands of young people coming to celebrate life,

00:00:42.180 but also get a taste of the truth of the whole culture of life from the Sisters of Life.

00:00:47.040 You're going to want to stay tuned for this episode.

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00:01:20.460 So, we are here with two sisters from the Sisters of Life,

00:01:25.000 Sister Juliana and Sister Pia Jude.

00:01:28.740 And what I'd like to first ask, if there's probably a lot of them know about the Sisters of Life,

00:01:34.780 at least they've seen you for a long time,

00:01:37.400 because at every pro-life event, of which most of our viewers go to all the time,

00:01:41.160 you're around this very unique habit with the blue and the white.

00:01:46.160 And perhaps some of them still don't know how you guys actually got started,

00:01:50.520 because we see around every bear,

00:01:52.140 but who are the Sisters of Life and where they get started from?

00:01:56.320 Well, the Sisters of Life were founded by John Cardinal O'Connor,

00:01:59.960 and we were started, we're babies in the life of the church,

00:02:03.380 because we were started in 1991, so almost 35 years ago.

00:02:06.960 And we were founded to proclaim the dignity of the human person.

00:02:12.600 And we know that it's hard in this culture to hear that truth.

00:02:17.380 And so, we desire for each person to know and to believe deep within their heart

00:02:23.060 that they are unrepeatable, unique, blessed, given purpose, and that their life has meaning.

00:02:29.520 And so, we are very blessed to be able to do that in our works with women who are pregnant and in crisis,

00:02:35.840 with women who have suffered after an abortion,

00:02:37.860 college ministry, where we go on college campuses,

00:02:41.060 and to bring the news to places like this, to LifeFest, to the March for Life,

00:02:45.360 to just evangelize to the young, the old. Yes.

00:02:48.800 So, that's really interesting, because, if I'm not mistaken,

00:02:52.940 Cardinal O'Connor was in New York, of all places.

00:02:57.660 And that's quite the town to evangelize.

00:03:01.000 So, how did he start this in New York, of all places?

00:03:06.260 And what was the reception like?

00:03:07.480 Did it start really small?

00:03:08.560 It was like nobody?

00:03:09.320 Or how did you get it going?

00:03:10.420 God gave him the pulpit of really far-reaching.

00:03:14.180 So, he would make a promise that anyone who would find themselves pregnant and in need

00:03:21.060 could find a resource, could find healing, could find help with the Archdiocese of New York.

00:03:27.540 And that promise went far and wide, and he knew he had to make good on that promise

00:03:32.640 and respond to the promise of the Sisters of Life are that response.

00:03:36.520 And so, right there, in the heart of, really, in the heart of the world, in many ways,

00:03:41.620 the heart of America, of what can be culture of death surrounding,

00:03:45.080 where there's many abortion clinics, many, you know...

00:03:47.860 Especially in New York.

00:03:48.860 Yes.

00:03:49.800 That promise was made in a light shown,

00:03:52.320 and then the Sisters of Life were a response from the Holy Spirit.

00:03:56.520 And so, we do that, and we've been blessed to be able to receive

00:04:00.640 really 10,000 more women to serve and to walk with and to accompany and to seek courage.

00:04:08.040 And just to see that, you know, in the darkness, there is a grit,

00:04:13.460 there is a hope that still springs up.

00:04:17.140 It's really beautiful.

00:04:18.180 It's beautiful.

00:04:19.040 Yeah.

00:04:19.540 Something's really strange.

00:04:20.660 I think for John Q. Public out there, they're going to think,

00:04:23.820 here's this young woman, and she's smiling a lot,

00:04:27.220 but they are traditional nuns that are sisters,

00:04:31.400 so that means they give up having their own families and being with a husband. 0.77

00:04:35.580 And what did that for you?

00:04:37.800 Because that's an uncommon calling, you might say.

00:04:41.800 I'm from Canada.

00:04:43.000 When there's, you know, nuns, when we think of nuns,

00:04:45.400 it's like, there's a few old ladies, they're really not in habits anymore. 0.97

00:04:49.500 They're in a pantsuit-y thing with a little cross somewhere.

00:04:53.140 But, and they're all old.

