I joined the MGL Sisters in January 1991. Until a short time before this I had no desire for religious life and had strong ambitions in the direction of marriage and children. My plans changed completely when I fell in love with Jesus.

It never ceases to amaze me how unexpected, mysterious yet gracious are God’s ways of bringing about his purposes. We are celebrating over twenty five years of lived experience of the rich charism with which God has  gifted us as Missionaries of God’s Love. So above all we want to honour the creative work of the Spirit, drawing, calling, shaping us in a particular gracing for the work of the kingdom of God, in and for our world today.

After my final year at school I was accepted by St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne to start my nursing career in August. It was during this time that I began to think about my life and where I was going. I felt as though Jesus was standing before me, asking me what path I would choose. I chose to follow Him for the rest of my life.

Hi I'm Therese! I made my final vows with the Missionaries of Gods Love in November 2008. I have never been married but I have to say that this day was like my wedding day, I loved it! I never thought about religious life. At school all I ever wanted to do was to become a nurse or a police officer and get married and have a couple of kids.

I was raised in a family that was pretty open to promoting vocations. In fact, Mum often prayed for more priests, brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, the clearest thought I had for my future was that I’d marry a farmer when I reached the age for that and work as a journalist. However, when I was 18, God began to reveal to me his plan for my future.

Like many young women, I had big plans for my life: I was going to be married by 25, have a family, and become a successful marketing manager! But God had different plans. After high school I completed a Marketing degree and I was enjoying the benefits of working for a corporate life insurance company as a Direct Marketing Manager. I wasn’t looking for a vocation at all.

The first time I remember admitting to myself that I had a vocation to consecrated life, I was about nine years old.  It was not, however, something I wanted for my life.  I was blessed with a home and family where my faith was nurtured, so as I grew older, my response to God’s love for me and His call on my life also grew.  When I was about thirteen, I told my parents about this sense of call.

When people ask me what I like most about MGL life, I often say that I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy. It strikes me that God often has very different ideas for our lives than what we do. When I first finished high school, all I wanted to do was work with little children as a pre-school teacher for the rest of my life, so I studied at uni and spent five years living out this dream. However, as it turned out God had other ideas of what would bring me the most happiness.