As we round out National Vocation Awareness Week, one pair of siblings in Santa Rosa, Calif., is proving that answering God’s call doesn’t mean giving up your favorite sports team, video games, or a good old-fashioned sibling rivalry.
Meet Sister Margaret Mary and seminarian Joseph Zaminsky. While many families might hope for one vocation in the household, the Zaminsky family got a double dose of grace — and plenty of humor along the way.
"She's my sister," Joseph joked during a recent sit-down chat.
"His sister’s sister. That's right!" Sister Margaret Mary chimed in.
From Flute Fashionistas to Frisbee Phenoms
Growing up, the two had vastly different pictures of what the future held. While Joseph recalls wanting to be a priest from a very young age — always eager to serve at the altar as soon as he was old enough — Sister Margaret Mary’s early aspirations were a bit more involved:
"At a certain point, I definitely wanted to be a mom, have my own line of clothes, make my own clothes and have a business, have a bunch of kids, and teach flute.”
Sister Margaret Mary laughs before adding:
"I had a lot of different dreams. But then when that call finally came, it went back to just knowing that that's what I wanted my life to be."
One of the biggest misconceptions about religious life, both agree, is that priests and sisters step into a completely different realm of reality where normal hobbies cease to exist, as Joseph shared:
"I think a lot of people think with seminarians or priests—the same with sisters—that they don't do normal people stuff… But I love baseball. Baseball and Ultimate Frisbee. I love playing sports."
And when it comes to the convent, Sister Margaret Mary has this to say:
"For sisters, it would be surprising to know that, again, we're real people and we do real people things.. We like playing Ultimate Frisbee — although we're not as good as you are! But we like playing Ultimate Frisbee or volleyball, a little bit of basketball, foursquare... we also like to do crafts. We sometimes watch movies or play games."
And when asked if they have to deal with everyday tasks, Sister Margaret Mary set the record straight:
"There's also a lot of normal chores that we have to do to keep the convent the way it should be."
Mistaken Identities and ‘First Right of Refusal’
Navigating public life in religious attire comes with its fair share of blunders. For Joseph, wearing clerical clothes before formal ordination leads to frequent encounters with parishioners out in the wild.
“One of the more funny parts of being a seminarian is when I get mistaken as a priest, even though I'm not yet!” Joseph admitted.
“It's a little awkward because I have to tell them, ‘No, sorry, I'm not a priest. I can't hear your confession, I can't bless your medals.’ But at the same time, it really reminds me that that's what I'm going for. That's the goal.”
For those sitting on the fence about discerning a call during National Vocation Awareness Week, both siblings offered reassuring, no-pressure advice for young adults feeling nervous about taking that initial step.
Joseph said stop wasting time:
“I would say just do it. Get in there!” Joseph urged.
“God will take care of you, and if it's not the right place for you, he'll make it known to you. Being in seminary, it's not like as soon as you walk through those doors, you have to become a priest. You're intending to become a priest, but it's not a promise yet.”
And Sister Margaret Mary says remember what is most important: listen to Jesus!
“Yes, and there's no shame in discerning out!”
Adding:
“You have given God the first right of refusal, in a sense, of saying, ‘Jesus, I'm going to give you my best.’ And then if he says, ‘No, I need you somewhere else,’ that's still a beautiful thing.”