Originally published at National Catholic Register
Before Sister Tonia of the Heart of Jesus Borsellino became a religious sister of the Mercedarians of the Blessed Sacrament, she was an intern for Catholic News Agency (CNA).
Sister Tonia shared her discernment story with CNA last week at SEEK25 in Salt Lake City — one of many SEEK conferences she has attended, both as a student and as a religious sister.
In 2017, when Sister Tonia was in the midst of her discernment process, she attended a SEEK conference — not as a participant but as a reporter for CNA. It was at that conference that she had an experience that confirmed her call to her vocation.
In December 2016, she had visited the Mercedarian Sisters for a “Come and See,” shortly before she left for SEEK 2017 in San Antonio. At the event, Sister Tonia sought spiritual direction and decided to apply to the community — but she still wasn’t sure she was called to be a sister.
“I was unsure — was this the right answer?” she recalled thinking.
This internal dilemma played out in her mind while she interviewed a Catholic speaker for CNA.
“I was interviewing this Catholic speaker, and at the end, he
