Sister Celine's Vocation Story

A couple’s firstborn, I was probably great to handle as a baby, crying continuously unless I was in someone’s arms, which made me an interesting but normal child. I was born in Los Angeles, California, to Mr. and Mrs. Feliciano and Leticia Banuelos and grew up with an abundance of love. My parents took the greatest care to provide for me and soon for the children that would follow. My family of three soon became a family of nine and these years were full of joy. I loved my Hispanic culture and the many traditional celebrations we had especially Navidad and the singing to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I am so grateful to our Lord for such a beautiful family and the gift of my Catholic faith; these years were the soil I needed in the planting of a vocation. Growing up I was involved in fun activities in my middle and high school years like Band, Folklorico dancing, track, softball and helping in our parish, these activities were fun but none as valuable as the days spent with the Carmelite Sisters in the Sacred Heart Retreat House or in any of their houses for that matter. I began volunteering for the sisters when I was about ten years old and found that those first couple of visits were great except that to my standards the sisters “prayed too much,” but that was no excuse to stop my father from answering “ Oh, sure sister they can help on Saturday,” every time the Sisters were on the phone. This first acquaintance with the sisters began a journey in which our Lord called me slowly but surely to abide in His Love.

After about two and a half years later when I reached my thirteenth birthday, I realized that I was now able to stay overnight the whole weekend, something I was not able to enjoy before. I grew to love these weekends so much that I ended up volunteering myself whenever the sisters needed help, even to every other week or at least once a month. Although up to now I just really enjoyed spending time with the sisters, the question “Am I suppose to be a sister?” kept humming in my ear while I would tell my mother that I wanted to have twelve children and the prayer “Lord Jesus what do YOU want?” was beating in my heart. I grew to love the hours of prayer spent with the sisters, the quality talks and simply serving others with them.

Through the next couple of years there was a subtle change in my perspective in life and more and more I wanted to give others that which I had received, a great love for our Lord. One of these most beautiful memories was the practice I began one ordinary night when all my younger brothers and sisters were going to bed; I asked them if they wanted to hear a bible story and they all shouted “Yeah!” and so everyone jumped on my bed and snuggled in to hear “La Biblia” (the Bible) a practice that became a daily routine. Little signs of love like this one opened my eyes to see our Lords biding to give even more.

It was in my junior year in high school that I began what I found out later was called “discernment” for up to this time there was only constant battle, when I was in the world I thought of the challenges and sacrifices a vocation would mean and when in Carmel only of the surpassing joys. It was not until one particular weekend of that year that one of the sisters asked me if I had ever thought about being a sister that I gave it full time thought. She said something that I will never forget, to paraphrase “You will never loose anything when you give God the first chance, but you will live questioning if you ignore that still small and persistent voice in your heart that asked you to answer your vocation.” I discerned very quickly thereafter and knew that YES I did have a religious vocation and that the peace I had always felt when doing the work of God and the joy that consumed my young soul was not fake but authentic because it was an invitation to abide in that joy who was my Lord, Jesus Christ to give him back that precious life he had given me.
I applied to Carmel in February of my senior year in high school and had the overwhelming and loving support of my Parents and family. I entered candidacy August 2001 and began my Postulancy in 2002 continuing with novitiate the two years following. Those years of my initial formation became the foundation of my religious life. I have been in Carmel now for seven years and thank Our Lord for his abiding love and mercy. He continues to shower his grace on me everyday in the minutest details of my daily life. Just as he did before up to now and will continue to do, for His love endures forever.

Our childhood memories are many and our Lord hand was in each one, he continues guiding us in journey and loving us to death, each and every day we should say as pray, Dear Lord keep me near you and let me always abide in your love so that I may give without limit what you have given me.

Sister Celine of the Holy Family, O.C.D.

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