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August 31, 2008

Search for truth led her to religious life

By Alicija Pozywio

STAFF WRITER

The fascination with a search for truth was the reason Margaret Lekan knocked at the Dominican Sisters’ convent door one day in 1995 in Krakow, Poland. This search led her to later become Sister Margaret.

Since that time, she has studied theology at the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland, then at Gannon University in Pennsylvania, where she was sent by the Dominican Order. After finishing the first semester there, Lekan transferred to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where she finished both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in theology.

Studying was difficult for her, especially at the beginning when she felt thrown into deep water, due to the language barrier. However, after mastering English, she said she found her studies fascinating. It was during this time that Lekan first noticed the similarity between her order’s charism of study and teaching and studying theology at American universities.

“I’m fascinated by American academic freedom. We hear very often that America is a country without a history, which might be true compared to deeply rooted and ingrained European traditions. But I believe that not carrying the baggage of the past centuries makes Americans braver about asking questions,” she said. “They think outside the box; they are committed to looking for truth. And that’s what we Dominicans and Americans have in common, we want to find truth.”

Finding her vocation

Lekan didn’t start out wanting to be a religious sister. “It was the very last thing I wanted to be. I was dreaming about becoming a doctor. Being a doctor was a very prestigious job; not only a job but a vocation and I wanted to have the prestige of a vocation,” she said. But it was not only the career which held her back from saying yes to God.

She was in love with a classmate. They both were spending summers at Oaza, a popular, 15- day religious camp for young people held in Poland. “Our relationship was very delicate as we both valued chastity and were both deeply in love with God,” she said.

Both ended up entering religious life after high school.

“I remember our first dance at the prom party. During that dance he gave me the freedom to do what I felt God wanted me to do. I understood in a flash that God was calling me to become a nun, and I understood what it meant to be a madman for God’s love,” said Lekan.

The first years in the convent were not easy. “A convent is a very interesting place. It is a place where God’s presence, grace and love meet with the reality of ordinary people. It takes some time to learn how God’s grace and human nature penetrate each other,” said Lekan. She learned that very well because today she can’t imagine life outside of the convent for herself.

Answering the call

Sister Margaret is the vocation director at the Dominican Sisters Immaculate Conception Province at Rosary Hill in Justice. She assists in discovering the grace of vocations to religious life that might be dwelling in the hearts of young people.

“It is not an easy job. Working on vocations reminds me a little of a gardener’s job. In order for vocation to grow it needs good soil. This soil of everyday religious practice, everyday prayers and a good supportive family life is not always cultivated in the lives of many young people I meet,” she said.

What makes her job even more difficult she added is that Americans are immersed in a culture of immediate gratification.

“Young people naturally expect to see the fruit of their actions and decisions immediately in their lives. Discovering a vocation however is a process. It is not a one time fascination with God’s love found in the heart, which magically grows in the soul, but it is a journey through every day life. My job is to assist along the way and to be present during the time of making very radical decisions,” said Lekan.

Rosary Hill, where thousands of young people participate in different types of gatherings every year, is mostly but not exclusively, a center for young people.

Always dressed in white habits, the Dominican sisters make their home available for young girls and boys and open their door also for the elderly who live in the nursing home conducted by the sisters.

Lekan said she is sure God has planned this for them. The silent and prayerful presence of the old and sick people and the energy of youngsters fill the Dominican’s home, creating a unique atmosphere in which Lekan continues her search for truth.