My Vocation Story

“I discovered Christianity when I enrolled in a Catholic high school when I was sixteen. I chose the school because I wanted to learn English from the sisters who taught there. But the Lord had other plans for me…”

Sr. Teresia Makiko Inoue

My name is Teresia Makiko Inoue and I am Japanese. I entered the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul in 1997. Right now I am studying Italian in Rome. I am happy to be in the city in which our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, Maestra Thecla and our first sisters lived.

My family is Buddhist and so was I. Whenever I think about this, I continue to be amazed at the mystery of my vocation: Why did the Lord call me–a person who knew absolutely nothing about him?

I discovered Christianity when I enrolled in a Catholic high school when I was sixteen. I chose the school because I wanted to learn English from the sisters who taught there. But the Lord had other plans for me….

One of the conditions for attending the school was that I buy the required textbooks, one of which was a Bible. Since I was not Christian, I did not need a Bible so I made the purchase reluctantly and then placed the volume on my bookshelf without opening it. A year went by. One day, however, I remembered that the Bible had cost me good money so I decided to read it. Opening it at random, my eyes fell on the following passage from the Gospel of John: “I give you a new commandment: love one another: you must love one another just as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34). How true it is, I thought to myself; loving one another is the most important thing in life. Later, when I read the account of the passion and death of Jesus, I was deeply struck by the way he forgave those who killed him. It seemed to me that this Jesus was a very special person and it would be to my advantage to get to know him better. As a result, I began to frequent the Catholic Church.

I was baptized when I was eighteen, after speaking to my parents about taking this step. No one–including myself–ever dreamed that I would go on to become a nun, but this desire gradually grew in me.

The sisters at my high school gave me catechism lessons prior to my baptism. They were always very kind and generous toward me and I was impressed by their lifestyle and the fact that they gave up marriage so as to live for God alone. I realized that they were different from other people–their holiness was perceptible. Why shouldn’t I live the same kind of life? I wondered. Why not become a nun? One day, while reading the diocesan newspaper, I saw an article by the Daughters of St. Paul inviting young women to attend a spiritual retreat.

I began to visit the Pauline book center in Tokyo so as to find books and religious objects. Watching the sisters disseminate the Gospel with joy and great commitment, I discovered the beauty of the Pauline charism. “How wonderful it would be,” I thought, “to work like these sisters to spread the love of God through the instruments of communication!” That is why I chose to join the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul. And lo and behold, when I entered the Institute, I was assigned to work in the same book center in which my vocation was born! The Lord fulfilled my desire and I will never cease to thank him for his goodness.

In Japan, the dominant religions are Shintoism and Buddhism but many people do not practice any religion at all. Individualism is widespread. Families are in crisis. The elderly, always more numerous, live alone and are marginalized by society. After the earthquake of 11 March 2011, many people lost hope. They are confused and life has lost meaning for them.

When I was a student, I was one of those people. When I met Jesus, I found someone who loves and supports me. The Word of God gives meaning to my life and I know it can do the same for others. Through my Pauline vocation, I want to communicate to everyone the good news that God loves us immensely and always will.