00:04:55.460 You're not old.

00:04:56.560 So, what is it that's bringing out this life among you guys?

00:05:02.720 It's first the Lord's invitation.

00:05:05.460 And it's a response to a call on our lives of love.

00:05:09.720 And the only response to love is joy, is yes, is more, thank you.

00:05:16.000 So, the gift of an invitation to religious life is really a gift to live in great love

00:05:22.260 with our Lord Jesus, who then asks us to receive and then to go out and to share that.

00:05:28.300 And so, we're very blessed as sisters of life to take the traditional vows of poverty,

00:05:33.480 chastity, and obedience, and also a special fourth vow to protect and enhance the sacredness

00:05:38.140 of human life.

00:05:38.880 And so, all of our prayer is sort of like a thrust to bring to the world the joy that we

00:05:47.540 receive first in our Eucharistic Lord, on our knees, in prayer.

00:05:51.260 It really is.

00:05:52.140 It all happens there.

00:05:53.340 That's where the joy begins.

00:05:55.120 And then, to be His hands and His feet, it goes on.

00:05:57.900 It then shares with the world.

00:05:59.940 So, a lot of young ladies are going to be thinking, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. 1.00

00:06:04.520 They heard our Lord?

00:06:06.300 What do you mean by heard?

00:06:08.320 Because I would love it if our Lord would just tell me, I want you to do this now.

00:06:12.980 But it's not that way.

00:06:14.860 At least not for me.

00:06:15.720 Maybe it is for some.

00:06:16.920 But how did you hear the call of the Lord?

00:06:20.220 In the silence and in prayer and in front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

00:06:25.660 For me, that's how it all began in Eucharistic adoration, where the invitation was really to

00:06:34.360 be only His, to be mine alone.

00:06:37.640 And I tell you that it's a very, it could be a very scary thing at first to think, like,

00:06:43.700 oh, wow, what could I be called to?

00:06:45.820 What does this mean for my life?

00:06:48.000 But that where He is, He promises where I am is where you will be fulfilled.

00:06:53.360 It's where I'm waiting for you there.

00:06:55.300 So then God allowed me to find, I mean, I was in New York, working in New York, and to

00:07:01.160 find the Sisters of Life in Manhattan, you know, that our gift is that we are, we're there

00:07:06.980 in Manhattan, where everybody's working, you know, busy in their lives.

00:07:12.040 And then there's this, like, refuge.

00:07:14.160 There's this place where our Lord is King.

00:07:16.680 He is enthroned.

00:07:17.520 And my heart said, that's what I've been waiting for.

00:07:20.160 It's a response.

00:07:21.160 It's a movement of the heart.

00:07:22.660 Beautiful.

00:07:23.320 Well, Sister Juliana, you're not going to get away on this one.

00:07:25.740 So what was for you, your sort of, how did you hear our Lord calling you?

00:07:31.580 Yeah.

00:07:31.960 And it's so hard to hear the voice of the Lord.

00:07:34.160 There's so much noise in our world.

00:07:35.780 There's always one thing or another vying for your attention.

00:07:38.740 And for me, it was really, like Sister said, going into that place of silence.

00:07:42.880 I remember discovering the gift of a Eucharistic Adoration Chapel and realizing, wow, right here,

00:07:48.680 Jesus Christ, waiting for me, gazing upon me with love, holding onto my heart.

00:07:55.540 And it was this experience of realizing that every desire I had for meaning, for fulfillment,

00:08:01.180 for love was right there, just waiting for me.

00:08:04.300 And it was in that place of silence where I could begin to let my heart ask deeper questions

00:08:09.400 and not just tell God my plans for my life, but ask him, okay, Lord, what did you make

00:08:13.960 me for?

00:08:14.620 Because you know me and you love me and you want my heart to flourish.

00:08:19.260 And in that space, gazing upon Jesus, I could discover who he made me to be and begin to

00:08:25.080 hear those gentle, soft tugs in my heart revealing to me, okay, Lord, you made my heart to be your

00:08:31.720 own bride.

00:08:32.300 Something you said that's very interesting because you knew Jesus loved you.

