On May 25 of this year, I married the most loving of husbands: Jesus. I would like to share how
we met and how he led me to this vocation.

I grew up in a practicing Catholic family. My parents faithfully gave me the sacraments, taught
me to pray, and took me to Mass. Yet I saw God mainly as someone to be feared and obeyed, and
my faith did not yet engage my heart. In high school, a friend showed me what it meant to have a
personal relationship with Jesus. As I began reading Scripture, I discovered that he speaks
through his Word, revealing his goodness and drawing me to love him. At sixteen, while
preparing for Confirmation, I received a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith and
discovered that the Eucharist is the very Jesus I had come to love.

Over the years, the Lord continued to guide me. At twenty-six, shortly after ending a two-year
relationship, I sensed him saying, “I have set you aside, Carole, for a special relationship with
myself. And it is going to bring you a lot of loneliness.” In prayer, I placed on the altar
everything I treasured—my work, education, hopes for marriage and children, family, and future.
As I surrendered these to him, I sensed his reassurance that this did not necessarily mean I would
lose them, but that my life might unfold differently than I expected. He gave me no further
direction, and I did not interpret this as a call to consecrated life.

My path to understanding my vocation was gradual. I had no attraction to religious life.
Although I admired consecrated virgins, I did not see myself among them. Marriage seemed the
most appealing vocation, yet every time I pursued it, I experienced deep interior unrest. I
assumed I simply had not met the right man.

The Lord also led me far from my family, friends, and homeland for many years. In that
loneliness, my intimacy with Jesus and my dependence on him deepened.

Then, in 2017, during a difficult period at work, I often prayed the Rosary when I could not
sleep. While meditating on the Third Sorrowful Mystery, I vividly saw Jesus crowned with
thorns, gazing at me with deep love and longing. My heart responded with love, and in that
moment I understood that his love for me was spousal. This realization changed everything.
From that day, I no longer desired marriage to anyone else.

A few years later, I discerned that the Lord was calling me to make this spousal relationship
public. Under my diocesan bishop, I entered formation for the Consecration of Virgins Living in
the World. There I discovered the profound beauty, theology, and wisdom of this vocation.
Looking back through my journals, I now see many signs pointing toward this calling. Yet I
could not connect the dots or say yes until the Lord revealed it through his grace. I am deeply
grateful to understand his spousal love for me and to return that love with all my heart.