Hello my name is Sr. Monique Bisson and I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirit.  It is with joy that I greet you to share how I am doing.

For some, this may be the first time that you have heard from me in a while and for others, simply an update.  You may have heard through the ‘grapevine' that I was discerning the religious life, well this is definitely true and I am enjoying every minute of it!  

To begin, I would like to share with you some of my background.  I received my call, or in other words, a strong prompting in my heart from God to respond to his invitation to the religious life, back in August 2003.  The call came as I was searching and asking myself, Who is my family?  Where do I belong?  What would make me happiest?  What is God's will for my life? I desired my own family, especially because I saw how all my siblings were married and starting their own families.  Their marriages were an example to me; however, I was also open to the possibility to a religious vocation.  My openness to the vocation to the religious life came from seeing the example of other family members who chose this vocation: My Uncle Luc, who passed away in 2005, was a priest in the diocese of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and my Aunt Rita is a religious sister with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.  I see them as examples of how one can find family through serving God and the Church.

Sure enough, it was during a visit home with my family in Saskatchewan back in August 2003 that I heard in my heart God gently say, "I am your family."  I knew immediately what this meant.  God was asking me to accept Him as my own family, to dedicate my life in serving Him and His Church as a religious sister.  I experienced a deep peace.  I responded, "Yes Lord, I am yours."  This invitation affirmed exactly where I belonged, where I would be happiest.  The next steps fell into place when I returned to Ottawa and I joined Sr. Anna Chan in her endeavour to begin a new sisterhood akin to the spirituality of the Companions of the Cross.  The rest, as they say, is history...

God was fulfilling my heart's desire to belong, to be part of a family.  God answered this desire in these past years through allowing me to experience family in my relationship with Him, through my relationships with my sisters in my community, and through all who are close to our community.  I would like to share with you some details of how He has done this for me.

First, in my relationship with God I see how I have grown over the years, experiencing through my prayer life a real deep sense of belonging.  I had a very basic understanding of my faith, but I realized that a relationship can only work when spending time with one another.  This is no different with my relationship with God.  It needed to be personal.  By spending time in daily prayer, I have learned to converse with God as a friend, telling Him my joys and thanksgivings as well as my hurts and times of discouragement.  By reading different Bible passages, I have experienced God's love for me as His beloved daughter and friend.  He is a great listener.

Second, the Servants of the Cross is truly where I belong and I'm really enjoying having a growing family.  September 2007, we received Stephanie Koch from Neilburg, Saskatchewan. This past September we received Melinda Schenher also from Saskatchewan and Vicki Wright from Ottawa.  We have many opportunities to spend time together and I especially enjoy the simple moments such as meal times.  Once a week, Sr. Anna leads us through a discussion initiating us to talk about a number of motivating topics about community life.  Other nights the five of us are often sharing our experiences from the day.  At times, our meals end with fits of laughter.  Another favourite time together is community night held once a month, doing some fun activity like a games night, or simply hanging out and being together.  It is a true blessing from the Lord to call them my sisters.

Third, I have always felt like I belonged as part of my parish family, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary.  Since the very first day I joined the parish, I felt a very strong family atmosphere.  Our relationships with many of the parishioners have extended beyond the parish life.  Every third Sunday of the month, after mass, we offer brunch here at the house inviting everyone for breakfast and more fellowship.  Everyone always has a good time together and our Sticky Buns recipe is definitely a crowd pleaser!

My participation in the different ministries at the parish has really become an extension of our family.  The first ministry I was involved with in Ottawa was the Young Adults Group at the parish.  I began as a participant and am currently one of its leaders.  The Young Adults Group's main purpose is to provide its participants with an opportunity to learn more about the faith and to put it into action.  We have had many vocational fruits from our group: Sr. Anna, Deacon Carlos Martins with the Companions of the Cross, to name a few, and several vocations to marriage amongst couples who met through the group.  I am also part of the leaders' team that is putting on a New Life in the Spirit retreat.  We have 30 participants who attend and listen to our talks each Tuesday night.  We work well as a team and I hope many graces and fruits will come out of it.

God is so faithful in building my desire to belong to a family.  These past few years have been life-changing.  There is such a great joy in my heart knowing how God has shown His love for me in my personal relationship with Him through prayer, in community and being real with my sisters, and in bringing Christ to others by serving in different ministries in our parish.  What God has given me directly impacts the mission that our community has been entrusted with.  As much as I desire to belong to a family, this desire is meant to share with others.

There it is, six years of my life summarized in a few paragraphs.  I am grateful for the insight in knowing how important it means to belong and what it means to give my life completely to Him in my vocation.

Know that you are in my prayers.  Please keep me in your prayers also.