00:08:38.900 I think that's the sort of start.

00:08:40.740 How did you know that?

00:08:42.620 I can remember actually the first time I was invited to pray outside of an abortion clinic.

00:08:48.580 At the time, I wasn't going to mass.

00:08:50.740 I wasn't practicing my faith, but someone handed me a rosary.

00:08:53.880 And I remember being in that place and watching a woman walk in and you could see in her eyes

00:09:01.320 was this look of heartache and despair already.

00:09:05.100 And that day I learned who Jesus was because as I looked at the crucifix on the rosary, I

00:09:11.280 realized this is why he came.

00:09:13.680 He came so that this is not the end of the story.

00:09:16.860 He came so that this child could live for all eternity.

00:09:20.740 He came so that this woman's heart could be brought back to new life.

00:09:24.580 And I discovered that is the vastness of the love of our God, that this is a God who loves

00:09:30.680 us in our darkest places and our moments of deepest despair and our moments of deepest pain.

00:09:38.340 He is right there offering us life, offering us love, offering us hope and mercy.

00:09:43.980 And I fell in love with him.

00:09:45.580 A lot of people, not only young women or women of any age, are going to think to themselves,

00:09:51.800 yeah, but look at these holy women. 1.00

00:09:54.200 I'm not that.

00:09:56.400 I've got a dark past.

00:09:58.160 I've done many things.

00:09:59.480 And I'm not only not proud of, I know are wrong.

00:10:04.480 Is there still hope for me?

00:10:05.940 We have a God who can bring new life anywhere, new hope anywhere.

00:10:10.820 When God sees our broken hearts, he looks upon us as a father looking upon a child saying,

00:10:18.060 I want you to be made well and live.

00:10:20.280 I think I always think of a beautiful part of scripture, you know, in the little girl,

00:10:24.460 12 year old Talitha dies and her father goes to find Jesus to bring him back to her.

00:10:30.920 And the words the father says to Jesus, he says, come lay your hands on her that she may 0.72

00:10:37.500 be made well and live.

00:10:39.400 And I think that just reveals to us the heart of our father in heaven, that she may be made

00:10:45.160 well and live.

00:10:46.140 If you are someone who has suffered from the regret, from the shame of past sins, if you

00:10:52.120 are someone who feels the weight of guilt upon you, know that the heart of your father

00:10:56.560 is looking on you in that same world, longing for you to be made well and to live, not just

00:11:02.080 live life here on this earth, but to live abundant, beautiful life in his grace.

00:11:06.120 You specifically work dealing with women who have gone through probably one of the darkest

00:11:13.300 things, at least in their own consciences that they feel.

00:11:16.240 I've talked to many women who, I mean, the worst thing, you know, everybody talks about 1.00

00:11:20.800 rape and incest.

00:11:21.560 That's the worst thing.

00:11:22.460 And I've talked to women who have gone through that and they tell me I could heal from the

00:11:31.160 rape, what was done to me, but it's so hard for me to heal from what I then did to my child.

00:11:38.700 So even with that, how do you, how do you bring people out of that kind of despair, that

00:11:44.340 kind of doubt that God could ever love me again?

00:11:47.680 Yeah.

00:11:48.300 As Sisters of Life, we do have a beautiful privilege of walking with women who are on the

00:11:53.840 journey of healing after abortion, and they come from every different circumstance, every

00:11:58.380 age, every situation.

00:12:01.060 And it's incredible to see that when a woman begins to receive love, she might have many

00:12:08.400 complex emotions to carry.

00:12:09.960 And yet by providing a space for her where she is free to voice these stars, to voice her

00:12:15.300 regrets, and to be responded to with love, with listening ears, with compassion, with the

00:12:21.260 knowledge that we do have a God who can forgive every sin, including the sin of abortion, she

00:12:27.060 is loved into life again.

00:12:28.660 And our women to us, they are witnesses of resurrection.

00:12:31.940 They are witnesses to us that even a heart that carries the deepest pain can be reborn into

00:12:37.960 the love of God.

00:12:40.600 So you're dealing with hard issues.

00:12:42.860 You're not dealing with easy stuff.

00:12:45.760 It's messy.

