By Cathy Blankenau Bender
Editor-in-chief
Three Sisters of Life professed their perpetual vows Aug. 6, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, including Sister Elena Marie Wathen from the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.
Originally from Louisville, Ky., the Wathen family moved to Lincoln prior to Sister Elena Marie’s freshman year of high school. She was a member of St. Peter Parish and graduated from Pius X High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from Hillsdale College.
After graduating from college, she attended a conference for young Catholic women called the GIVEN Forum and encountered the Sisters of Life. She recalled being struck by their authenticity and joy, and especially how they received and listened in a way totally open to the other.
“I remember thinking, ‘If I were to be a Sister, I would want to be a Sister of Life. But I’m not called.’ Or so I thought!” she said.
An invitation began to surface in her heart over the next few years.
“I realized that all the good things I was doing were my things,” she said, “and perhaps the Lord was inviting me to open my heart to His invitation.”
She realized she began to desire space for silence and prayer, spending time frequently in an Adoration chapel.
“In those quiet, simple moments, I experienced God’s presence and personal love in new and profound ways,” she said, and in prayer one morning, “the Lord spoke a gentle but undeniable invitation to consider being totally His as a Sister of Life.”
After “some initial resistance,” she said reached out to the Sisters, and visited them in New York.
“Being with them, it was like my own heart was being reflected back to me,” she said. “It has been a wonder to witness the Lord unfold His invitation for my life and love – and the journey has been one of such peace and joy.”
She spent three years in initial formation: as a postulant for one year and as a novice for two years. She professed her first vows in 2021, and since then has served in a number of apostolates, including the Sisters’ Retreat Mission, Novitiate Formation, and the Respect Life Office for the Archdiocese of New York.
“As Sisters of Life,” she explained, “we have the joy of sharing with every person that their life is a gift – chosen and desired by God from all eternity. No matter what circumstances or difficulties we face, each one of us is made by love and for love, with a dignity that can never be taken away.”
She admitted living in New York has been “quite an adjustment!” But her favorite part is encountering people from various cultures and backgrounds, who often are in New York to pursue their hopes and dreams.
“It’s a privilege and joy to be a sign of God and His presence in this place,” she said.
In fact, she said, the greatest privilege of her life “is to belong entirely to Jesus as His bride, as a sign and witness to the Church of her call to union with God.”
Sister Elena Marie’s parents Jim and Carol Wathen attended the Aug. 6 Mass, as well as other family members – she has three brothers and two sisters, and nine nieces and nephews – and friends, including Pius X classmate Father Alec Sasse, now the vocations director for the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln. He said it was a “heavenly experience” to be there.
“To see someone I grew up with doing something so holy was a humbling experience,” he said. “I thought, ‘We’re just two kids from Lincoln, now sitting here in the sanctuary of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, consecrated to the Lord!’”
He continued: “When a priest is ordained, people immediately remark about what he can now do as priest. When a nun is consecrated, people don’t ask that. They are instead marveling about who she is. She images the Church and our call to Heaven.”
Sister Elena Marie said the Sisters of Life “are a contemplative-active community, so our main work is prayer, and then all of our active ministries flow from that.”
“Each day,” she said, “we receive and adore Jesus in the Eucharist, where He becomes small and vulnerable for our sake. In and through Him, we learn how to reverence His hidden presence in others – especially the most vulnerable.”
Sister Elena Marie said an individual’s discernment can sometimes feel overwhelming and complicated, “like a big puzzle or set of hoops to jump through.”
“But really, it’s about receiving an invitation of love from the God who knows and loves us more than we can imagine,” she said. “It begins with simply spending time with the Lord in prayer. As we get to know Him, we grow in the freedom to follow where He leads. He loves you and has beautiful plans for your life and love!”
