Sister Mary Clare Bezner is a sister of the Olivetan Benedictine’s of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Her openness and perseverance to be a bride of Christ began at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993.
She was a senior in high school, and she finally had to put the question to herself: “Do I want to be Catholic for me or just for my parents?” As she was searching for the answer, she hears that there’s going to be this big youth gathering out in Colorado. And unknowingly this decision to go would help her answer not only this big question of her faith, but would also decide everything else for her life.
“I felt during my time at World Youth Day, I fell in love with the Catholic Church. I Believed!” Although she had been baptized years ago, she personally chose to be Catholic through this experience.
“My sense of the magisterium after that changed. I saw Pope John Paul II and I know the Holy Spirit was present in his personage. I knew that the pope really spoke for Christ. And I know now that God does that. He gives specific graces to people for a reason.”
Sister Mary Clare decided once and for all that she was an “all-in” Catholic. Although her calling to religious life was still inchoate, she became a disciple, open to whatever Jesus wanted for her.
At the time, she was still scared of nuns and wasn’t thinking of becoming one at all, “So I can’t say that I came back knocking on the convent’s door! But because of WYD I was much more open and solidified in my faith, so that I didn't leave when tempted and knew God was working through my Church. When I finally decided I was really called to religious life I remembered my experience well and it gave me the courage to move forward.”
Her World Youth Day experience engrained in her the truth that God does give specific graces to people, especially those in authority in the Church. “Obedience. I understand the virtue of obedience because of World Youth Day. I know for certain that God gives those specific graces to those in authority. Seeing Pope John Paul II allows me today to remember that my own superior, that our own bishop has the grace to be a bishop. My ability to be obedient is so much greater.”
To those going to World Youth Day, Sister Mary Clare explains: “The Holy Father is going to talk to you. Personally. There’s a bond that forms between the youth and the pope. I remember the crowds in Mile High Stadium shouting in English “JPII, We love you!” and Blessed Pope John Paul II answering back, ‘JPII, he loves you, too.’ It was like Jesus saying: ‘I love you.’ ”
The experience for Sister Mary Clare is a very profound one, where she saw God bursting with love in His Church. She gained a true knowledge of the love of God, of the love of the Holy Father, the unity and love of the Catholic Church for the pope.
Your prayers and support for our World Youth Day trip to Rio will have a similar effect on twelve Arkansans who have now finished their fundraising and are now in the process of applying for visas to Brazil. Imagine twelve youth on fire, deeply in love with the pope and with the Church, setting others aflame with divine love right here in Arkansas. Several of them are possibly seeking entry into a convent. All are asking God for guidance as young Catholics. They want to become disciples and to make more here in Arkansas and wherever they are sent.