00:12:46.660 It's full of the pain of life and of all of the sometimes really nasty stuff.

00:12:56.140 When you see a woman who's been abused and feeling used, the call for Catholics is more 0.86

00:13:04.620 than just heal yourself.

00:13:07.400 It's even to forgive.

00:13:09.240 And if either of you have a reflection on that, have you seen this kind of healing in a woman

00:13:17.040 to a point where she is forgiving the perpetrators and in love with them, in a way in love with

00:13:24.360 them and hoping for their own healing?

00:13:25.640 Our church is so good and wise and has given us this year of hope.

00:13:30.680 Pope Pius XI said men must look for the peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ.

00:13:37.500 And he urged that the faithful give public honour to Christ the King so that individuals and

00:13:42.340 states would submit once more to the rule of their saviour.

00:13:45.860 And that is why LifeSite News is raising up the image of Christ the King across the United

00:13:51.400 States.

00:13:51.940 And you can help us reach millions more.

00:13:55.300 Please pledge your support today for these billboards at lifefunder.com slash Christ is

00:14:01.560 King.

00:14:01.900 And it's so beautiful to be at this March for Life in this year of hope, where that's

00:14:08.640 sort of, that's sort of the word, right?

00:14:10.700 Like, um, that mercy can bring us to a point where we will be grateful in some way, like

00:14:18.740 a gratitude for even the hard, even the difficult, even the dark.

00:14:24.520 Um, that God is such a redeeming God, that the light that comes from those very places

00:14:31.220 of brokenness.

00:14:32.320 It's like the light that came out of his wounds at the resurrection.

00:14:35.500 We will look on that light as witness, as testimony.

00:14:39.260 And we even have here at LifeFest, um, you know, women who will get on a stage in front 1.00

00:14:45.340 of thousands and tell them their deepest, darkest shame and say, not only did I receive mercy,

00:14:52.040 but now I give mercy.

00:14:54.460 I forgive in my past through all of the abuse, through all of the pain, through all, through

00:14:59.120 all of the no's that got me to a place that I said the ultimate no, I am now able to give

00:15:05.620 the ultimate yes.

00:15:07.060 It's unbelievable.

00:15:08.220 And in this year of hope, that's for every one of us.

00:15:10.980 Like Pope Francis is telling us this year, believe it.

00:15:14.260 Cause that's, that's the extra grace that wants to blood the church this year, um, to

00:15:19.880 give us that grace to, to say, no, it's for me, you know, it's for me too.

00:15:23.900 If you can tell us about what you've witnessed in your ministry already for many years, it's

00:15:29.380 an incredible thing.

00:15:30.020 It's hard to believe for some people, but tell us what you've seen.

00:15:33.240 Well, one thing I've seen is what you're, what you were saying before, just the miracle

00:15:37.120 of forgiveness, that when someone receives forgiveness, they also become able to forgive

00:15:43.000 others that forgiveness really is what transform a wound into a source of life.

00:15:47.740 And we see so many of the women we walk with teach us that every day. 0.98

00:15:51.620 What you just said is interesting.

00:15:53.480 And you mentioned it too, sister, it's from the pain that healing comes.

00:16:01.900 I mean, that of course sounds like Jesus, but you don't often think of that in our own

00:16:08.200 lives, that it's from the pain that healing in a way that you're able to sort of give

00:16:14.440 healing.

00:16:15.660 That is it.

00:16:16.480 Am I hearing that correctly?

00:16:17.800 Well, I think it's just so beautiful because there was just like, you know, thousands of

00:16:22.240 people on their knees singing, Lord, I need you, Lord, I need you.

00:16:25.360 It's like this song has like captured hearts, right?

00:16:27.980 Like it's been now around for years and it doesn't get old, Lord, I need you.

00:16:31.540 Because it's from that place of need, that place of pain, that place of desperation that

00:16:37.360 you call out and it says, I'm available, Lord, I need you.

00:16:42.580 And the Lord's like waiting for that moment.

00:16:44.940 He's like, finally, finally, I have access, right?

00:16:48.780 I can respond to your need.

00:16:51.160 That's what I've been waiting for.

