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the convent. Every good Catholic girl entertained the idea at some point; Joanna was no different. Perhaps, she reasoned, her broken engagement was just God’s way of leading her back to the religious life. She’d give it time, but not discuss it with anyone until she’d made a tentative decision.
    A month later, Joanna sought out Sister Theresa. “You said I could talk to you any time I needed.”
    â€œOf course.” Sister led Joanna into her office and closed the door.
    â€œYou heard?” Joanna asked, not wanting to explain her humiliation.
    Sister Theresa nodded. “I realize this must be a very painful time for you, Joanna, but God allows these burdens to come into our lives for a reason.”
    â€œI believe that, too.”
    Sister smiled approvingly. “You’re wise beyond your years.”
    Joanna didn’t feel wise; she felt wounded and weak. “I’ve been doing a lot of praying since Penny died and I learned about Greg. I wonder if God is using this situation to point me in a completely different direction.”
    â€œHow do you mean?”
    Joanna figured she might as well be direct. “These days the only place I feel any comfort is in church.”
    â€œGod is eager to listen to our prayers,” Sister said.
    â€œI sense His presence. I pray and afterward I feel better. I’ve started thinking that maybe God is calling me to a life of prayer.”
    Sister didn’t reveal any emotion. “Are you saying you’re considering the convent?”
    â€œYes…”
    â€œDo you feel you have a vocation, Joanna?”
    â€œYes.”
    Sister sighed. “I don’t want to discourage you, especially if God is calling you to the religious life. But it’s important that you enter the convent for the right reasons. Not because you have a broken heart.”
    Joanna understood Sister Theresa’s concern. “I feel God purposely took Greg out of my life. It was His way of asking me to work for Him.”
    Sister regarded her steadily. “God doesn’t want to be your second choice, Joanna. He wants to be first in your heart.”
    â€œHe is, Sister. He was until…until Greg and I became involved. I want to serve as a St. Bridget’s Sister of the Assumption.”
    Sister Theresa paused. “Nothing would please me more, but I want you to wait.”
    â€œWait?” Joanna was ready to enter that very moment. Greg wasn’t right for her. They’d led each other into sin and she so desperately wanted to be at peace with God again.
    â€œGive it six months,” Sister Theresa added.
    Reluctantly, Joanna nodded.
    â€œHave you mentioned this to your parents?”
    â€œYes.” It hadn’t gone well. Her mother insisted that Joanna was just reacting to the broken engagement. Her father, on the other hand, had encouraged her, which only infuriated her mother.
    â€œGive it six months,” Sister repeated, “and if you’re still convinced this is what you want, then I’ll recommend that you be admitted in February as an incoming postulant.”

Part 2
BRIDES OF CHRIST
    As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will God rejoice over you.
    Isaiah 62:5

4
    ANGELINA MARCELLO
1958 to 1972
    A s Angie disembarked from the Greyhound bus that September morning in 1958, she was impatient to start her new life. The farewell scene with her father lingered in her mind. Still, she couldn’t allow his disparaging remarks to spoil her first day at the convent. He seemed so sure that entering the order was wrong for her, but if that was true, why did her heart burn with zeal for God?
    Her father found it hard to let her go, Angie realized with a swell of compassion. She loved him all the more for his willingness to step aside and allow her to follow her own path, despite the fact that he was convinced she’d made the biggest mistake of her eighteen years.
    He’d wept openly as she