SISTER MARY FRANCES DIZON, OSB
I entered the Congregation of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing in 1983 at the age of 31. I had been attending vocation talks, search-ins, and retreats at the young age of 18. It took twelve years before I finally decided to leave my loved ones and enter the convent.
We are a big family. I am third from the eldest of eight children. We were not really religious or “churchy” but when we were young we always went to church on Sundays and prayed our rosary at the end of the day. And when we grew up we prayed on our own. That was it.
I supposed it was my auntie’s devotion and persistence that made me enter the convent. My auntie, Miss Josefina M. Dizon, was a teacher in St. Scholastica’s Academy (SSA) in San Fernando, Pampanga. She was the one who was very eager to enter the convent. She was really in love with all the Sisters she was with. But because of her old age and poor health, she did not even make it to first base.
She recruited my two elders sisters but failed and so, she turned to me. She introduced me to the different religious organizations: Legion of Mary and Children of Mary Immaculate. She would invite me to SSA-San Fernando every now and then, and I began to be attracted by the garb of the Sisters. I also wanted to wear the veil.
When I finished college, my auntie faithfully informed me about the schedules of Search-ins, recollections, and retreats. She would bribe me with many things and financial support. She persisted in following up until I ran out of alibis.
By the time all my younger sisters had finished studying and successfully passed their board exams, the road to the convent seemed to me too wide to ignore. And so, here I am more than twenty-five years in the life. The Lord called…. He waited …. And finally I answered Yes.