00:16:52.500 That's why I came.

00:16:53.180 That's why I died.

00:16:53.820 I want to respond to you.

00:16:55.500 That place of pain is actually a place of invitation, right?

00:16:58.400 Like, and so from the fall, we're hiding ourselves from that place where we're running from

00:17:03.140 the Lord.

00:17:03.540 And he's like, no, that's the very place I'm waiting for.

00:17:06.420 I mean, we just have thousands of witnesses right now calling that out and the Lord's

00:17:11.800 rushing into those places right now.

00:17:13.760 And it's just remarkable.

00:17:15.640 You look like someone who is so happy you almost have chills.

00:17:20.520 And that's so neat.

00:17:22.580 It is a fruit.

00:17:25.340 The Sisters of Life have been in great grace.

00:17:28.100 You're doing this beautiful music, this compelling music in front of adoration.

00:17:32.740 Is that not correct?

00:17:33.740 That's correct.

00:17:34.360 Yeah, Jesus is exposed.

00:17:35.360 So the Eucharistic Lord is sitting right there and they're, you know, on their knees begging.

00:17:42.800 And it's just so beautiful.

00:17:44.560 And, but what a great grace you've been given to, to bring them and to have them.

00:17:51.000 My, I have to confess, I have two daughters who are both affected by the Sisters of Life.

00:17:54.540 So we have great love for you and our family.

00:17:56.420 I have seven, excuse me, six boys, but it's not the same.

00:17:59.760 But anyway, but God bless you.

00:18:02.000 Thank you so much for your ministry.

00:18:03.860 You've touched countless lives.

00:18:06.500 And any final words for us?

00:18:08.360 Our founder, Cardinal O'Connor, he really gave our sisters the invitation, not just to do something,

00:18:15.320 to serve women who are in crisis or to walk with women and accompany women, but to be spiritual

00:18:20.980 mothers in the heart of their church.

00:18:23.640 And oftentimes, as you're saying, we walk with women who are in very complex situations where there's deep grief,

00:18:29.900 deep pain, deep complexity to their situations.

00:18:32.700 And sometimes healing can be a long process.

00:18:36.760 And so we're here to accompany them as prayer guardians, as spiritual mothers, so that as they journey forth to new life,

00:18:43.360 as they take that hard and difficult road to the new life that Jesus came to give them,

00:18:48.840 that we can be spiritual mothers by their side and that they're not alone for any moment of their journey there.

00:18:54.300 Even if it takes more than, like, counseling sessions, like more than a year?

00:18:59.660 Have you ever been with somebody for that long?

00:19:02.700 There are women who we journey with that we've known for a short amount of time, 0.99

00:19:08.140 and then there are women who become part of our families, and we see them for years, even for decades.

00:19:14.220 So they become part of our family, truly, when they get to know us.

00:19:17.700 As long as they desire accompaniment, we are with them.

00:19:21.000 We will never abandon them because we are wed to Jesus who himself promises to never leave us.

00:19:27.820 It is their witness that causes us to yell out more,

00:19:32.100 Lord, I need you, because, you know, we too, we also have those parts of our hearts that are broken and in need and in pain.

00:19:39.480 And so it is a great witness and a great gift to serve all the people that God gives us to serve.

00:19:45.980 And our experience is that we receive much, much more than we give.

00:19:49.780 So we thank each of you that are present here at LifeFest, because you come, we are able to be filled with the joy to give.

00:19:59.880 This is John Hinder Weston for LifeSite News with the Sisters of Life at LifeFest.

00:20:05.780 And since we didn't do it at the beginning, let's conclude the way we should have started with the sign of the cross.

00:20:11.140 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

00:20:16.200 Amen. God bless you.

00:20:21.660 Hi, everyone. This is Fr. James Altman for LifeSite News.

00:20:25.700 We hope you enjoyed this video.

00:20:27.780 For more content like this, check the links in the description.

00:20:32.420 You can also connect with us on social media to stay up to date with the latest news on life, faith, family, and freedom.

00:20:41.140 Thank you for watching, and may God bless you all.

The John-Henry Westen Show - January 29, 2025

These sisters heard the Lord call to them

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