Sr. Florence Musa’s Vocation Story

l am Sr. Florence Nsha Musa, Nigerian by nationality and a Tertiary Sister of Saint Francis. I have seven siblings, six boys and two girls and occupy the fifth position in the family. The Lord blessed me with two wonderful parents, who raised me in a good, faith-filled Catholic home. Growing up as a child, l certainly never knew the plans God had for me. However, imagining that l could join Religious Life was a far-fetched idea.  Conversely, God began fashioning me for Religious Life long before I was aware.  The thought of considering  Religious Life never crossed my mind until l turned 20 and Jesus stole my heart.

My college years, were  fantastic and happy. I was  busy with academic work  and Church activities. At the age of 20, l had already  received the sacraments of Baptism,First Holy Communion and Confirmation. I enjoyed spending time with friends and family.  The above notwithstanding, l felt that something was missing. Although l knew absolutely nothing about Consecrated Life, I felt a strong urge to become a Reverend Sister in 2011.  Out of nowhere, one day my Parish Priest, as if inspired by the Holy Spirit started talking to me about the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis, and from then on the fire started burning in my heart. It was like my  one desire then was to become a Tertiary Sister of St. Francis. Ironically, l struggled  in vain to ignore what l was feeling within me.

Responding to the call to Consecrated Life was challenging because l kept resisting and ignoring it. The more l ignored the  call, the more disturbed l was.  One  Sunday morning during mass, after many years of ignoring the Lord’s invitation to serve in His vineyard, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Shortly afterwards, l received an invitation from the Tertiary Sisters invited me to spend some time with them  in, Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria to get to know about their way of life and  determine if l wanted to join them or not.  During this period of discernment known as the “Live-In”, l experienced an inexplicable and overwhelming  joy when l meet other girls, who like me were interested in joining the Tertiary Sisters of Saint Francis.  The joy l experienced was  confirmation of the fact that it was the Lord’s will for me to join Religious Life.

During this time of discernment, I got to know bout the Franciscan values and apostolates  of the TSSF: health, care of the sick, poor, education and pastoral ministry among others.  After the Lived -In, l made up my mind to spend more time with the TSSF to discern my vocation. While at the discernment house in Lafia, I lived and worked with the sister for 9 months before beginning postulancy (candidacy)  in 2016.

With time, as l interacted closely  with the sisters, it became clearer to me  that God was also calling me to Religious Life. After my time of discernment, I joined the Tertiary Sisters of Saint Francis. After my First Profession of Vows in 2019, I have  had many wonderful opportunities to participate in Christ’s mission  by working with youth and the poor. Through the years, I have come to believe that my call to Religious Life is a special gift from God. I am very happy to be a Tertiary Sister of Saint Francis. l have realized that  God wants me to be happy and to use my talents for the good of my community. I am now in my fourth year as a Temporary Professed Tertiary Sister of saint Francis and each day I  celebrate Jesus’ love and faithfulness towards me with this awareness I look towards to the future with hope and all life with a willing Spirit believing that God will be with me every step of the way.